Pizzo d'Erna – Punta Centa (Lecco) · Lecco & Valsassina · Italy
A short, steep sport multipitch on the Punta Centa, the grey limestone pillar of the Pizzo d'Erna above Lecco, climbing almost parallel to the Gamma 1 via ferrata with a big view over the town and lake. Technical slabs and walls get steadily harder, with the 6c+ and 6c pitches at the top, but the obligatory grade is only about 6a because the bolts are close. Expect a few friable holds and people on the ferrata beside you.
Closely bolted with stainless steel throughout, but there is some friable rock, stonefall from the busy via ferrata alongside, and no recent detailed report to confirm its current state.
6c+VIII-5.11c6 pitches · 150 mEasy to bail
Via Mariet climbs the Punta Centa, the pillar crossed by the upper part of the Gamma 1 via ferrata on the Pizzo d'Erna, the peak above Lecco reached by the Piani d'Erna cable car. Giuseppe Rocchi and Jacopo Valsecchi of CAI Calolziocorte equipped it over twelve days in 2013 in memory of Mario 'Mariet' Conti. It gives six pitches and about 150 m of slab and wall climbing on grey limestone, getting harder as you go: 5c to 6b in the first four pitches, then a 6c+ slab with two bulges and a 6c overhanging crack to finish. The stainless bolting is close enough that the obligatory level is about 6a, and you can retreat from any belay.
No topo we can show; see the sources.
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5cVI5.9 | 20 m | A small slab with plenty of sculpted holds to a ledge on the right. |
| P2 | 6b+VII+5.10d | 30 m | A fine vertical slab with one technical move, sustained to a ledge, then a few more metres on the right to the belay. |
| P3 | 5c/6a | 25 m | Traverse along a fixed rope to a flake with an obvious bolt, climb straight up for a few metres, then trend right on slightly delicate rock to a belay at the foot of a rounded arête. |
| P4 | 6bVII5.10c | 25 m | A few committing moves up a small pillar with good holds, then exit right onto easier broken ground. Belay either on a tree or traverse a short way right on a fixed rope to a chain-and-ring belay. |
| P5 | 6c+VIII-5.11c | 25 m | A fine vertical slab with two bulges: continuous, physical climbing with moves you cannot avoid. |
| P6 | 6cVIII-5.11b | 25 m | A few vertical metres to a committing move out of a bulge, then a faint crack, overhanging at first (the crux), and a final vertical wall on big holds to the right. The rock is slightly friable in places. The route ends a few metres below the top of the pillar. |
From Lecco follow signs for the Piani d'Erna cable car to its base station car park at Versasio (about 600 m), above the Malnago district. The approach described by the sources starts on foot from this car park; the cable car itself is not needed.
About 50 min. From the cable car car park walk up to Rifugio Stoppani, then take the path left towards a farmhouse and continue until you meet the Gamma 1 via ferrata. Follow its easy first section to the foot of the pillar. A few metres before the ladder, leave the ferrata and go down alongside the pillar on a fixed rope to the start. The route starts where the fixed rope ends: you pass the start of another route first. Camptocamp suggests climbing the first section of the ferrata itself to the foot of the pillar as the better option.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Versasio, Piani d'Erna cable car car park (camptocamp waypoint 112589)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 286637 (Pizzo d'Erna summit; the route ends just below it beside the Gamma 1 ferrata)
Contains the route point and parking.
Points from published sources, not surveyed.
Coordinates: 45.86186, 9.44577 (crag) · Parking: 45.86340, 9.42826
The route ends a few metres below the top of the pillar and 2 m from the Gamma 1 via ferrata. Follow the ferrata down; it leads back to the start in a short time. Alternatively, from the belay after the rising traverse you can abseil with two 27 m abseils.
Easy to bail
The first ascensionists say you can stop at any point. Every belay is a stainless bolt anchor, the pitches are 20 to 30 m, and after the rising traverse two 27 m abseils take you down. The top is 2 m from the via ferrata, so the descent is also short.
112Emergency, where the single number is in service
Where 112 is not yet the single number, call 118 and ask for CNSAS.
Position of the crag
45.86186, 9.44577
Marks the crag, not the route: give route and pitch.
Say what happened, how many are hurt, and where you are. Checked October 2026 (sourceofficial sources).
Single 60 m rope and 15 quickdraws (camptocamp; the first ascensionists' description says 14). Helmet essential. If you descend the via ferrata, bring whatever you need to be safe on it (the sources do not say whether climbers clip in or move roped).
West facing, on a pillar just below the Pizzo d'Erna summit (1375 m), so it is in shade in the morning and gets the afternoon sun (inferred from the aspect). No source gives a season; the months shown are inferred for a west-facing Prealps limestone wall at this height.
Forecast · next 7 days · 1375 m
Loading the forecast.
| Measure | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Low °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rain mm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chance of rain % | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Strongest gusts km/h | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Model forecast for 1375 m. It cannot tell you whether the rock is dry. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
Time plan · 6 pitches
Working out sunrise and sunset.
An estimate. Queues and route finding cost time, and shaded walls go dark before sunset. Local time (Central European time), flat horizon.
Sun on the wall · W-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
From the aspect alone; terrain is ignored. Local time, 15th of each month.
Climate figures for Lecco & Valsassina are not available yet
Straight-line distances, up to 30 km.
No reports yet.
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.
5bVI-5.88 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.
5cVI5.96 pitches120 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Lecco & Valsassina
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.
6b+VII+5.10d4 pitches90 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+VII+5.10d6 pitches145 m
Read the cautions
Around 6c+ · about 6 pitches
Croatia · Paklenica
The line used for Paklenica's annual Big Wall Speed Climbing competition: steep, direct and on very rough rock that has stayed unpolished. A sustained 45 m 6c+ pitch on small holds is the crux, followed by sharp runnels, a big corner and three overhangs to finish. Fifteen minutes from the car.
6c+VIII-5.11c6 pitches200 m
Croatia · Omiš
A 2024 line up the detached needle, nicknamed the Salami, on the south flank of Kula in the Cetina canyon behind Omiš. Five sustained pitches of 6b to 6c+ on excellent rock, split by a short walk across a ledge: crack-seamed slab, water grooves, an airy corner crack and steep technical wall climbing on the headwall. The obligatory grade is high.
6c+VIII-5.11c6 pitches220 m
Read the cautions
Spain · Costa Blanca (Peñón de Ifach)
The sport classic of the Peñón: a thin slab, a corner crack that steepens into an overhang, a pillar, then a wild exit from a big cave 200 m above the sea. Sustained at 6b with a 6c fifth pitch on polished slopers and a 6c+ last pitch whose crux can be pulled through on a bolt.
6c+VIII-5.11c7 pitches220 m
France · Calanques
Seven short, steep pitches up the ochre sea cliff of Cap Canaille, through three kinds of rock: overhanging jugs low down, a leftward traverse on huge fragile holds into a cave, a big roof and a thin wall of sandstone, then vertical conglomerate where you choose your cobble. Homogeneous at 6b to 6b+ with one harder move leaving the roof. The lower two pitches are sandy and friable.
6c+VIII-5.11c7 pitches150 m
Read the cautionsCommitting
Compiled from published sources, last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.