Andonno: The Limestone Crag Behind Italy's First 8c+ | Italy Climbing Crags

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Andonno is a small village in the municipality of Valdieri, Piedmont, at the mouth of Valle Gesso about 13 km from Cuneo. The grey limestone of Monte Cros above the village is the best-known sport crag around Cuneo: in 1993 Severino Scassa climbed Noia here, a route later climbers remember as Italy's first 8c+.

Since October 2026 the whole crag is closed to access; see the rules section. This guide covers what you will need once it reopens: whether it suits your level, which months to go, how to get there without a car, and how to check the current closure. For a comparison of seasons and regions across Italy, see the series overview; the alpine bouldering further up the same valley is covered in Valle Gesso bouldering.

What kind of crag is it

Single-pitch limestone sport climbing, strongest from 7a up. theCrag describes high-quality grey limestone with good friction and varied climbing, mostly athletic and fingery; the hardest routes are on the "Sì" and "Futuro" walls of the Anfiteatro, most of them bolted by Scassa. falesia.it calls the rock "Calcare molto compatto a gocce d'acqua e canne" (very compact limestone with water pockets and tufa-like runnels), favouring finger strength and precise footwork.

History. On the Planetmountain crag page Scassa says you can still find "the first hard pitches in Italy", historic routes, completely chipped ones, Verdon-style slabs, overhangs and multi-pitch routes, "a bit of everything". Oliunid sums up Noia's story: Scassa made the first ascent on 14 February 1993 by linking Noi (8b+) and Cobra (8b) in the Anfiteatro; a CAI report that year recorded it as 8c, and later sources mostly give 8c+.

Size. Figures by site (checked 2026-10-19):

Bolts. theCrag says routes use 8 mm expansion bolts and glue-ins, generally "buona e mai pericolosa" (good and never dangerous), with chains and maillons for lowering at almost every belay; a few holds on the old classics are polished. falesia.it calls the glue-ins "Ottima" (excellent). Both descriptions predate the 2026 fire and closure (see the rules), so once the crag reopens go by the inspection results the town publishes.

Who it suits. Climbers from 6b up looking for lots of single-pitch 7a to 8a. theCrag says plainly that there are not many routes for beginners.

When to go

Taken together, autumn and clear winter days are the main season. In spring the central sector also has to be avoided during the peregrine nesting season (see the rules).

Getting there

Public transport

Line 77 (Cuneo–Valdieri–Entracque) is run by Autolinee Nuova Benese as part of the Grandabus consortium. The timetable on the Benese site is marked "decorrenza orario dal 01/10/2024": as an example from that version, a bus leaves Cuneo F.S. at 10:00 and reaches Andonno 25 minutes later, with several returns in the afternoon. Some runs operate only on school days or in summer, and Sunday buses run only in summer, so check the current version on the Grandabus timetable page before you go.

Driving

Planetmountain: from Cuneo head for Borgo San Dalmazzo, then follow the road towards Valdieri; after a few kilometres the cliff appears on the right. Stay on the main road to Bar Miramonti on the edge of Andonno, the climbers' bar. theCrag gives the route as the SS20 (the Colle di Tenda road) to Borgo San Dalmazzo, then up Valle Gesso.

Parking

Planetmountain says you can park in the village or drive to the end of the road where the path starts; falesia.it says to park where a dirt road leaves from behind the houses and walk right for about 10 minutes to the central sector, with a branch to the left going up to the Anfiteatro. During the closure the paths themselves are also off limits.

Rules to know before you go

Whole crag closed (from 1 October 2026). Valdieri's mayor issued Ordinanza Sindacale n. 55 del 01/10/2026, ordering a "divieto assoluto di accesso ai non addetti ai lavori alle pareti di arrampicata e ai sentieri sottesi alle stesse" (no access for anyone other than the work crews to the climbing walls and the paths below them). Sport climbing is banned in every sector: Sinistro, Anfiteatro, Centrale, Destro, Parete del Forte and Omaggio. The reason given is "potenziali condizioni di pericolo" (potential hazards), requiring urgent maintenance and an assessment of the anchors and the stability of the routes, with a risk of rockfall during the work. The order stays in force until the work is finished and the site is certified, with no date given; offenders face article 650 of the Penal Code.

Aree Protette Alpi Marittime republished the order and adds that the work is funded with €50,000 from the FOSMIT fund of the Unione Montana Alpi del Mare. As for the cause, Unione Monregalese reported that the crag's equipment had been damaged by a fire "nei mesi scorsi" (in recent months) (secondary: a local news report; the order itself does not mention a fire). As of October 2026 neither the town nor the park has announced a reopening. Before you go, check the park's closures page and the Valdieri town website.

Spring peregrine closure. The crag lies inside the Natura 2000 site "Alpi Marittime" (ZSC/ZPS IT1160056). In spring 2026 the park announced that peregrine falcons were nesting in the central sector and banned climbing on the routes from "Ciucco di mosto" to "La Rampogna" (including the G.T.A. traverse), as well as close-up watching or filming, until about June or until the young had fledged; offenders are fined under regional law L.R. 19/2009, article 40. The park says the nesting season generally runs from February to the end of June, so the sector may close again in spring after the crag reopens; check the same closures page.

Land. The order states that every sector lies on municipal land (Foglio 5, Mappale 282).

Rescue. Call 112, say it is a mountain accident and ask for the Soccorso Alpino (CNSAS).

Routes by level

YDS and V-grade conversions follow the Mountain Project international grade comparison chart and are approximate; "approx." marks grades the sources give without a/b/c (such as 4 or 5+). The original grade is the one that counts.

Route names and grades below come mainly from the thetopo (27crags) route list, and popularity from the 8a.nu Andonno route list. Sites often differ by half a grade, so both are given. Every route is currently inside the closure.

Beginner: up to 6a (YDS 5.10a and below)

The right-hand Texas wall and the central Karcadè wall have a few routes from 5+ to 6a; overall there is little for beginners (theCrag).

Intermediate: 6a+ to 6c+ (YDS 5.10b–5.11c)

The central and right-hand sectors (Texas, Gatto Parnaso, Omaggio, Parete del Forte) cluster at this level; all 15 routes thetopo lists at Omaggio are 6a to 6c+.

Advanced: 7a to 7c+ (YDS 5.11d–5.13a)

The most-logged routes on 8a.nu are all in the Anfiteatro, and 7a to 7c+ is the heart of the crag.

Expert: 8a and up (YDS 5.13b and up)

The Sì and Futuro walls of the Anfiteatro are why Andonno is famous.

Where to look things up

• Aree Protette Alpi Marittime closures page: temporary and permanent wall closures in the park area; the Andonno order is posted here too.
• Valdieri town website: mayoral orders and reopening notices (the online notice board is "Albo Pretorio on line" on the home page).
• Grandabus timetables: the current line 77 timetable.
• theCrag: Falesia Andonno, thetopo (27crags), falesia.it: route lists, sectors and approaches.
• 8a.nu: logged ascents and popular routes.
• Guidebooks: Grades and route counts here come mainly from online databases; the guidebook is the authority.
  • Cuneo Rock (Simone Greci, Keoma Chiavassa, Enrico Turnaturi, Versante Sud, 2025, Italian): crags across the Cuneo valleys (Maira, Grana, Stura, Gesso, Vermenagna, Ellero, Tanaro and others), including Andonno, Casterino and Pian Bernardo; the publisher says Andonno "resti ancora una delle più importanti falesie in Italia".
  • Andonno e Cuneese (edited by Severino Scassa, Versante Sud): the first complete guide to the Cuneo area, now superseded by Cuneo Rock (Oliunid).

References

• Comune di Valdieri: Ordinanza Sindacale n. 55 del 01/10/2026 (PDF)
• Aree Protette Alpi Marittime: Chiusura temporanea della palestra di roccia in Frazione Andonno
• Aree Protette Alpi Marittime: Chiusure temporanee o permanenti di pareti o accessi a siti d'arrampicata
• Aree Protette Alpi Marittime: Regolamentazione temporanea della falesia di Andonno (spring 2026)
• Unione Monregalese: Vietato arrampicare sulla falesia di Andonno (2026-10-02)
• Comune di Valdieri
• Planetmountain: Andonno
• Planetmountain: Laura Rogora makes first female ascent of Lapsus (2023)
• Oliunid: Noia and the climbing history of Andonno in Cuneese
• theCrag: Falesia Andonno
• falesia.it: Andonno
• thetopo: Andonno route list
• 8a.nu: Cuneo area crags
• 8a.nu: Andonno routes
• Climb Europe: Northwest Italy rock climbing areas
• Benese: Linea 77 Cuneo–Entracque timetable (PDF)
• Grandabus: Linea 77
• Grandabus: timetables
• CNSAS: Distress call
• Versante Sud: Cuneo Rock
• Mountain Project: International Climbing Grades