On Friday 29 November, a group of friends, acquaintances and strangers gathered at 5.30 a.m. at Malpensa Terminal 1 to board a flight to Catania. Once they land on Sicilian soil, the adventure begins!

Having picked up the two means of transport, we reach home base: a fantastic farmhouse between the locks of Modica, with a view over the olive groves and citrus orchards they cultivate. We leave our luggage and head for the first crag, a 10-minute drive away, for an afternoon warm-up. The approach to Pandora takes us a while given the architectural changes not mentioned in our guidebook. Once we reach the climbing wall, the group divides up according to ability and experience. For those who have never climbed before, there are a couple of pitches, not too easy (5a and 5b) but useful for experimenting with the first ascents and safety manoeuvres, under the guidance of Elena, a great climber and motivator who, due to an ankle injury, accompanies us without climbing the wall. Around 16:30 the sun began to go down and we slowly returned by torchlight, from the cars, stopping in Pozzallo for a well-deserved aperitif.

Saturday 30 November After a hearty breakfast, we hit the first of the day's two crags: Wild alla Cava di Ispica, also in the Ragusa area. This time the approach is longer but much more scenic. Loaded and energetic, we each tackle the available routes according to our own degree of difficulty. Long pitches on fairly vertical walls but with good holds for all grades. In the afternoon, we move on to another crag not far away: Umpa Lumpa in the wild Cava Gisana. The time available is short as it is now 15:00 but the new recruits take the opportunity to work on technique on a rather demanding 5a and the more experienced climbers are about to try their first 7a on ‘Crodino and Vodka Secca’. Before the sun goes down, we return to the base house and pick up Elena before heading straight to Modica for the evening! On arrival we are amazed by the vitality of this town set in the rock and after stocking up on chocolate bars to take back to the North, we go for dinner in a delicious and cosy fish restaurant, a real treat for the palate! After a few minor hiccups with the cars, we return tired but satisfied to our hut for the night.

Sunday 1 December Destination Servolare crag, in the municipality of Buccheri, about an hour's drive away. This crag is spread out over several sectors with walls between 10 and 15 metres high, in the Iblei mountains, with a wonderful view of Mount Etna, in its whitened state. It was a full day, both for the rookies, who experience the breezes of climbing as first-timers, and for the more experienced climbers, with satisfying pitches. When it was time to return, we opted for a shortcut, using the three routes on which the recruits had practised ‘Lo Spigolo’, ‘T.I.N. E.T.I.P.’, and ‘The weekend’, and so we all reached the road above, from which we enjoyed the view, and then arrived at our cars in two minutes.

Monday 2 December A little sore, we gather for our last breakfast at the agriturismo with a feast of cakes, cheeses and citrus fruits. Shortly we are at the cars and we move on to the Zona Rossa cliff, which channels itself into a wild and little-visited canyon. The previous three days have recharged our spirits, and the experienced guys enthusiastically devote themselves to some challenging 5c and 6a pitches with some adherent passages. The rookies also devote themselves to their first 5b and 5b+ and with a little help from below they reach the longed-for chain.

Four days of intense and satisfying sport climbing, following which we return home with the pride of having surpassed our personal limits both mentally and physically; as well as having forged new relationships of trust and sporting cooperation!

Crag reports

All photos of the trip