Caprauna

⚠️ Download the topo before arriving: phone reception is poor or absent around the crags.

☀️ SUN: Morning sun at Caprasecca.

🧭 ASPECT: East-facing.

🧱 ROCK: Limestone.

📆 BEST SEASON: Spring to autumn for Capradura, including summer; spring and autumn for Caprasecca.

👪 FAMILY FRIENDLY: No. The approach is steep.

📱 PHONE SIGNAL: Poor or absent.

Caprauna brings together two neighbouring limestone sectors in the upper Val Pennavaire, near the village of Caprauna. Capradura lies below Caprasecca, with around five minutes of uphill walking between them. Together they offer a varied day of sport climbing, from technical mid-grade routes to demanding steep lines.

Capradura, at around 600 m, is a wave of grey-white, overhanging limestone with tufa features and varied holds. The climbing is athletic and intense, mixing sustained sequences, cracks, hard cruxes and kneebars. Most graded routes are in the 7c–8b+ range, with routes around 13–22 m long. It is best suited to experienced climbers looking for powerful climbing.

Caprasecca, at around 650 m, sits directly above it, overlooking the valley. Its pale grey limestone, streaked with yellow and brown, offers slightly overhanging, technical climbing. The ten routes range from 6b+ to 7b+ and are 15–17 m long. It provides the more accessible climbing of the two sectors, and can be a useful warm-up before heading down to Capradura.

The approach takes approximately five minutes to Capradura and ten minutes to Caprasecca from the shared parking area.

Capradura was discovered by Matteo Pino, who bolted the first lines. Carlo Giuliberti then expanded the sector with help from friends, followed by Matteo Gambaro, who added further routes and cleaned the upper part of the wall. Their work shaped the steep, demanding climbing found here today.

Paolo Ramò discovered and bolted Caprasecca, the smaller wall directly above. Its technical routes brought a more accessible range of difficulties to this corner of the valley.

Paolo Ramò and A. Gonzalez also contributed to Capradura's early development alongside Pino. Ramò began developing crags around Caprauna in 2016, after years of activity in the neighbouring Val Tanaro.

Among the later first ascents, Matteo Gambaro climbed Mettiti in Ginocchio in 2020 and Open in 2021. Elena Chiappa made the first female ascent of Mettiti in Ginocchio in 2020.