2017/chiomonte rises again

3 July 2011 great uproar and then silence. Not on site or on the road to La Maddalena, where the flow of lorries and the noise of the drills remains like a hum in the background, but in the woods, among the stones and... in that part of the mountain that in the early 2000s was the workshop, forge and often refuge for so many climbers Since the early 2000s, the woods of La Maddalena had been one of the epicentres for the development of a new wave of bouldering, not the climbers from the Nuovo Mattino or the Val di Mello, and not those who use bouldering as a form of training, but those who used it as a means of seeking new ground and breaking new frontiers – not just in terms of difficulty but also the imagination The new climbing centres that had recently begun to spring up all over Italy brought new energy to a movement that had been looking tired for some time The boulders of La Maddalena became a workshop and an area for exploration, somewhere in which to enjoy small adventures, seeking the smallest or most beautiful handhold. According to tastes Three meetings dedicated to clearing and seeking new lines in order to experience climbing as protagonists and not as simple consumers. Walking through the woods in search of “nothing”, uncovering it from moss and freeing up movements that a piece of rock can enclose, is the greatest feeling that can be felt when experiencing this sport to the full, and for many, Chiomonte was a place in which to do this. In just a few years, new passages and full sectors took shape under the brushes of the group from Turin and Val di Susa and in just a short time, all the Italian bouldering communities wanted to come here. Cristian Core, Mauro Calibani, Michele Caminati, and Gabriele Moroni are just some of the many great names who left layers of skin and also new lines among the stones of that landslide that was about to become an international spot A landslide and the enthusiasm of so many people were not, however, able to cope with a bigger picture: growth, progress, interests and speed. High speed. The TAV high-speed train site and resulting protests in the area around La Maddalena began gradually to keep even the most assiduous visitors away from the stones until 3 July 2011 when, following scuffles between police and demonstrators, the area was considered high risk and the blocks, including in the Red Area were swallowed up by vegetation with Chiomonte becoming famous the world over… but not in the way the climbers imagined For a little less than a year, it has been released from the order preventing any access, but no information means linked to the climbing world broadcast this news. On 19- 20 November 2016, the rockslave team went back to the rubble on the musk and the stones to return its boulders to climbers Chiomonte “Rise and shine “