Piccolo Dain – Parete del Limarò (Sarche) · Arco & Valle del Sarca · Italy
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
A succession of short walls and slabs separated by ledges, with the first two pitches shared with Amazzonia. The crux is a single 5c/6a move just below the P5 belay. It's a relaxed, well-protected outing above the Sarche gorge.
The route
Orizzonti Dolomitici is the easy plaisir classic of the Parete del Limarò, the wall of the Piccolo Dain above the Sarca gorge at Sarche. Ten pitches and 250–270 m of short walls and slabs separated by ledges, with a corner system near the top; the first two pitches are a shared traversing entry with Amazzonia. The crux is a single hard move just below the P5 belay, given 5c/6a, and every hard move can be pulled through on the bolts. It is very well protected and very popular, so expect to queue at the start.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4b | Straight up, then traverse slightly left. Shared with Amazzonia. Altered in 2026 by new rockfall catch nets; check the current topo. |
| P2 | 3a | Traverse left. Shared with Amazzonia and also altered in 2026. At the end of the traverse do not go too far left into Amazzonia: the Orizzonti belay has the route name written in pale pink, and the route leaves above R2, slightly left. |
| P3 | 5a | A slabby wall. |
| P4 | 4b | Follow a ramp rising to the right. |
| P5 | 5c | A grade V move, then a harder move just below the belay, both on short walls. Camptocamp grades the pitch 5c/6a. The crux of the route; it can be aided on the bolts. |
| P6 | 4c | Follow the flake, then come back left. A slightly steeper pitch. |
| P7 | 5a | Head for the left-hand corner; a nice slab to finish. |
| P8 | 4b | Enter the corner. |
| P9 | 5b | Follow the corner, then move back onto a ledge on the left at the end of the pitch. |
| P10 | 5b | Exit up a short wall. An unbolted ramp then leads to the top of the wall. |
Getting there
Sarche is at the north end of the Sarca valley on the road from Trento to Riva del Garda and Arco. bergsteigen.com says to park in the centre of Sarche at the junction for Madonna di Campiglio. Camptocamp instead takes the Comano Terme road, crosses the bridge and parks on a small road immediately on the left.
10–15 min. From the village walk the Madonna di Campiglio / Comano Terme road to the bridge over the Sarca. Just before the bridge (on the Sarche side) take the gravel track along the river bank; Camptocamp notes it crosses private property. Follow it until you reach the iron gate of the hydroelectric weir. The route starts just right of the gate. This start is the shared entry for three popular multipitch routes.
Loading map
The point marks the base of the route.
Parking
Parking marked on bergsteigen.com
Point from bergsteigen.com touren.aspx?ID=1429
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: 46.04760, 10.94580 (route base) · Parking: 46.04760, 10.95100
Getting down
Walk off, 45 min to 1 h. From the top of the wall keep going up for about 10 minutes on a red-marked path heading west towards the big walls of the Piccolo Dain, until you meet the descent trail coming down from Piccolo Dain / Ranzo. Turn right on it and follow it down to Sarche. A 2011 party found the descent hard to find from a vague description. Do not abseil: the belays have chains and maillons, but abseiling lands you inside the dam enclosure.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
Only in an emergency. The belays have chains and maillons, so you can physically abseil. The sources say not to, because the abseils land inside the fenced dam enclosure. If the climbing is the problem, every hard move can be aided on the bolts and the walk-off from the top is the intended way down.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-west facing (Camptocamp and thetopo; bergsteigen.com says south), low altitude (base about 260 m). The wall is in the sun from mid-morning, around 10:00, and then gets very hot: bergsteigen.com calls midsummer midday almost impossible. Start early or late in the afternoon, which also avoids the queue at the gate. Normally team after team on the route.
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 Arco & Valle del Sarca are not available yet
What to carry
One 50 m single rope and 11 quickdraws (bergsteigen.com); no nuts or cams needed. A helmet is called essential.
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 Orizzonti Dolomitici.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Italy · Arco & Valle del Sarca
This is the archetypal long, easy Arco slab, first climbed in 1971. It wanders up the lower bands and then improves into a superb water-worn chimney system in the upper half. It is very polished and very busy, so start early. Original grade 6- UIAA per bergsteigen.com; gulliver gives 5c max.
5c16 pitches400 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Arco & Valle del Sarca
An easy, relaxing sport route on low-angle Zebrate slabs, trending left to right to join Cane Trippa at the fifth belay. It's an excellent first multipitch. Gulliver gives UIAA III / II–III / IV / IV–IV+ for the first four pitches, converted here.
5b6 pitches240 m
Italy · Arco & Valle del Sarca
Eight sustained pitches up the wall opposite the Laterna restaurant, rarely easier than 6a. The crux is a short overhanging wall on pitch 5 that can be pulled through on the bolts. Less cleaned than its neighbours, with some broken rock on pitch 6.
6c+8 pitches220 m
Italy · Arco & Valle del Sarca
Six pitches of steep wall and corner climbing up a pillar, almost never below 6a. Closely bolted and on good rock, so it works as a first 6b+ multipitch. The slightly overhanging slab on the last pitch catches out tired arms.
6b+6 pitches170 m
Around 5c · about 10 pitches
France · Ailefroide
One of the best-known slab routes at Ailefroide: eleven pitches up the big inclined plane on the foothills of the Pelvoux, directly above the village. The style never changes, slab from bottom to top, mostly 5b with two pitches of 5c. The approach gully, damaged by a rockfall in 2013, is the serious part of the day.
5c11 pitches300 m
Read the cautions
France · Ariège Pyrenees
Consistent, low-angled slab climbing on compact granite, with 10 pitches of 5a–5b+ on the big east face. Above all it is a long, sunny-morning moderate.
5b+10 pitches400 m
Read the cautions
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
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
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.
.jpg){kind=link}