Cascata del Toce (Formazza) · Val d'Ossola · Italy
Easy to bailBolting confidence: high
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.
The route
Zar is one of two modern easy routes on the rock at the side of the Cascata del Toce, the big waterfall at the head of the Val Formazza. Franco Dattilo bolted it in August 2022. Gulliver.it places both routes on the left side of the fall, with the route called Toce on the left and Zar on the right; they run side by side and cross at one point. Zar has four pitches: two low-angle friction slabs, a slightly steeper slab and an open corner of 5a to 5b with good holds. Repeaters recommend it to people trying their first multipitch.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4a | A very low-angle slab climbed on friction, 3c to 4a, with close bolts. In 2025 the belay had no linking chain and had to be built on the two bolts. |
| P2 | 4a | More of the same. From the belay a connecting path leads to the upper section; one party used the pitch 2 belay of the neighbouring route Toce because it is closer to that path. |
| P3 | 4c | A slightly steeper but still easy slab to a belay with an abseil ring on a wide ledge, with the view opening onto the waterfall. |
| P4 | 5b | The key pitch: an open corner with good holds and a crack in the back, 5a to 5b, finishing on a small grassy terrace with an abseil ring. |
Getting there
From the SS33 Simplon road leave at Crevoladossola and follow the SS659 up the Valle Antigorio and Val Formazza for about 40 km to Valdo, then about 8 km more on the road to the waterfall. At La Frua park in the gravel car park just before an open-sided tunnel (one report puts it on the left, another on the right).
10 to 15 minutes. Follow the CAI signs to the foot of the Toce waterfall on the mountain-bike path, then the blue waymarks. Right under the fall, on the left, a cord on a bolt shows where to go up.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Point from gulliver.it map point for the route, about 300 m from the OpenStreetMap node for the Cascata del Toce
Contains the route point. 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: 46.40670, 8.40942 (crag)
Getting down
Abseil the route. Gulliver.it describes one abseil for pitches 4 and 3 and two for pitches 2 and 1, with abseils of 35 m at most. A 2025 party with an 80 m rope did the same, using the stations of Toce for the lower two, and only just reached the ground.
Retreat
Easy to bail
Abseiling the route is the normal descent and the belays have abseil rings, so you can go down from any of them. The route is only four pitches and the first two are barely steeper than a walk.
Safety
Sun and weather
South-west facing at about 1500 m, so a summer route. Reports are from June, August and late September. The slabs stay wet after rain: a September 2025 party found the first two pitches and the last one wet after several days of heavy rain and advises checking the recent weather. Spray from the falls keeps the place cool.
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.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun (usual season) | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct | 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
A 70 m rope and at most 14 quickdraws (gulliver.it); a 2023 party used two 60 m half ropes. A sling to link the first belay. 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 Zar.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
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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.
