Luna Nascente – with a mountain guide
Climb with us Luna Nascente, the most famous and iconic traditional multi-pitch climbing route in the Italian Alps.
This route is renowned worldwide for its elegant line on the clean, flawless granite in the Val di Mello, the Yosemite of Europe.
Val di Mello is a short drive from Valmalenco and offers a world-class landscape where the sheer scale of the cliffs is balanced by unique alpine beauty found nowhere else in the Alps. The valley delivers a unique transition—moving from the lush, emerald valley floor and crystal-clear creeks to the impressive granite slabs.
If you don’t think you are quite ready for the commitment of a Mello classic, we can start with a less demanding granite route to prepare you. Alternatively, you can add an intro day to focus specifically on traditional protection and movement on slabs.
Luna Nascente
Luna Nascente, meaning “Rising Moon,” is considered a true benchmark of moderate to advanced trad climbing, celebrated for its consistent quality and aesthetic beauty.
The route follows a logical and stunning system of cracks and flakes that weave their way up through 350m of amazing granite slab. The climb is never monotonous and demands confidence in trad climbing techniques.
The challenge begins immediately — the hardest move often occurs right off the deck on the first pitch — involving a short, burly sequence through an angled finger crack. After this initial crux, the route settles into a magnificent series of sustained pitches featuring laybacking, jamming, and perfect finger-to-hand cracks.
Like many routes in Val di Mello, Luna Nascente includes sections of delicate friction slab where protection can be sparse, requiring calm and absolute trust in your footwork. The upper pitches often involve exciting horizontal traverses on quartz veins with run-out sections, adding to the route’s commitment level.
To complete the journey, a descent path leads from the summit through a mix of walking and light scrambling, returning you to the valley floor and the aptly named Rifugio Luna Nascente. The overall experience is one of flow and elegance, tracing a natural line on rock often described as having few equals in Europe.
For the fittest and fastest climbers, it is frequently combined with the neighboring Il Risveglio di Kundalini to form the epic “Kundaluna” traverse.
What’s Included
As per itinerary above.
Not Included
As per itinerary above.
Frequent Questions
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We had fantastic time in Valmalenco! It’s clear that you guys love your valley and know it from the old little villages to the highest peaks. Thanks for organizing everything and your patience when guiding. We are coming back :)
Thank you for your guiding and teaching once again. We had great times exploring your mountains with you! While not as wild as Canada, it’s Europe after all, we really liked that Valmalenco is more rustic than Switzerland or Dolomites. Looking forward to see you for another adventure somewhere!
We hired Stano to plan out and guide us on a travel-trekking trip in Patagonia. While he has not been there before, we had a very smooth and fun trip all around! We trekked 6 days in Torres del Paine Park in Chile and 3 days under Fitzroy in Argentina. Fabulous experience!
With my two daughters, over four winters, we have had magical experiences being guided and coached by Stefano in Valmalenco. His flexibility to deal with a beginner snowboarder to very experienced skier is exceptional. He is a friendly guide, true leader and a fantastic instructor!
I have been on a couple of adventurous trips with my friends guided by Stano. We don’t like to have every detail planned for our vacation as we appreciate getting into some trouble… it’s just more authentic and fun :) We have hiked together in the Dolomites and Valmalenco, and have travelled in Canada and around the Italian island of Sardinia.