Finale Ligure

The first spring climbing warm-up in southern Italy? A selection of over 4,000 sport climbing routes from easy 4^th grade suitable for beginners, to the legendary first Italian 8b and local hardest French 8c+ routes? Excellent limestone full of holes, pockets and crimps, climbing with sea views, but also in the shadows under the treetops or cooler caves. A wonderful historic town centre full of climbing shops, delicious cuisine and local culture? After more than 30 years, the renowned sport climbing area FINALE LIGURE still attracts all keen sport climbers.

Destination Finale

Finale Ligure is an Italian coastal resort and frequently visited destination, located between the junction of two cities – Genova (Italy) and Nice (France). The Finale is famous among tourists and travelers for its coastal beauty of the Mediterranean Sea and its diverse rock cliffs for sport climbers. Do you want a warm and relaxed vacation, but still be in climbing shape and enjoy vertical fun? Then FINALE is the obvious "off-season" destination for you!

Transport + climbing season

The Finale is easily accessible by car just after leaving the motorway (E80). However, if you prefer to use public transport, you can also reach this destination comfortably by train. From Genova, you will be in just an hour by car in Finale and from French Nice in about two hours if you use a motorway. Given that, it is a seaside destination, and it lies only at an altitude of around 200 meters above sea level, the best time to visit for climbing is spring and autumn.

In spring, Finale has pleasant climbing temperatures and the best climbing conditions are from March to the end of May. After that, the temperatures start to rise and in summer you can expect a lot of heat. Autumn offers the most ideal climbing conditions (specifically the months of September + October). However, year-round climbing enthusiasts will appreciate the cooler winter conditions and others will appreciate the hot summer days. It's up to your tolerance for high or low temperatures. Some people are comfortable with 5-7 °C, while others enjoy 25°C.

Climbing in Finale – what's waiting for you?

Along with another famous climbing area in Italy - ARCO, Finale is one of the places with a huge concentration of sport climbing routes, where there is something for everyone. Whether you're a complete beginner, a family with kids (there are plenty of "baby-friendly" areas there) or a performance-oriented climber moving up in higher difficulty grades, the perfect limestone awaits you! Mostly pockets, holes and crimps dominate, but you'll also test your climbing skills on tufas or even overhanging roofs. Be sure to visit the photogenic Grotta dell' Edera sector, where you'll enjoy climbing in the arched ceiling.

Most of the sectors offer sporty single-pitch routes, but those who love longer routes will also find something there. Bric Pianarella, for example, offers you up to nine-pitch routes and is one of the most visually appealing and also the highest sector in the entire Ligurian area.

Tips on crags – where to start?
In FINALE you can choose from over 30 large crags, which are complemented by many smaller areas. However, for easier orientation, we recommend you take a look at the climbing guidebook. There are two book versions available, namely FINALE 51 by Andrea Gallo (Vertical Life Publishing). The second publication is FINALE Climbing by Marco Tomassini (Versante Sud Publishing). Both books have recently been updated and you can find the newest sectors and routes that are missing in the older editions. The list of sectors is huge (the books are thick) so we'll give you some first tips to get you all in the FINALE mood.

We have already mentioned the photogenic Grotta dell' Edera with its magnificent arched overhang. Next, we add the enormous area of Rocca di Perti. More than 300 climbing routes are divided into 13 smaller sectors. Rocca di Perti is one of the most popular rock climbing areas of the whole FINALE because of its easy accessibility, but also because of the large number of routes of all difficulty levels. Logically, this also means that the place is very busy, so you'd better arrive early in the morning to find a place to park a car. Much of the whole area is in the sun, so the sectors provide the most optimal conditions in winter or colder days (months) when you can enjoy climbing in the sun and let your strong climbing muscles warm up.

Bastionata di Boragni is another perfect place for hotter spring/summer days. Very accessible area with short access within 15 minutes. We recommend visiting the left part of the "Bastinonata", which offers great and easy vertical climbing on pockets and various holes.

Monte Cucco. In three words: views, camping and pizza! One of the most iconic places of Finale Ligure. An area where the history of sport climbing has been written from its very beginnings to the present day. Climbers who are somewhere between the 6b to 6c of French classification grades, will love this place the most.

Rocca Carpanea, often called Monte Sordo, is another renowned area that is referred to as "the most enjoyable climbing place” in Finale. The area is situated at an altitude of just over 300 meters above sea level with more than 20 sectors and 400 climbing routes.

Other sectors that worth mentioning are Bric Parella, Valle Aquila, Rian Cornei or the famous Capo Noli. In Capo Noli, you'll be climbing right on the coastline, which is a nice change from the other sectors that are more up in the hills and slopes towering above the Finale.

Finally, we will add one of the first drilled sectors of Finale – a place called Rocca di Corno, where you can try more than 120 routes today. The area is also suitable for families with children and the sun will warm you, especially in the morning, but in some parts also in the afternoon or even all day long. And speaking of important milestones that have taken place in the history of Finale, let's mention the famous route called "Hyaena", which in 1985 was the first 8b climbed in Italy. The first ascender of the route was the author of the above-mentioned climbing guide FINALE 51 - Andrea Gall. This route became at the time only the fifth 8b in the whole world!

GEAR and equipment to take with

Most of the routes in Finale offer sports single-pitch climbing. You can often get by with a 60-meter rope, but we recommend packing a 70-meter rope. If you don't have one, you can try our Spirit 9.5 mm, which, thanks to its lightweight and durability, will be an ideal choice for all these sports routes.

Then you need a few quick draws, which you can also find in our OCÚN e-shop. We recommend the RAVEN QD ZOOM quick-draws, which are great to hold thanks to their wider sling and great clipping during projecting harder routes. Oh, and if you're more eco-minded, sustainable and environmental friendly, check out our new release of this year – the RAVEN QD BIO-DYN RING. For this quick-draws, we have used "Bio-Based Dyneema", a material made with the utmost regard for ecology, sustainability and environmental friendliness.

In some of the older and longer routes, you may need a few more nuts or friends to secure the route, as Finale used to have a more traditional approach to creating climbing routes before the evolution of sport climbing. For sports routes, proper performance climbing shoes such as OZONE or SIGMA are useful, plus of course a comfortable sports harness. Here's a final tip on a hot new item – the TWIST TECH ECO harness, which is made of "bio-based" and recycled materials.

Service and accommodation

As Finale Ligure is a renowned climbing destination, you don't have to worry about not having a choice of numerous climbing and outdoor shops. Most of them can be found in the fortified (historical) part of town – Finalborgo. So if you find out you are missing a quick-draws, proper length of rope or you need to use climbing guidebooks, you'll find it all in the local shops.

Near the climbing shops in Finalborgo, there are also a large number of restaurants and cafeterias literally on every corner. Whether you get a taste for pizza, pasta, espresso or a real Italian “gelato”, you don't have to go far and everything is served right under your nose.

You can use several local campsites for accommodation that are available for you, depending on your personal preferences. Do you want to be closer to the centre and the cultural and social evening events? Or on the contrary, further away from the hustle and bustle of the city, more in peace and nature under the canopy of pine forests?

You can also decide according to the quality of the services provided: are you looking for standard "basic" simple campsites or are you more into the "fancy" ones? Our tip is the very popular and well-visited place among all active sports people – Base Camp Cucco. From this campsite you very close to the climbing area of the same name, but also to various biking trails. Apart from the campsites, Finale also offers a wide range of apartments, guesthouses and hotels.

FINALE for NEPAL

There is no shortage of climbing events in Finale Ligure and its surroundings! The most popular local event is the FINALE for NEPAL, which usually takes place in October. Finale For Nepal is a voluntary social event that uses the proceeds to carry out important projects to support the people of Nepal. During the event there are many (and not only) sport activities including bouldering competitions and of course a great after-party in the evening!

At the end, we would like to remind you that just like on the Czech climbing crags, there are various climbing restrictions and partial or complete bans on climbing in some sectors. Don't forget to check the rock closures before your visit the Great Eagle or the Peregrine Falcon, may nest here. Some of the climbing closures are only seasonal, but others are open the whole year.

Either way you'll find your own in Finale and everyone enjoy climbing there. If you're okay with the fact that this legendary destination can get a bit "crowded" during certain months, don't hesitate to discover the beauty of this place. FINALE is sure to be etched in your (climbing) memory!