Italian Rock - A Rock Climber's Guidebook – Italy, Europe

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps

Caporal

Partially screened by the boulder field at its foot, the true grandeur of the great bastion of Caporal is only revealed from some way up the approach path. On the right, the huge almost featureless S face (Lo Scudo – The Shield) is breached only by the artificial routes of Rivoluzione and Crazy Horse; and the majority of routes on Caporal still employ large amounts of aid – the super routes of tomorrow. The only free climbs are to be found on the SW face to the left, although all of these are still often ascended with varying amounts of aid. However, the quality of experience to be enjoyed on these three routes is equal to that found anywhere in Europe or California. The route is superbly sound and free of vegetation, and the cliff has a feeling of remoteness rarely encountered with such easy access – chamois are often seen from the screes below, and our ascent of the lower part of Itaca was accompanied by the screams of an eagle circling high above us.
   
The centre of the SW face is characterised by the huge crackline of Tempi Moderni, and the slabs right of this provide the lower pitches of Itaca/Tempi Moderni and Arrapaho – the latter continuing up the impressive vertical headwall above (Lo Specchio – The Mirror), whereas Itaca/Tempi Moderni avoids this to the left by a series of cracks. At the extreme left, the face is split by the huge impending corner of Diedro Nanchez. All three routes have a fair amount of in-situ protection, but carry a reasonable rack of nuts and friends – particularly for Itaca and Nanchez.

Approach. From Noasca, the road to Ceresole Reale rises by a series of hairpin bends to a straight section, followed by a second series of hairpins. After the last of these the road enters a gallery. To the right of the gallery mouth is an obvious parking area, with the Caporal clearly visible above. Take one of the paths up the steep scree slope towards S face. The paths come together at some easy slabs which are crossed rightwards. Trend back to the left towards the SW face (keeping another set of slabs on the left). 25 minutes.

Itaca nel Sole/Tempi Moderni 200m E4 6a (E1/2 5c/A1)
    Motti & Morelli 6/75, Motti et al 10/72
A stupendous route, and the most sought after classic in the whole of Orco. If pitch
3 and the final check of pitch 6 are aided, the overall grade becomes E1 5c; still very worthwhile and probably the most usual form of ascent. Harder climbers may prefer to start with the first 2 pitches of L’Orecchio del Pachiderma (see Arrapaho), although it is a pity to miss the comparatively easy, but very enjoyable climbing of the normal second pitch.

The arête between the S and SW faces overhangs at its foot. Left of this is the obvious chimney of Via dei Camini, and several metres left again is a large square niche below the dominating dierdre of Tempi Moderni. Start on the left of the large blackish block in the centre of the niche (often wet).

1. 20m 5a. Climb up onto the block and traverse right to an impending crack. Up this and the flake above. Stance round to the right – second may need to lead through for a few meters to belay, thus avoiding rope drag on the second pitch.
   
2. 30m 5a/b. Follow flakes, then the crack on the left to stance and pegs. (The right-hand crack is Arrapaho.) A superb pitch.
   
3. 40m 6a. Up the crack on the left (pegs), then the thin slab above (many peg-bolts – climb left of these at first to free climb). At the end of the bold-ladder traverse left, then up the edge of the slab to belay on the huge terrace below the great wall of Lo Specchio.
   
4. 40m 5b. Layback the short corner crack (or the A1 crack just left, 6b free), and continue to large block. Make a long diagonal traverse left of the ledges, return right and climb a diedre to belay.
   
5. 20m 5c. The crack in the wall to the left (several pegs), belay on the ledge above.
   
6. 50m 6a. Cross a cracked slab obliquely rightwards, and return left to the foot of an obvious overhanging corner/groove (many pegs). Climb this to a strenuous leftward exit. Continue leftwards over easy slabs to belay.

Descent. Cross easy slabs to the right (east) for 20m to chains above Lo Specchio. Make 2 abseils of 40m and 35m to the chains in the centre of the large terrace, i.e. right of the third stance. A 40m abseil leads diagonally rightwards to a ledge and chains, and another of the same length bears slightly leftwards to the foot of the crack of Pachiderma. Finally shorter abseil down the first chimney of Camini returns you to the foot of the face.