Sardinia Blocs

Sardinia is not only a magical land but also a climber’s paradise – with lots and lots of rock, the majority of which is still unexplored. In the collective imagination the region is a sea of limestone, but in fact, it’s the amount of granite that most people find most surprising. Gallura, in the north of the island, is the Sardinian granite region. The land is almost completely dotted with climbing blocks: a haven of boulders haphazardly strewn about in an incredibly charming and beautiful setting.

This sparked La Sportiva’s idea to bring their ambassadors to Gallura. These are some of the strongest boulder climbers in the world who, armed with brushes and good skins, begun to explore and exploit this vast area of blocks. The aim was to both give something to the island in terms of climbing culture, encouraging the development of a “vertical attendance” people climbing blocks in the area. Leading this special operation was Pietro Dal Pra, the expert of the area and historically tied to the land of Sardinia. At his side were Nalle Hukkataival and his trusted companion Anthony Gullsten, along with the sparkling Cody Roth, the Italians Michele Caminati and Silvio Reffo, the guru of our national blocks Marzio Nardi, the super-couple Pearson–Ciavaldini and the young sensation Fabian Buhl. With the help of some willing Sardinian boulderers, the La Sportiva team was at work from November 9-17, 2013; exploring, cleaning and climbing.