‘Schafott'(‘Scaffold’), ‘Fingerfresser’ (‘Finger Muncher’), ‘Hirnriß’ (‘Basket Case’)…no, no one’s been bitten by wild apes – there are also more accessible names, such as ‘Vinschger Wind’ (‘Vinschgau Wind’) and ‘Bombenfels’ (‘Bomb Rock’). All five are climbing routes on the Nesselwand. They beckon climbers to challenging endurance and slab climbs on marble from Laas.

But there are crags all over South Tyrol, which sprout out of the ground like mushrooms to delight old climbing hands and newcomers to sport climbing. Vertical Life features over 107 crags and 4227 routes with unusual, self-explanatory and mysterious names. The crags themselves often have very imaginative names, too, as our title lines suggest.

Between marble and granite

The beauty of the crags in South Tyrol is their variety: besides the marble slabs at Laas (climbing on marble is a real treat for experienced climbers!), there is of course the limestone of the Dolomites: pocket climbing against the legendary backdrop of this UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. Now, in the places where fingers seek a grip, camalots and friends are wedged in and runners pulled tight, drops and trickles of water have been wearing away the space year upon year and continue to create new holds and anchoring points that weren’t there last time.

Tricky ledge climbing on the vertical porphyry plate on Ritten plateau, the beginner-friendly, well structured gneiss wall with generous holds at Burgstollknott near Partschins in Vinschgau valley, slate and gneiss at Stohlwond climbing wall near Ratschings in Wipptal valley, and real granite at Rein in Taufers in Pustertal valley. The variety of rock here may also be said to apply to the levels of difficulty: beginners, intermediate, experienced, professional – there are cool routes for everyone to climb in freedom and safety. There’s a wall for every season, too: warmed by the sun in winter, shady for hot summer days, and overhanging for rainy days.

A more exhaustive list of climbing parks and routes may be found at Vertical Life and on the webpages of South Tyrol Alpine Club, or in paper form in the German-Italian bilingual publication ‘Sportklettern & Bouldern in Südtirol – Arrampicata sportiva & Boulder nel Sudtirolo‘.

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