Monte Oddeu, east face (Dorgali) · Sardinia · Italy
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
Eight short, steep pitches up the grey and yellow east face of Monte Oddeu, sustained at 6a with two pitches of 6b. Sculpted, grippy rock that parties compare to the Verdon, with ledges that give comfortable belays. The hard move on pitch 5 can be aided.
The route
L'Imbrago... Bello Stretto takes the east face of Monte Oddeu between the two big orange patches, a few minutes along the wall from Alfredo Alfredo. Daniele Turco and Marco Marceddu bolted it from the ground up in 2015 and freed it in January 2016. The pitches are short and winding, mostly vertical walls on sharp grey limestone, with a yellow tufa wall and a roof traverse on pitch 5 and a fine wall and corner on pitch 6. Ledges and bushes break the exposure but make for good belays. Recent parties rate it among the best routes on the face.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6a | 30 m | 9 bolts | A vertical grey wall to easier ground, diagonally left, then a wall that starts well featured and becomes more compact. Belay under the overhangs, chained but not very comfortable. Two recent parties found it easy for 6a. |
| P2 | 6a | 25 m | 7 bolts | Traverse left under the overhang on a compact slab with a thin move at the end, pull through the weakest point on good holds and climb a featured wall to a good terrace on the right. Chained abseil belay. |
| P3 | 6a | 30 m | 9 bolts | Straight up sustained grey walls, harder at the top, to a small ledge under the yellow wall. Belay on rings. Felt a little harder than the first two pitches. |
| P4 | 5c | 15 m | 5 bolts | Start rightwards, avoiding the block on the left, pull over a small yellow roof on good holds and continue up a juggy wall, then left to the comfortable middle ledge. Chained abseil belay. |
| P5 | 6b | 15 m | 7 bolts | A short hard section just above the belay on a yellow wall of concretions, closely bolted and easy to aid. Reach the base of the roof and traverse well left along its lip, then pull over. Hanging belay on rings just above. |
| P6 | 6b | 20 m | 7 bolts | Up to a big horizontal yellow flake, along it, then long moves on a fine compact grey wall diagonally to the obvious corner-crack that leads to a comfortable terrace. Chained abseil belay. The fourth bolt lacked its hanger in October 2024. |
| P7 | 6a | 20 m | 7 bolts | Easy rock to the right, back left and straight up through several athletic little roofs, the last with a very long move, to a slab and a comfortable belay on rings. Fractured blocks: they seem stable but treat them carefully. |
| P8 | 6a+ | 30 m | 9 bolts | Sustained walls of compact grey rock trending right, with a harder move at the last bolt, to the belay on the edge of the face. Chained abseil belay. |
Getting there
From Dorgali drive the SS125 south towards Baunei, pass the Cala Gonone turn-off and at the next junction turn right down a small road into the Oddoene valley, following signs for Gola di Gorropu, to the concrete bridge over the river (S'Abba Arva). There is a paid car park at the bridge. To park closer, cross the bridge, follow the track on the right for 500 m and take a narrowing track on the left that ends after less than 100 m, where there are a few spaces. After heavy rain in January 2026 the last 500 m were only just passable in an ordinary car.
20 minutes. From the end of the side track a path starts as an alternative way to the Surtana gate. After about 100 m leave the main path at a cairn (the junction is blocked by a few stones) and follow the barbed-wire fence faithfully until it ends against the wall of Monte Oddeu. Follow the track along the foot of the wall for 5 to 10 minutes to a small grassy clearing halfway between the two big yellow-orange areas of the face. The name is written at the base but is hard to read from a distance.
Loading map
The point is approximate: it marks the area, not the crag.
Coordinates · area: approximate
Parking
Car park at the concrete bridge over the Riu Flumineddu (camptocamp access waypoint 345401)
Point from gulliver.it map point for the route; it lies about 460 m from the bridge and may mark the parking spot rather than the base of the wall
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: 40.22745, 9.51251 (area) · Parking: 40.22388, 9.51544
Getting down
On foot, about 40 minutes. From the top go down the limestone pavement on the far side of the ridge, following the gully, at first on its right bank. Halfway down two cairned lines split: the left one joins the Surtana path and the Scala di Surtana back to the parking and is the recommended way; the right one is less convenient, with some easy downclimbing, and traverses back to the foot of the routes. Abseiling the route is possible in four (belay 8 to 6, 6 to 4, 4 to 2, 2 to the ground) using the chained belays, but two parties advise against it because of bushes and ledges that can trap the ropes.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
You can abseil the route from the chained belays (8 to 6, 6 to 4, 4 to 2, 2 to the ground), and gulliver.it lists that as an alternative descent. Parties advise against it as a routine descent because bushes and ledges can snag the ropes, and belays 3, 5 and 7 are on rings without chains.
Safety
Sun and weather
East to south-east facing, base at about 500 m. In the sun in the morning and in shade from early afternoon (about 13:30 in early January). Reports are from January, February, April, May and October; parties climbed in T-shirts in January. Too hot in summer. The rock is very rough.
Sun on the wall · E-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.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar (usual season) | Apr (usual season) | May (usual season) | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct (usual season) | Nov (usual season) | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 14 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 28 | 24 | 18 | 15 |
| Mean daily low °C | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 10 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 100 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
What to carry
10 quickdraws. Gulliver.it lists two half ropes and slings to link the belays that are on rings rather than chains. Cams are not needed: one 2024 party carried them unused, though a 2026 party thought a few small ones could reassure in places. Helmet.
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 L'Imbrago... Bello Stretto.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Italy · Sardinia
An airy, mostly left-rising traverse that spirals round the Pedra Longa sea stack to its summit, on water-runnelled grey walls and pocketed white rock right above the sea. It has become one of the most popular routes in Sardinia, so expect queues.
6a+7 pitches190 m
Committing
Italy · Sardinia
This is the easiest way to the top of Sardinia's iconic 140 m pinnacle above Cala Goloritzè. Short technical bulges and walls lead to a fine slab finish, and the harder overhangs can be aided. Gulliver splits it into 4 pitches; camptocamp gives 5. Check seasonal access rules for Cala Goloritzè before going.
6b5 pitches150 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Sardinia
A short but superb sea-cliff route on beautifully sculpted limestone in an incredible setting near Pan di Zucchero. Corners and an airy pillar lead to a steep, rounded 6a wall. Camptocamp rates it 'great'.
6a4 pitches120 m
Italy · Sardinia
The easiest line on the Capo Caccia sea cliff: six pitches of 4b to 4c on pocketed, sharply sculpted limestone above the open sea. You abseil in from the top and climb out. The first two pitches are vegetated; the climbing proper starts on the pitch 3 slab.
4c6 pitches145 m
Read the cautionsCommitting
Around 6b · about 8 pitches
Switzerland · Gastlosen
One of the best routes at 6a to 6b in the Gastlosen: eight varied pitches of pocketed slab, short walls, pillars and water-drop rock on the south-east face of the Wandflue. The first pitch is the 6b crux and the steep, pocketed wall of pitch 7 is the highlight. A few grassy ledges link the good rock.
6b8 pitches250 m
Read the cautions
Greece · Leonidio & Kyparissi
Short, mostly vertical pitches on beautiful multi-coloured limestone with varied climbing. It is sustained at 6a+/6b from P2 to the top. The route name is written at its base.
6b8 pitches160 m
Switzerland · Wiwanni (Baltschiedertal)
Eight short, varied pitches on the Gross Öugstchummuhorn. Three slab pitches lead to a steep, athletic 6a+ through a series of bulges and a tricky, exposed 6b traverse near the top. In the afternoon the pitches alternate between sun and shade, which gave the route its name.
6b8 pitches185 m
Croatia · Omiš
A long, varied line of slabs, corners and ledgy traverses up the middle of Ilinac. MP and plezanje.net count the pitches differently (7 vs 8) because they split the short easy top pitches differently.
6b8 pitches235 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.