Champorcher: Streamside Bouldering in the Lower Aosta Valley, With the 8B+ Ghost Ship Right by the Car | Italy Climbing Crags

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Champorcher is a side valley that branches south off the lower Aosta Valley, with its mouth at Hône, close to the fort of Bard. The boulders are on the road up towards Champorcher village, in Val de la Legne, scattered along a stream and through fir woods. When Niccolò Ceria made the first ascent of The Ghost Ship (8B+) here in 2013, he wrote on Planetmountain that this "might be the best bouldering area in the entire Valle d'Aosta"; the most famous boulder is by the road and you can park right underneath it.

This post helps you decide how many problems there are at your grade, which months to go, and how to get there without a car. For a season comparison of Italian crags, see the series overview; for multi-pitch in the same part of the valley, see Corma di Machaby / Arnad.

What kind of crag is it

Sources disagree on the rock. MadBoulder and the Italian bouldering site InfoBoulder both say serpentine; UKC Logbook says granite and calls it "The finest collection of granite boulders in the Aosta Valley". Ceria's description is more useful: rock quality is good overall but varies a lot from boulder to boulder, some with incredible friction, others "glassy", almost smooth.

Style. Separate boulders along the two forks of the road, from slabs to overhangs. MadBoulder says some are right by the car and others need a walk through fir woods and across streams.

Scale. Sources count differently (checked 2026-10-19):

Popularity. On 8a.nu's list of Italian bouldering areas, Champorcher has 1,694 logged ascents and ranks 13th (checked October 2026).

Who it suits. Most problems are Font 6B to 7B, so it suits boulderers who already climb 6B and up and want several days of problems. There are some 5+ to 6A problems, but not many; at the top end there are problems of 8B and harder.

When to go

Altitude. UKC says 1,224 m, MadBoulder 1,315 m, InfoBoulder 1,400 m; the Champorcher tourist site labels Valle della Legna as 1,200–1,400 m (Visit Champorcher). That is cooler than the Aosta Valley floor, but still warm at midday in high summer, and winter depends on snow.

Winter driving. Visit Champorcher reminds drivers that in winter chains and snow tyres are mandatory on the way up, and diesel cars need alpine or arctic fuel or it will gel (Visit Champorcher).

Getting there

Public transport

The railway is closed. The Aosta–Ivrea railway has been shut since January 2024 for electrification, including works at Hône-Bard station at the valley mouth, with replacement buses in the meantime (Regione Valle d'Aosta). A 2026 regional notice says Ivrea–Pont-Saint-Martin should reopen first on 11 January 2027, with trains to Aosta by spring 2027 (Regione Valle d'Aosta; checked October 2026).

Valley bus. Visit Champorcher says that coming from Milan or Turin you take the bus up from Pont-Saint-Martin (railway station or Piazza IV Novembre), and coming from Aosta from the Verrès bus stop, on the "Champorcher – Verrès – Pont Saint Martin" line. Buses here are run by Arriva and VITA (regional list of bus operators); check their timetables. The boulders are up the Val de la Legne fork, so which stop is closest depends on the stop names in the timetable; changing buses with a crash pad is hard work, and in practice most people drive.

Driving

Visit Champorcher's directions: leave the A5 at Pont-Saint-Martin, take the SS26 towards Aosta, and about 1 km past Bard turn left at the roundabout into Hône, then follow the main road through Pontboset towards Champorcher; from Aosta, leave at Verrès and turn right at the roundabout about 3 km past Arnad. Ceria wrote on Planetmountain that about 12 km up from Hône you turn left into Val de la Legne and after about 800 m cross a bridge, with the boulder just beyond; InfoBoulder says about 13 km, with the turn just after a right-hand hairpin.

Parking

UKC says to follow the carved wooden signs off the main road; after crossing the river there is a large parking area on the right in front of the Ghost Ship boulder. 27crags says every zone has its own parking spot and mentions a free camper area in Champorcher.

Rules to know before you go

No specific bouldering rules found. 27crags says "No special access issues". In October 2026 no rules from the municipality or a local group specific to the bouldering area were found. The usual rules apply: park in the marked spots and not on grass, take your rubbish home, and brush off tick marks before you leave.

Rescue. The Aosta Valley emergency number is 112; mountain rescue, the Soccorso Alpino Valdostano, has a free line, 800.800.319 (Regione Valle d'Aosta).

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.

This is a bouldering-only area. The four levels keep the series headings and hold problems of similar Font grade: beginner up to 6A, intermediate 6A+ to 6C+, advanced 7A to 7C+, expert 8A and up. Problems and ascent counts come mainly from the 27crags problem list (checked October 2026); counts are small and only a relative guide.

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

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

Advanced: 7a to 7c+ (YDS 5.11d–5.13a)

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

Most problems at this grade have seen only the first ascensionist and a handful of repeats, and sources often disagree on the grade.

Where to look things up

• Guidebooks: Grades and route counts here come mainly from online databases; the guidebook is the authority.
  • No dedicated Champorcher bouldering guidebook was found; the most complete topo is currently 27crags (mostly paid).
  • Aosta Valley Crags Vol. 1 (Andrea Mettadelli, Paolo Tombini, Nicola Vota, Versante Sud, 2025, English, 424 pages): lists the Champorcher Valley in its coverage, but it is mainly a single-pitch sport crag book and the publisher page does not say whether bouldering is included.
• 27crags: Champorcher Central: problem list, boulder topos and parking spots.
• MadBoulder: Champorcher: video beta for the hard problems.
• UKC Logbook, InfoBoulder: English and Italian area summaries with parking coordinates.
• Visit Champorcher: valley transport and winter driving rules.

References

• Planetmountain: Niccolò Ceria drifts up The ghost ship at Champorcher (2013)
• MadBoulder: Bouldering in Champorcher
• MadBoulder: Champorcher problem list
• UKC Logbook: Champorcher
• InfoBoulder: Champorcher
• 27crags: Champorcher Central
• 27crags: Champorcher route list
• 8a.nu: Italy bouldering crags
• Visit Champorcher: Climbing
• Visit Champorcher: How to get here (in Italian)
• Versante Sud: Aosta Valley Crags Vol. 1
• Regione Valle d'Aosta: Elettrificazione Aosta–Ivrea
• Regione Valle d'Aosta: Aosta–Ivrea line, final phase (2026)
• Regione Valle d'Aosta: Bus timetables
• Regione Valle d'Aosta: Calling for help
• Mountain Project international grade comparison chart