Paretone di Arnad / Corma di Machaby (Arnad) · Aosta Valley · Italy
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
A long, easy-angled outing up the full height of the Paretone. A steeper lower half with an exposed pillar on P5 leads to sculpted slabs and broken steps higher up. It's a good first big multipitch.
The route
Lo Dzerby is a long, easy route up the left side of the Paretone above Arnad, in the Case Fara sector: 13 pitches and about 400 m to the top of the Corma di Machaby. The lower half is steeper, with two short 5c cruxes on P4 and P5 and an airy pillar; above that it is sculpted gneiss slabs, a vegetated ledge and broken steps. The difficulties are short and the rest is straightforward, which makes it a good first long route. The rock is very good, but the line is discontinuous, with two walking links.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5a | Runnelled slab, then a small corner. Belay on the left. |
| P2 | 3c | Easy-angled slab with a short step at the end. |
| P3 | 5a | A step, then traverse right to the 'gnome's ledge' (vire du nain). Gulliver gives 3c. |
| P4 | 5c | One hard move straight off the belay, then a leftward traverse across a black wall on big holds. Gulliver gives 5b; a 2026 party called it a genuine 5c move. |
| P5 | 5c | A hard move to start (reported a bit greasy), then a ledge, which you leave by the slab on the right to climb a fine exposed pillar. Variant: stay on the ledge to a belay on the parallel route and climb its 5b corner, rejoining mid-way up P6. |
| P6 | 3 | Link pitch with one move in the middle; at the end go right to the pillar. Belay on a single bolt. |
| P7 | 4a | Up the pillar to a well-sculpted face. |
| P8 | 4c | Continue up the face to a hanging belay. |
| P9 | 5a | The top of the face steepens, then a rounded exit to the right. |
| P10 | 4c | Cross the 'garden' slightly leftwards, then a mossy runnel to the upper steps. |
| P11 | 3c | Climbing up the steps. |
| P12 | 4a | More of the same. |
| P13 | 5b | Continue to the exit slab. Other sources grade this pitch much easier (3 to 3c). |
Getting there
Arnad, lower Aosta valley, on the SS26 between Pont-Saint-Martin and Verrès. Park at the Gruviera crag car park next to the Osteria l'Arcaden; the other car park under the wall is closed. Camptocamp rates public transport to Arnad as a good service.
5–15 min. From the car park walk past the osteria and the houses, and at a stone arch (the English text says: immediately left along the edge of a cultivated field; Gulliver: over the stone bridge across the meadows, on the Case Fara path, not the path to the main wall) take the path towards the cliff. It goes through woods and up the first buttresses. After 5–10 minutes you pass a gap in a dry-stone wall and reach a terrace by a ruin. Mitico Vento starts here (plaque); Lo Dzerby starts 10 m to the left and also has a metal name plaque.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
GPS line: one party's recorded GPS track of the whole day, including the climb and the descent. One party's recorded day in July 2024: from the car park by the osteria to the start, the climb, and the walk-off via Machaby back to the car. Do not follow it blindly.
GPS line: oskarmorales · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0Parking
Arnad (camptocamp access point)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 39748
Contains the route point, parking and a GPS line. 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: 45.63498, 7.73580 (crag) · Parking: 45.63457, 7.72929
Getting down
Walk off, about 45–50 min. From the top follow the cliff edge to the right; in 10 min you reach the stone houses below the summit and the Forte di Machaby (hostel and restaurant). From there either take the path that drops steeply through the forest beside the wall (fixed ropes, iron steps) to the bottom of the car park, or go round to the north down the Machaby access road (cobbled, then tarmac): 10–15 min longer but far less exposed.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
Probably, with some care. Gulliver says the belays have two bolts, a chain and an abseil ring. The exception is R6, which is a single bolt. No source describes abseiling the route, and pitch lengths are not published, so you cannot be sure a single 50 m rope reaches each belay below.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-west facing, 360–800 m, climbable for much of the year. In July a party found the first pitches in shade early and sun from P7; they started very early to avoid the heat. After rain the walls seep: in June 2024 a party found P1 and everything above running with water and bailed. Often windy, especially below R7. Queues are possible on the first four pitches.
Sun on the wall · SW-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 Aosta Valley are not available yet
What to carry
One 50 m rope and 12 quickdraws (Camptocamp). Helmet. No trad gear is mentioned by any source.
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 Lo Dzerby.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Italy · Aosta Valley
This is the most-climbed route on the Paretone. It gives sustained, varied slab and crack climbing on good gneiss, and the hardest moves are a fine crack on P2, a slanting corner and a punchy wall. Queues are common on good days. The Mani Nude guidebook grades it stiffly; camptocamp's Italian page calls it sustained at 5b–5c+ with a single 6a.
6a10 pitches290 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Aosta Valley
Along with Bucce d'Arancia this is the Paretone's other great classic (first ascent 1977, later retro-bolted). It climbs big, juggy, non-athletic slabs on beautiful rock up the centre of the wall to near the summit. Expect a few metres above the last bolt in places.
5c+9 pitches250 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Aosta Valley
Rated 'great' on camptocamp: a wild setting with a short, easy approach from Lavachey. It climbs edgy granite slabs and a pillar crest, with a three-star exposed slab on P9.
6a+11 pitches350 m
Italy · Aosta Valley
A pretty plaisir route on edgy, quartz-studded granite slabs beneath the Mont Blanc massif. The crux is a short bulge and steep juggy wall on P4. Camptocamp rates it 'great'.
6a7 pitches180 m
Around 5c · about 13 pitches
Morocco · Todra Gorge (Todgha)
Thirteen short pitches, mostly grade 4, with two 5c steps. The longest pitch is 45 m. A big day of easy mileage in the sun above the palm grove.
5c13 pitches340 m
France · Ailefroide
Ailefroide's best-known easy long route: a consistent run of 4th-grade slab and pillar climbing with two harder steps (5b+ on L4, a 5c friction move on L8). It is very popular, so start early.
5c12 pitches310 m
Spain · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos)
A long beginner's big route on good conglomerate at a moderate angle. Pitches can be linked in pairs with a 60 m rope. A four-pitch headwall with a couple of panzas finishes high above the Gállego valley.
5c14 pitches375 m
Spain · El Chorro
The longest easy line in El Chorro. It starts up a broken corner-ramp, then climbs a steeper wall trending right to the top. It's uncommitting and easy to link pitches, with some loose rock to watch for.
5c12 pitches310 m
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.