Lago di Agaro, Pinnacle sector (Premia) · Val d'Ossola · Italy
Read the cautionsEasy to bailBolting confidence: high
The classic moderate of the Agaro walls: 200 m of gneiss slab on edges and pockets above the reservoir. The first pitch has two hard moves of 6a to 6a+; after that it eases steadily to 5a. Bolts are spaced, so you need to be steady on 5c slab.
Every pitch is bolted and the belays are new, but the bolts are 8 mm and spaced on the easier ground, with some loose rock.
The route
Specchio delle mie Brame is the most repeated route on the Pinnacle sector above the Lago di Agaro, opened in 2007 by the guides Paolo Stoppini and Alberto Giovanola with Fulvio Epifani. It starts about 50 m left of the big detached pillar and climbs six pitches of slab and short steps. The difficulty is concentrated in the first pitch, where the slab steepens; the third pitch, 45 m of sustained 5c, is the best. Gulliver.it's description praises the bolting, but it is spaced in the easier sections and several visitors found it more serious than the neighbouring Freedom. New belays were fitted before the 2026 season.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6a+ | 30 m | 12 bolts | Slab and a step. The first bolts are high, then closer where the slab steepens for two hard moves on small edges with high feet, the second just below the belay. 6a on gulliver.it, 6a to 6a+ on camptocamp; the 6a move is obligatory. |
| P2 | 5c | 30 m | – | Start to the right, then a series of short walls. Not easy for the grade, and the bolts are far apart: in 2019 a party could not see the way across a slab to the third bolt, about 8 m away, and retreated. A large chalked flake is loose and best left alone. |
| P3 | 5c | 45 m | – | A very good long pitch, sustained without being hard, with one move of 6a and a short wall to finish. |
| P4 | 5b | 40 m | – | A lovely pitch on edges and pockets; the route eases. |
| P5 | 5a | 25 m | – | A short wall. Can be linked with pitch 6. |
| P6 | 5a | 25 m | – | A step with a good athletic exit. The last 5 m were wet in September 2025 but are well bolted. Some loose stones. |
Getting there
From the SS33 take the exit for the Valle Antigorio and Formazza and drive to Baceno, then towards Alpe Devero. After Goglio turn right at a penstock onto a very narrow, partly unsurfaced road through Ausone to the Agaro dam tunnel; a 2026 report notes a no-entry sign (authorised vehicles only) on this road. Park in the few spaces before the tunnel. The tunnel is 1.5 to 2 km long, single-lane and officially closed to traffic: most reports advise walking through (about 20 minutes, lights at the entrance, bring a torch). One 2026 party used e-bikes from the no-entry sign to the huts at the end of the lake.
About 50 minutes from the parking. After the tunnel go up to the keeper's house and take the path along the lake to the concrete spillway. Climb briefly left and follow the path that runs parallel to the lakeside one to a big cairn, then go left up steep tracks with cairns to the foot of the wall. The track is hard to follow: two parties found it simpler to continue to the huts at the far end of the lake and go up a stony gully or dry stream bed, which only works when it is dry. The name 'Specchio' is written at the base and a big cairn marks the start.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Spaces before the Agaro dam tunnel (camptocamp access waypoint 189957)
Point from gulliver.it map point for the route; camptocamp's own point for route 189826 is about 220 m away
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: 46.31000, 8.30584 (crag) · Parking: 46.29098, 8.30192
Getting down
Abseil the route. With two 60 m ropes you can join the abseils over the first two and the last two pitches, skipping the first and the penultimate belay.
Retreat
Easy to bail
Abseiling the route is the normal descent and the belays were renewed and linked in 2026. A party in 2019 retreated from the second pitch with a single abseil after recovering their quickdraws.
Safety
Sun and weather
South facing at about 1750 to 1950 m; June to October. The wall went into shade at about 17:00 in mid-September. Rain washes dirt down the face: it was very dirty after storms in 2019. A party in 2025 took 6 hours car to car.
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.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun (usual season) | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 4 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 8 | 4 |
| Mean daily low °C | −5 | −4 | −1 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 0 | −5 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 9 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 10 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 643 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
14 quickdraws (gulliver.it says 12) and a rope of at least 70 m; two 60 m ropes for faster abseils. A spanner for loose nuts. Helmet 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 Specchio delle mie Brame.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Italy · Val d'Ossola
A long, sunny friction-slab route of about 35 m pitches on excellent rock, ideal for learning footwork. The hardest move is a short crack-and-chimney finish on the last pitch. Allow about 3 h up and 1 h down.
5b13 pitches430 m
Italy · Val d'Ossola
Twelve long pitches of sunny gneiss slab above Oira, mostly 4c to 5b+ with two 6a pitches: a thin slab at the start and an athletic corner on pitch 10. Pitches are up to 55 m. A winter-sun route with a summit book and plaques at both ends.
6a12 pitches530 m
Italy · Val d'Ossola
A short beginner's multipitch on the slabs beside the 143 m Toce waterfall. Two very easy friction pitches, a steeper slab and a well-featured open corner to finish. Closely bolted, quick to reach and cooled by spray from the falls.
5b4 pitches120 m
Italy · Val d'Ossola
Three friendly pitches of 5a to 5b on rough, featured rock, then a change of gear: an intricate 6a with two traverses and a short, powerful 6a+ through juggy bulges that can be pulled through on fixed cords. A half-day route in the Veglia-Devero park, an hour's walk past Crampiolo.
6a+5 pitches160 m
Around 6a+ · about 6 pitches
Switzerland · Furka
The classic of the Hannibalturm: six short, wandering pitches of slab, quartz veins, cracks and a 6a+ slab crux on perfect high-mountain granite at 2800 m. A bench and a bus-stop sign wait on the summit. Very popular, so expect company.
6a+6 pitches180 m
Spain · Costa Blanca (Morro Falquí)
A superb sea-cliff multipitch. P4 makes an impressive exposed exit from a cave with 100 m of air below, and the 6a+ P5 has a chimney and fingery slab. Balancy, airy and great for introducing someone to multipitch.
6a+6 pitches170 m
Read the cautions
France · Chamonix valley
The great classic of the Aiguilles Rouges: six varied pitches of gneiss, ten minutes downhill from the Brévent cable car and finishing at its top station, with Mont Blanc opposite. The crux is a short, physical corner crack and the last pitch is a long, clean corner. It is extremely popular.
6a+6 pitches200 m
Switzerland · Bernese Oberland
Six fairly short pitches on the left-hand sector of Hintisberg, left of the big overhangs. The first three are moderate and on less good rock; the upper three are steeper, with the 6a+ crux on small edges on pitch 4, and finish on a grassy top with the whole Bernese Oberland in view. Grades are on the stiff side.
6a+6 pitches180 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.