Temporary closure of the F10 trail to Monte Marsicano

by isaziHiking, NewsPosted on No Comments

The Abruzzo Lazio and Molise National Park (PNALM) has announced the temporary closure of trail F10 leading to Monte Marsicano from May 28th to June 15th. Authorities have indicated that this closure may be extended if necessary, as detailed in the original source [1].

This decision follows concerns over the conservation of the Marsican brown bear, a species native to our region. The area around Monte Marsicano is crucial for the bears’ reproduction during this period, and increased numbers of tourists attempting to spot them pose a significant risk. To protect both the bears and visitors, park officials have deemed it necessary to restrict access.

[1] Park’s news item, in Italian

9a/V17 boulder in Abruzzo: The Big Slamm

by isaziBouldering, Climbing, NewsPosted on No Comments

Abruzzo is better known for its alpine climbs in the Gran Sasso massif, and the numerous limestone sport crags spread all over its provinces, but is now also home of one of the hardest boulder problems in the world: The Big Slamm 9a/V17.

The boulder has been climbed by Elias Iagnemma at the beginning of 2025, after 35 attempts by this strong professional climber from L’Aquila, who is also one of the few people to have climbed Burden of Dreams in Finland, the world’s first 9a.

The problem is in the bouldering area of Tintorale, in the province of Teramo. The climbing in this area is on sandstone, and there are over 60 problems, including an 8C+ (Ganesh, another first ascent of Iagnemma), and now a 9a. It may therefore be the hardest bouldering destination in Italy.

If you are interested in climbing in Tintorale, there is some info on MadBoulder.

New bivouac on Gran Sasso: Bivacco Desiati

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In the Vallone della Fornaca (Fornaca Valley), between the Prena and Camicia mountains, there was no emergency shelter since the old Lubrano bivouac was destroyed by a storm in 1999. And since the Fonte Vetica hut burned down in a fire few years ago, there was no shelter at all in the south-western area of the massif.

Luckily, the situation has recently changed: in November 2024, 25 years later after the Lubrano was destroyed, a new bivouac has been installed in the same area where the Lubrano was. The new bivouac is called Bivacco Piergiorgio Desiati, in memory of a doctor of the alpine search and rescue team of L’Aquila.

The Bivacco Desiati is located in the Vallone della Fornaca, at an altitude of 1815 meters / 5954 feet above sea level. It is already present on OpenStreetMap (and all the derived map products), and Diego (a YouTube user) recently posted a video of the bivouac in winter conditions.

Updates on Bivacco Bafile

by isaziClimbing, Hiking, NewsPosted on No Comments

The L’Aquila chapter of the Italian Alpine Club posted an update (in Italian) on the situation of the Bivacco Bafile on the 28th of October 2024.

During the summer the bivouac, badly damaged, was deemed unsafe and the club asked hikers and climbers to stop using it for the time being. As of this week, the bivouac is permanently closed and ready to be moved. Until the structure of the bivouac is moved, it is also illegal to access the area where it is located. Pictures of the locked Bivacco Bafile can be found on the club’s update post.

Biodiversity in the Central Appennines

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In an article recently published in the Journal of Vegetation Science, a team of scientists of the Tuscia University found a very high level of biodiversity in the prairies of the Central Appennines in the regions of Abruzzo and Lazio.

They counted the species of plants and lichens in 97 plots, each measuring 10 square meters, in the Central Appennines, and found a mean level of species richness of 52, with a max of 85, in areas in and around our national parks.

In particular, considering that the highest number of species ever recorded in a plot of the same size is 101, the result of 85 measured in a plot in the National Park of Abruzzo Lazio and Molise is another remarkable example of how rich the nature in our region is, and how important is to protect it.

Closure of Bivacco Bafile

by isaziClimbing, Hiking, NewsPosted on No Comments

The Bivacco Bafile (Bafile Bivouac) is an emergency shelter on the south-east ridge of the central summit of Corno Grande (Gran Sasso range). It is located at 2669 meters / 8756 feet above sea level and is accessible from Campo Imperatore via a hiking trail and a ferrata. Built in 1966 by the L’Aquila section of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), it provides both emergency shelter from bad weather, and easy access to various climbing routes on the south face of Corno Grande. It is also very popular with hikers (equipped with harness, helmet, a ferrata kit, and no fear for exposure) who want to spend the night at altitude and see the sun rise over the Adriatic sea in the morning.

After 58 years in service, the bivouac was badly damaged by a storm during the 2023/2024 winter, and the CAI section of L’Aquila declared [1] that the structure is not safe anymore, and should not be used during the current season.

The good news is that they already got the funding for a new bivouac, that will be placed in the spot of the old one during the summer of 2025, while the old structure will be removed in the fall of 2024, repaired, and it will find a new home in the city of L’Aquila.

[1] https://cailaquila.it/inagibilita-del-bivacco-andrea-bafile/