Corma di Machaby / Arnad: Low-Altitude Gneiss Slab Multi-Pitch and One of North-West Italy's Oldest Sport Crags | Italy Climbing Crags

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Driving the A5 from Turin towards Aosta, past Pont-Saint-Martin and the fort of Bard, you see a big pinkish wall at the foot of the mountains on the north side: Corma di Machaby, next to the village of Arnad. UKC Logbook says that in the 1970s Turin climbers went looking for low valley walls other than old crags like Rocca Sbarua, where they could train all year without snow or ice, and Machaby became known then. The Aosta Valley tourist board says the neighbouring Gruviera is "probabilmente la prima chiodata in Valle d'Aosta", probably the first bolted crag in the valley (lovevda: Gruviera).

This post helps you decide which sector suits 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 alpine granite in the same valley, see the Italian side of Mont Blanc; for bouldering nearby, see Champorcher.

What kind of crag is it

Rock and style. Gneiss. The Courmayeur guides call it a "250m wall of perfect "gneiss" rock" (Società delle Guide di Courmayeur). The tourist board says the Paretone is shaped like a panettone (the Italian Christmas cake): compact, low-angled slabs with cracks, characteristic pockets and roofs, climbing that is "prettamente di aderenza ed equilibrio", mainly friction and balance (lovevda: Paretone).

Sectors.

• Paretone: the main wall, all multi-pitch, half a day or more. The tourist board lists 41 routes plus 6 in the Case Fara sector; grades 5c to 7a, average 6a; average length 200 m, shortest 35 m, longest 280 m.
• Pilastro Lomasti: a smaller pillar beside the Paretone. Turin's CAI climbing school, Scuola Gervasutti, recommends it for a first multi-pitch: about 200 m, "completamente spittate", bolted throughout (Scuola Gervasutti).
• Gruviera: a roadside single-pitch crag with a few two- or three-pitch lines. The tourist board lists 34 routes, 5b to 7b+, average 6a, 18–110 m long. Climbook says it saw "il primo 7a della Val d'Aosta", the valley's first 7a (Climbook: Gruviera).
• Corno di Machaby: a single-pitch sport crag above, around Machaby village at about 1,200 m. theCrag lists 31 routes, mostly 7a and up.

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

Who it suits. Climbers comfortable on 5c–6b multi-pitch who like slabs; Gruviera has plenty of 5b–6a single pitches that the tourist board calls ideal to "muovere i primi passi", take your first steps. Two cautions: UKC says of the Paretone "There a NO EASY routes on it" and that the old Mani Nude guide's grades are much softer than reality; the tourist board says Paretone bolts are "non troppo vicina", deliberately not close. Both suggest a guide if you lack experience.

When to go

Aspects disagree. UKC gives Corma di Machaby as south-west facing at 563 m; Climbook gives Gruviera as east to south-east at 350 m, losing the sun at 2 p.m. in winter behind the mountains opposite. The conclusion is the same: low and south-ish, too hot at midday in high summer, best in spring, autumn and sunny winter mornings. In summer, go up to Corno di Machaby at 1,200 m, or head for the high mountains.

Getting there

Public transport

The railway is closed. The Aosta–Ivrea railway has been shut since January 2024 for electrification, including the works at Hône-Bard station near Arnad, 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).

Buses. Arnad is in the lower-valley bus area run by Arriva and VITA (regional list of bus operators). Check stops and times on the operators' timetables before you go. If buses are sparse, a taxi from Pont-Saint-Martin or Verrès is the fallback.

Driving

UKC's directions: the wall is beside the old SS26 between Donnas and Arnad. From Aosta, leave the A5 at Verrès and follow signs for Arnad; from Turin or Milan, leave at Pont-Saint-Martin, follow Donnas, and a few kilometres past the fort of Bard you reach the same spot. The Courmayeur guides put it 70 km from Courmayeur and 90 km from Turin.

Parking

• Paretone: the tourist board says turn right off the Verrès exit, go past Arnad, and after an overpass, at the end of a straight, park on the left; the path starts opposite the car park. UKC says there is a restaurant and a big car park below the wall, very busy on Sundays; the approach is 20–25 minutes.
• Gruviera: after the same overpass turn left to the Osteria Arcaden restaurant and park; the crag is 50 m away.

Rules to know before you go

Walk down, don't abseil. The tourist board says Paretone belays have chains and rings, but the descent is mainly on foot by the paths on the east or north side; abseiling is for retreat only and "importuna eventuali scalatori", disturbs climbers below. vielunghe.com says it takes about 45 minutes from the top via Machaby village and the road, or about 30 minutes down the steep fixed-rope path along the foot of the wall.

It was closed in 2012. After a serious accident on 21 April 2012, the mayor of Arnad closed the whole of Corma di Machaby on 27 April, including Pilastro Lomasti, Paretone, Gruviera, Case Fara and the Paretina by the car park; the land belonged to what was then the Comunità Montana dell'Evançon (Planetmountain). On 18 May the mayor's ordinance no. 6 revoked the closure and all five sectors reopened (Planetmountain). No later closure notice was found in October 2026; the crag is a managed facility on public land, so any sign on site takes precedence.

Individual routes (database reports). Climbook's Gruviera list marks the first pitch of Diedro rosso "SCHIODATA (caduta massi, marzo 2025)", de-bolted after rockfall in March 2025, and notes that the first bolt on Lucida follia is too high. theCrag's Corno di Machaby page flags "Due spit mobili", two loose bolts, on La Rampla (undated). These are user reports, not notices from the maintainers.

Loose block on Pleiades. vielunghe.com warns of a detached block on pitch 3 of Pleiades that should not be touched.

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.

For Paretone multi-pitch the grade column gives the hardest pitch. UKC warns grades here run stiff and the old guide undergrades; a Climbook user notes that pitch grades in the various guides are "molto vari". Single pitches are concentrated at Gruviera, hard single pitches at Corno di Machaby above.

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

The two most repeated Paretone routes are in this band; Gruviera's easy routes mostly have 20 or more Climbook logs.

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)

Only Corno di Machaby above has this grade; theCrag records just 7 ascents there, so data are thin.

Where to look things up

• Guidebooks: Grades and route counts here come mainly from online databases; the guidebook is the authority.
  • Valle d'Aosta Sport Climbing (Massimo Bal, Patrick Raspo, Tipografia Valdostana, 2025 edition, Italian and English, 614 pages): 2,468 single pitches and 316 multi-pitch routes across the Aosta Valley; bookshop Piz Bube notes the 2025 edition is a revised reprint of the 2022 first edition. It replaces the old Mani Nude.
  • Aosta Valley Crags Vol. 1 (Andrea Mettadelli, Paolo Tombini, Nicola Vota, Versante Sud, 2025, English, 424 pages): single-pitch crags within about 50 km of the fort of Bard; its coverage list includes the Lower Aosta Valley and the Champorcher Valley.
• lovevda climbing database: the regional tourist board's crag pages, with season, aspect, parking and descent.
• Climbook: Gruviera, Paretone: Italian route lists with repeat counts and user reports on bolts.
• UKC Logbook, theCrag, 27crags: English crag summaries and route lists.
• vielunghe.com: pitch-by-pitch descriptions of the Paretone multi-pitch routes (Italian).

References

• lovevda: Palestra di arrampicata Paretone
• lovevda: Palestra di arrampicata La Gruviera
• UKC Logbook: Corma di Machaby
• Società delle Guide di Courmayeur: Arrampicare a Machaby
• Scuola Gervasutti: Per cominciare – Roccia
• Planetmountain: Chiusura della falesia La Corma di Machaby (2012)
• Planetmountain: Riapertura di La Corma di Machaby (2012)
• Climbook: Corma di Machaby (Paretone)
• Climbook: Gruviera
• theCrag: Corno di Machaby
• theCrag: Cubo di Arnad
• 27crags: Cubo di Arnad route list
• thetopo: Bega
• vielunghe.com: Machaby – Via Pleiades
• inmontagna.blog: Via Bucce d'Arancia alla Corma di Machaby
• Libri di Montagna: Valle d'Aosta sport climbing
• Piz Bube: Valle d'Aosta sport climbing
• 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