Zucco dell'Angelone – Terzo Sperone (Barzio) · Lecco & Valsassina · Italy
Read the cautionsEasy to bailBolting confidence: high
Three friendly pitches up a striking arched flake and compact slabs, then a short wall with one hard, reachy move that most people pull through. A 1980 route by the Savonittos and Alessandro Gogna, and the usual first half of a link-up with Gli Schiavi della Pietra on the spur above.
Well equipped with glue-ins and chained belays; caution is for loose blocks, a reachy crux and the unconfirmed status of the 2025 closure ordinance.
The route
Foto di Gruppo con Signorine takes the obvious arched flake on the Terzo Sperone of the Zucco dell'Angelone and the slabs above it. The first three pitches are 4b to 5a and well suited to a first multipitch; the last has a single move of about 6b+ on a blank wall that can be partly aided, or avoided altogether by a 5a exit onto the arête of the neighbouring Ortofresco. The route is equipped with glue-ins and chained belays and is abseiled, or used as the approach to Gli Schiavi della Pietra on the fourth spur. It is very popular with courses.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4c | 25 m | From the clearing go up right over easy rock and climb the vertical flake, partly by laybacking. Higher up the flake bends left and forces a few delicate traverse moves before a short vertical finish to the belay. A sling on a dead, precarious tree before the traverse has been suggested. Often called the best pitch. |
| P2 | 4b | 20 m | Slant left from the belay, then straight up linking pockets and flakes on a short, well-featured wall. Another line of glue-ins comes up from the left at a similar grade. The last bolt is a long way below the belay; a thread can be slung. |
| P3 | 5a | 20 m | A delicate, easy-angled slab with rather spaced bolts to a marked steepening. Climb it first on the left (glue-in) up a good crack, then traverse right and continue on featured slab to the belay. Gulliver warns of a large, obvious loose block on the steep section: do not pull on it. |
| P4 | 6b+ | 25 m | Straight up: a couple of easy metres to a vertical wall with one hard move (a tiny foothold on the left lets you reach a jug further left), partly aidable, so 5c and A0. Then enter a corner, leave it leftwards with an athletic move on big holds and follow flakes to the belay. Camptocamp gives 20 m. The easy alternative (5a) slants right to finish up the airy last pitch of Ortofresco. |
Getting there
From Lecco drive up the Valsassina to Barzio and follow signs to the Piani di Bobbio cable car, parking in the large car park at the lower station. The car park is paid and often full on winter days when the ski lifts run; parties then park in one of the free car parks in Barzio and take the skiers' shuttle or walk about 20 minutes. Reports from May and June 2026 found the lift closed for works and reached the path by stepping past a gate or fence beside the station.
About 20 minutes. Go to the far end of the car park and take the path into the wood on the right (signs for the Angelone crags). At the first junction go up right following 'Terzo Sperone'. The path climbs steeply, passes a short step with a chain and metal rungs and then the foot of the Primo Sperone, drops briefly, climbs again with a chain and continues across the hillside, partly in the wood, without taking the branch that climbs to the right. A last short steep descent with a chain leads round a rib to the foot of the Terzo Sperone. The spur is recognised by the clean arched flake rising from the right, which is the first pitch. The start is a few metres left of Ortofresco and right of a slab with harder single pitches.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Barzio - Piazzale funivia (camptocamp access point 112436)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 41720
Contains the route point and parking. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 45.96009, 9.46039 (crag) · Parking: 45.95560, 9.46452
Getting down
Abseil the route from the chained belays: four abseils of 25 m, or two of about 50 m by skipping every other station. Alternatively follow the chained path from the top, descending slightly, to the foot of the Quarto Sperone and continue up Gli Schiavi della Pietra. Camptocamp advises against walking down the gully from the third spur: it is steep, only partly chained and easy to knock stones down.
Retreat
Easy to bail
Abseiling the route is the recommended descent and every belay has a chain and abseil ring. You can come down from any stance in 25 m abseils.
Safety
Sun and weather
South facing at about 900 to 1150 m and in the sun for most of the day. Local sources call the Angelone climbable all year but advise against summer because the limestone gets hot. Winter days are common, although the car park fills with skiers.
Sun on the wall · S-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.
Climate figures for Lecco & Valsassina are not available yet
What to carry
Quickdraws and a couple of slings; no source gives a count for this route (the neighbouring routes list 12). Two 50 m ropes for the long abseils, or a single rope and four short ones. The route is climbed on quickdraws alone; one June 2024 party chose to add a #2 and a #0.75 cam on the last pitch. Helmet strongly advised.
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Foto di Gruppo con Signorine.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Italy · Lecco & Valsassina
The first route opened on the Zucco dell'Angelone, following the natural line of the fourth spur by corners, cracks, a chimney and friction slabs. Eight varied pitches at 5a to 5b with an easy crest to finish. Never hard but never trivial either.
5b8 pitches220 m
Italy · Lecco & Valsassina
A 1979 Ivan Guerini line up the big slab of the second spur: friction climbing on compact limestone with a few steeper steps, a fine third pitch and a corner to finish. Grades are even, around 5a to 5c, and the bolts are far enough apart that slab confidence matters. You abseil off.
5c6 pitches120 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Lecco & Valsassina
The harder companion to La Lumaca di Vetro on the second spur. Delicate slabs with spaced bolts lead to cracks and flakes, then a strenuous last pitch through an overhanging corner and a bulge that goes at 6b+ or mostly on aid. Varied and less travelled than its neighbours.
6b+6 pitches145 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Lecco & Valsassina
A short, varied introduction to the Angelone on the first spur, the closest to the car park. A friction slab, an easy traverse, a featured wall and then a small overhang and a fine cracked slab that is harder than old topos suggest. Quick to do and quick to abseil.
5c4 pitches80 m
Read the cautions
Around 6b+ · about 4 pitches
Slovenia · Vršič Pass (Julian Alps)
Sustained slab climbing up a striking black streak, clearly visible from the pass, on surprisingly good rock for this face. The crux is a move from slab into a corner on P2.
6b+4 pitches105 m
Read the cautions
Spain · Vilanova de Meià (Roca dels Arcs)
Four long, steep pitches on the left side of the Roca dels Arcs, sustained at 6a on good holds and not yet polished above the first pitch. The third pitch is the event: a reachy bulge to start, 30 m of gently overhanging strata, and a hard boulder move off a ledge to finish that most people grade 6c. That last move can be avoided by belaying on the neighbouring route.
6b+4 pitches160 m
Morocco · Todra Gorge (Todgha)
The four-pitch line between Prisa Mata and La voie du Scorpion: three pitches around 6a on walls and a corner, then a fine pillar and a bulge at 6b+. Less homogeneous than its neighbours and with some flaky rock, but a worthwhile third route on the wall.
6b+4 pitches150 m
Read the cautions
Greece · Cape Maleas (Peloponnese)
A four-pitch route on West Zobolo between Stin Ygeia Mas and Kipouros, alternating easier and harder pitches: 5b, 6a+, 5c and a 6b+ finish. Well supplied with bolts on paper, but documented only by the developers' topo table.
6b+4 pitches115 m
Read the cautions
Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.
