Bronte Blocks: the guide, written by Davide Scornavacca, just came out on ClimbAdvisor!
300 boulder of all difficulties, good for climbing in all seasons, in a fairytale scenery, good for families with children, on the slopes of the Etna Mountain.
Davide Scornavacca on a project in the Bucolico Superiore area, Masso 6
Andrea Sisalli
Andrea Sisalli
Bronte Blocks is a quite wide bouldering area.
It consists of 9 different areas, scattered over the valley of the Troina river, on the slopes of the Etna mountain, in a fairytale scenery.
The lines, at now, are almost 300, but the area's growth potential is very big and each year new rock are gardened and new ones are set.
Some of the blocks are in the shade of the woods, and some others are in clearings or along the banks of the river. Thus you can climb there during any season of the year.
The approach is easy, for almost all the areas (not all).
The space under the blocks is wide and comfortable almost everywhere (except for a dozen routes, listed in my guide), good to accommodate your crash pad for an easy falling.
Bronte Blocks: la vista sull'Etna
Davide Scornavacca
Davide Scornavacca
The whole is immersed in fabulous surroundings, on the western slopes of the Etna Mountain, few miles from the Etna Nature Park and from the Nebrodi Nature Park.
The view from the bouldering areas located out of the woods is stunning: the Etna mountain (Europe's largest active volcano) stands out against the background, and all around there are the woods of the Troina Valley.
This wild and unpolluted place, though, is not far from inhabited areas - as is often in Sicily. The town of Bronte, indeed, is very close, with shops, restaurants and hotels.
Teresa Cirelli on Bresaola fresca (6a+), in Fiume
Bronte Blocks
ar. Davide Scornavacca
Bronte Blocks
ar. Davide Scornavacca
Bronte Blocks offers lines for any taste: slabs, corners, arêtes, overhangs, roofs, on sandstone rocks of striking and suggestive forms.
Even the difficulties are of all kind: in every area, you can find blocks of IV o V grade, good for beginners, near other ones with hard lines, or projects, good for strong and skilled climbers.
It's an ideal place for families with children, for strong climbers, for beginners, or even for people who want to go for a walk and for looking around.
The lines are almost all been set by me and my climbing adventure companion Stefano Anile, who introduced me to such enchanted wood and rocks (not without reason in the Middle Age the Etna Mountain was thought to be the house of Morgan le Fay). The blocks have been all gardened by us, with the help of few friends.
In a few years, our passion has given rise to a unique and magic place, that I'm letting be known by this climbing guide.
Writing this guide has involved a considerable effort. I photographed all the rocks (they are a lot, and many have only one or two routes). I took the GPS coordinates of all the areas and of the many junctions. I drew the maps. I drew the routes on the rocks as accurately as possible.
Commenti
Where can it be found?
Hello Jeffrey, the topo is aavailable on the app ClimbAdvisor. You can download it from the Apple App Store or from Google Play.
In reply to guide topo/book Bronte bouldering by Jeffrey (not verified)
Hi,
i will visit Sily in the next weeks and i have to discover this beatiful boulder space.
Last Questions for me:
Where i can rent a crashpad next to the BRONTE BLOCKS?
Hi Phillip,
my name is Carmela Malomo, and I'm the administrator of Climbing Spot Factory.
I've just asked where you could rent some crashpad.
There are no shops to rent a crashpad, but may be you could rent one from some local climber.
Please write me before you leave your country and I will try to get you in touch with someone next Bronte.
Ciao!
In reply to Rent a Crashpad by Phillip (not verified)
Hi, same question as above. I would love to go there this weekend, I bought the guide, could you please give me a contact of someone who rent Pads?
Grazie!
Hi Giambattista, Now I know something more about renting pads in Bronte. Unfortunately, no shops doing this thing are nearby. So you should probably bring from home a pad with you. It's much better this way, for now, especially considering the currently present sanitation question...
In reply to Rent Crash Pad by Giambattista C… (not verified)
Hi, I'm Lucia, the owner of the B&B Good Morning Etna in Bronte. I would like to buy some crashpad for renting to climbers! If you plan to visit Sicily and Bronte and you need a crashpad you cant get in contanct with me:
phone number: +39 3286769581
e-mail: goodmorningetna@gmail.com
I got a map of Bronte Blocks from the Climb Advisor app.
However, I couldn't enter because there was a fence at the entrance of the road to the first plobrem, INTRO, after the car parked in the designated parking place.
When I turned left, the gate to the farm was open and I could enter, but I hesitated to go through it because it looked like private land.
Is passing through this farm the correct way?
Or are BronteBlocks off limit(not available)?
Hello Sato,
as I wrote you via e-mail, You can cross the gate, pulling the wire with your hands, and go through the spot, both on foot or by an off-road vehicle (only for a stretch). You can't get with a vehicle in the Fantasia and Sala degli Specchi areas, for the will of the owners, because the noise of the car can disturb their animals.
That said, you can climb, you can picnic and also you can have a bath in the river.
Have a nice time in Bronte Blocks!
In reply to Is Bronteblock off limits? by T.SATO (not verified)
Salve!
Vorrei tanto visitare questi blocchi prossimamente. Ho provato la settimana scorsa a trovarli ma senza successo. Sono arrivato all'edificio vecchio e sceso fino al fiume sotto il ponte antico ma senza successo. L'unica linea trovata era forse ancora in progetto o forse semplicemente difficile. Dove si trovano i blocchi una volta scavalcato il cancello sulla strada? Avete GPS o indicazioni un po' più precise?
Grazie mille!
Turi
Salve Turi,
puoi scaricare la guida con le coordinate GPS dell'avvicinamento e i tracciati dalla app ClimbAdvisor, disponibile su App Store e su Google Play
In reply to Location by Turi (not verified)
I'm visiting Sicily in February. Is there any chance to rent a crash pad somewhere? I know in Bosco Scorace area there is an B&B that rents pads. Thank you in advance!
Hello Razvan,
please read the comment of Lucia. She (before the lockdown) wanted to buy some pad to rent and left her contact: phone number: +39 3286769581
e-mail: goodmorningetna@gmail.com. BUT, please, mail her and check if she now can still rent the pads
In reply to Has the crash-pad renting situation changed? by Razvan (not verified)
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