UKBouldering.com
places to visit => abroad => Topic started by: tenzing on September 12, 2007, 02:56:20 pm
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Hi.
Im going on a two weeks bouldering trip to ticino, switzerland. Now, i've looked around on the web, seen some vids on youtube and from what I have seen, there's really a lot of lowballs, sitstarts and so on. Was in Magic Woods last summer and I've been to font a couple of times, can Cresciano be compared with MW? Rock quality? Climbingwise?
Come on, please tell me I've got it all wrong and that Cresciano is boulder heaven with amazing granite on big, steep boulders.
Suggested problems?
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I've been to font, magic wood, and been to cresciano but didn't climb cos it was wet. magicwood is nowhere near as good as font (popular more for summer temps and soft touches, although not when I went), and cresciano looked very good but a bit dingy around and abouts in an industrial way. i hear the other stuff in the ticino valley is better (some is now banned). I've also been to chironico which is excellent, i'd sooner go back there then either cres/magicwood. Font is preductably better than them all though.
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magic woods, that happens to be in grigioni, rather than ticino, is good, but: the approach can be a hassle. weather is an issue.
cresciano: its very good. dont believe the hype you saw on the web, it is very good. theres alot of everything: lowballs and highballs, sit ans stand starts, steep and vertical problems. its very condition dependant: if its humid youre not having a good time.
chironico. its fucking perfect IMHO. its massive, you can always find a quiet spot, and its packed with boulders and big numbers. deadly highballs put up by DG himself, nice setting. its less condition dependant cos its steeper than cresciano and genereally more edgy.
font: its font. just go there anytime and climb.
for cresh and chir, if you go, get the guide. it can make the difference. remember "choice is freedom".
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Granite or Sandstone?
If you don't know already then you need help.
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Cresiano is the shit. I was last there when it was dead warm, so you'd have to be up and out by 5.30am to get some decent days in. But early starts are the way forward.
It's a very special place, although the setting isn't a magical as i'd expected - Chironico is closer to the mountains, and feels a lot more isolated (being that it isn't right above a quarry).
There is so much to do and a bit of everything, highballs, lowballs, toeballs, heelballs. There's pretty much something for everyone, but like Nibs says when its warm its f*ucking hard.
Chironico for a first trip would be best appreciated in the 16-22 areas (i think) Rah Plats Plats area onwards, as its much more accessible than the earlier areas. I spent a day wandering around the lower areas looking for problems that were nothing like how they looked in the guide.
That said, there are some well weapon looking lines if you go looking for them.
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Thanks for the help.
My doubts are all gone. I kind of liked the climbing in MW and thought that Cresciano wouldn't be quite the same, guess I was wrong. Nibile, which guide is that? Crescianoboulder? Or Blocheart?
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Cresciano boulder i thought was much better, but the approach details in the Blocheart are better. I'd take both, And get the Chironico boulder guide too. The 'Boulder' guides are available in the tourist information office in Bellinzona.
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be aware that neither christianov or chironico are not as good or anywhere as font. they're like a couple of areas in font. the good problems tend to be 7's and above. cresh has a lot of lip traverses. i liked the setting in a chestnut forest. generally thehigher probs want a couple of pads and a spotter. bear in mind would you rather it was too warm at cresh, or raininng in font.
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rainin in font, any day of the week
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get cresciano boulder and chironico boulder.
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rainin in font, any day of the week
thats purely so you can go and letch at the teenage euro chavs in carrefour!
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Cristianof ain't all the hype its cracked up to be. There are some very good problems here but they tend to be concentrated in the higher end (>7c) and I thought the venue in general was too spaced out
Chironico is a better venue but I wasn't overly keen on the very large grained granite, although there are some excellent problems, again too spread out.
Magic wood is my favorite venue in swizzy as I prefer the grain of rock and also the style of the problems and seems to be a bit more concentrated.
Font is clearly in another legue and hence is like comparing chocolate and dogshit
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Font is clearly in another legue and hence is like comparing chocolate and dogshit
that's what i was trying to say but i lack your eloquence :bow:
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wow,
cresciano and chironico too spread? and i thought i was lazy... ;)
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How far is the nearest climbingshop?
From Cresciano, that is.
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wow, that's tricky.
i don't really know, the last time i was there i had to buy some tape for my fingers, and all i found was the one they use for the hockey sticks.
if you come from the south, there's a very big commercial area just past the italian border, i think before bellinzona, and there's some big sport shop.
otherwise you could email someone from www.crescianoboulder.ch website.
good luck.
ps I LEAVE ON FRIDAY FOR A WEEK THERE!!!!!!!!
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i can confirm that you can find a few climbing shoes (nepa climbing, sportiva solution and testarossa, five ten verde and velcros) at "sport specialist" in the enormous commercial area that's just before lugano.
i think the exit is lugano south.
not cheap, though.
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Regarding problem quality, you don't get too psyched when you see this........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jGdPTy-yoU
My GOD! lowball heaven....
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thoseguys are seriously missin the point.
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not if they had fun.
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like the man said "i don't boulder for fun..."
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As granite areas I thought they pretty much sucked. Ok there's heaps of big numbers but the problem (line) quality was for the most part rubbish. Or too spaced out, or too few or whatever. Wont go back until maybe i flash Fb8A.