Area & Style of Climbing
Prestone - Bouldering

Location
Italy, Alps, Lombardia

Overview
A beautiful alpine meadow location makes this compact, roadside, gneiss bouldering area an absolute must visit for those visiting the locality. There are only around 100 problems, but the area is easily visited within a trip to the larger, adjacent and better known area of Cimaganda, which is around a 15minute drive, further down the valley. Most of Prestone’s well sculpted blocks sit close to one another on a lush gently sloping grassy hillside and offer a superb array of bulges, walls and arêtes in the 5+ to 7a+ grade range.

Best Time to Go & Conditions
The area is situated at over 1000m; as such the best conditions occur from late March through to late October. Whilst it is possible to climb throughout the summer months it does get pretty warm. The boulders dry almost immediately after rain and the landings are generally well drained. Due to the alpine situation the weather can change quickly and rain is a possibility throughout the year.

Getting There
The cheapest options are to fly from Liverpool, Dublin or Glasgow (Preswick) to Milan (Bergamo) with Ryan Air; London (Stanstead) to Verona (Brescia) with Ryan Air; Leeds Bradford to Milan (Bergamo)with Jet2.com or London (Luton) to Turin with Easy Jet. The last option will involve the most driving to the climbing area (3.5hours) all the other connotations involve roughly a 2.5 hour drive.




Accessibility
The climbing is situated approximately 2.5 hours (by car) from the nearest airport so you will need a car or some form of vehicular transportation to get to Prestone or Cimaganda. Once in the vicinity however, both areas are within walking distance – 10 minutes from the road.

Accommodation & Provisions
There are plenty of guest houses, hotels and campsites in the vicinity, which should cater for all budgets. As well as plenty of bakeries, small supermarkets and pizzeria’s to keep you well fueled.

Guide Book/s
Title: Mello Boulder / Price: £27.50
There is also a basic free online topo here.

Grade Spread and Recommended Routes
Around 100 problems from 4 to 7b+, with the best problems being in the 6th grade. The better lines are generally the excellent prows and arêtes, common on these kinds of blocks. Check out problem B on block 3 (6b+) the fine clean cut arête on block 15 (6b), the superb left arête of block 7 (7a) and for those seeking harder (and scarier terrain!) there is a wicked 7b+ highball arête on block 3 which is well worth seeking out.

General Tip/s
If you intend to visit the area from the Swiss side of the Splugen pass give yourself plenty of time, as the distance may not look too far on a map, however the winding road is time sapping to say the least, especially if you get stuck behind a truck. That said it’s well worth the effort, if only for the dramatic views and the entertainment of the drive itself.

Image left: A cool 7a+ prow on block 8.
Image above: The unmissable central 6a wall of block 15.


Useful Lin
Affiliated area information - http://www.alpboulder.com/ziel_alps.htm