The Val di Mello Lifestyle

We've been in Val di Mello five days or so now, the exact length of time I'm unsure of, testimony in itself to how well this area has treated us. For all I know we could have been here seven days. The people in town have gone out of their way to help us with WiFi, bouldering information and more. And the place is simply stunning. I could live here far longer, simply living, hiking and climbing. My only regret is I've had no opportunities to dabble in any alpinism, but that's a big ask. Enough talk for now, here are some photos to illustrate the last few days. Unfortunately we didn't take many on individual problems, or passages as they like to call them here in Italy.

Val Masino, the largest town in the higher reaches of the valley and a regular shopping stop for us

Exploring Val di Mello

The upper village in Val di Mello; accessible only on foot

Clearing storm

Home for four nights, but no more when a farmer wanted to move his livestock. It might have been private property....

The destination; Rifugio Omio

Breaking through the treeline

Alpine goats on the ascent

Taking in the Val Masino Alps from the rifugio while getting a little sun on the chest

The snowline

Rifugio Omio, 2100m

Our new campsite after the cows overtook our last one, no complaints here!

Bare feet and occasionally thongs are the footwear of choice when spending so much of the day in climbing shoes

A boulderer's life; crash pad on back

Chilling at Bar Monica, getting the blog up to date and exhausting their WiFi

Spanish language climbing magazines, oh how I love this place!

Life has pretty much consisted of 1-3 climbing sessions a day, spending time in the two local towns, Val Masino and San Martino, going for short hikes and simply taking in the surrounding Val Masino Alps. Its pretty safe to say that I've been pretty content the past few days. Oh, and last night was our nineteenth night in a row spent in tents. Living the outdoor life!