€500,000 for the climbing wall, an investment for the climbers of tomorrow

You come across the climbing wall, following the path that goes beyond the Grand Hotel and beyond the old cable station. Over time, it has trained many young and old climbers from Varese.

But the climbing wall on Campo dei Fiori will train many more, with its climbing routes with different levels of difficulty, and with curious names, such as “rudera” or “Via col vento” or “Cu de la Piera” (which is most bizarre: it comes from an “embarrassing incident” that happened to a historic climber …).

For this reason, the more than €500,000 allocated by Lombardy Region to carry out significant maintenance on the climbing wall on Campo dei Fiori, is important. Completion of the project requires an integrated effort by a number of organisations: Lombardy Region, the Regional Park Authority of Campo dei Fiori, Varese Town Council, the Varese Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture, the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) and the Regional College of Lombard Alpine Guides, and it will be carried out thanks to a Programme Agreement.

REST STOPS REQUIRE MAINTENANCE: HELICOPTER AND MOUNTAINEERING BRICKLAYERS REQUIRED 

“A few years ago, the CAI carried out re-riveting of the climbing wall, which is not only a historic wall, but also one of only a few in Varese Province,” explained Pierluigi Zanetti, the secretary of the CAI Varese. “Over time, the rivets became less safe: so, at our expense (which means about €9000), we carried out maintenance work, fitting new rivets.”

Over time, however, other maintenance became necessary. “Now, the rest stops need to be redone, and we can’t do it ourselves,” continued Zanetti. “The work must be carried out by specialist staff, who can climb, work as bricklayers in the mountains, use a helicopter for the materials. Therefore, as the regional alpine club, we asked our region to help, in a project led, not by us, but by the Campo dei Fiori Park. Also because the work would be carried out in a protected area, where peregrine falcons nest. In short, as you can see, the work needs to take into consideration a fair number of factors, and take a certain amount of care.”