Travel-Climbing in the Boot

TUSCANY
Following the wine/biking travel path down to Tuscany, you end up in Porto Santo Stefano, on Monte Argentario, a peninsula facing Corsica. Here, my family owns a little Italian-style beach house from where, along the horizon, you can see L`isola d`Elba, home to a lifetime’s worth of beachside sport climbing. So, jump on the first morning ferry from Porto Santo Stefano and join the isolani (inhabitants of the island) for some spring/summer climbing. Elba offers several single-pitch crags with routes ranging from 5.7 to 5.12b, developed by Renato Bardi and Filippo Lenzi.

Take the ferry to Portoferraio, the capital of the island, in the northeast, and if you are planning on hitting the crags right off the boat, visit Marciana Marina, right outside of Portoferraio. Follow the trail to Madonna del Monte (around 25 minutes); here, the trail ends at an eagle-shaped granite rock on the right at the bottom of a set of stairs, which take you to the cliff. The routes are mainly granite and range from 5.7 to 5.10d; the area is pretty shady, ideal for summer climbing.  When you get thirsty, find fresh spring water at the sanctuary Teatro della Fontana (1698). 

Right outside of Capolivieri, on the east side of the island, follow the unpaved road from city hall toward “Residence Costa dei Gabbiani” on the Ginepro beach, where you can climb lava rock on exposed 5.7 to 5.12b routes.