Overview
The Ferrata del Monte Ocone is a route of high difficulty, characterized by vertical progression, pronounced exposure, and considerable physical commitment. The route unfolds across the ascent of eleven distinct rocky towers, connected by short trail sections that offer moments of rest. Two significant variants are available: the Monarca variant, accessible near the seventh tower, and an extremely difficult variant on the eleventh and final pitch.
The itinerary develops mainly across a succession of limestone spires and ridges, shaping a line that alternates challenging vertical pitches with airy traverses on ledges. The pace is discontinuous and selective, with concentrated technical passages requiring arm strength and balance control. The experience is highly panoramic, with continuous views over both valley sides.
Approach
The starting point is located along the road connecting Costa Valle Imagna to Valsecca, in the province of Bergamo, on the border with the province of Lecco. Coming from Costa Valle Imagna, after about three kilometers and just before a left-hand hairpin turn, an information board is visible. Park the car on a wide spot to the right of the roadway. From the board, take a steep path through the woods, pass a small building, and continue until you intercept the first equipped section, called "Rampa Adelaide." Once climbed, this grassy ramp leads in a few minutes to a saddle from where the metal equipment of the first tower becomes visible. The approach time from the parking area is about 20 minutes.
The initial environment is typical of pre-Alpine coppice woodland, which quickly gives way to grassy slopes and the first rocky outcrops. The brevity of the approach immediately focuses attention on the vertical structure of the mountain, anticipating the direct and challenging character of the climb.
Via Ferrata
The route unfolds across eleven towers, each with different morphological and technical characteristics, offering a varied and never monotonous progression.
The first tower begins with a decidedly challenging passage: the first three meters are overhanging and are overcome easily using two stirrups on the left side and a good foothold on the right. After this initial effort, you bend to the right, climbing an exposed arete dedicated to Gabriele and Mauro. This section introduces the dominant features of the ferrata: solid rock, continuous exposure, and technical passages where stirrups are placed only where strictly necessary. Once the tower is finished, a small path that bypasses it is visible on the right, an option available for many of the subsequent pitches.
The morphology is that of a compact limestone tower, with vertical development that imposes an athletic progression from the very start. The pace is immediately intense, without gradual warm-up, testing arm strength and confidence with exposure right away.
A connecting trail leads to the second tower, which attacks immediately very vertical on an initially smooth wall poor in natural holds, where stirrups prove essential. The second part climbs a more favorable arete, then leads to a horizontal equipped traverse that goes around a rocky spur.
The initial passage on smooth rock emphasizes the technical character of the route, where artificial equipment becomes fundamental. The subsequent traverse offers a moment of horizontal breathing room but maintains significant exposure, balancing physical effort and psychological control.
The third tower climbs vertically again, bending to the right, becoming easier after the first stirrups. A ledge leads to the second part of the tower: after a short wall, you find yourself beneath a long slab. Although vertical, you tackle it diagonally, combining the difficulties of a slab with those of a traverse; the rock, poor in holds, makes this one of the hardest sections encountered so far. Once past the slab, you turn right toward the final wall, climbing a more hold-filled dihedral that opens into a short horizontal traverse and a subsequent short climbable wall.
The diagonal slab represents a significant technical crux: the oblique progression on a smooth surface requires careful weight balancing and skillful use of footholds. It is a passage that combines physical effort and technical concentration, marking the tower as one of the most complete of the climb.
Descending slightly, you reach the start of the fourth tower. You climb some diagonal steps to enter a dihedral, where initially it's best to proceed in a straddle position before using some stirrups. The climb continues on fairly smooth rock up to an exposed arete, which you go around to climb leftward in a short but adrenaline-filled section. A brief connection leads to the final rocky pitch, already in sight of the fifth tower.
The initial dihedral imposes an awkward body position, resolved with a straddle technique. The tower's development on smooth rock culminates in the arete bypass, a moment of pure exposure that delivers an intense thrill in a relatively short section.
The fifth tower begins after a grassy notch with a not-difficult rocky step. Here a choice presents itself: continue on the Monarca variant (to the left) or on the normal ferrata. The latter heads toward a rocky gendarme with a daunting appearance, starting on a dihedral and then emerging in decisive exposure on an arete. The climb, though challenging, proves very beautiful with holds that become evident. To do both, once the original route is finished, you can descend to the left (facing uphill) to tackle the Monarca variant, an exposed and vertical tower in the woods with a demanding final slab that leads directly to the seventh tower.
The grassy notch marks a pause and a decision point. The normal ferrata on the gendarme offers classic arete climbing, technically rewarding. The possibility of linking the Monarca variant turns this sector into a circuit with added commitment, with an extra tower that develops in a more wooded but equally exposed environment.
The normal climb of the sixth tower presents a fine dihedral with good natural and artificial holds. Via a connecting trail, you reach a small ridge, traversed by climbing up and then down a rocky rib on the opposite side.
The dihedral offers a more traditional and hold-filled progression, providing a moment of relative fluidity. The subsequent small ridge introduces an airy and panoramic element, with an up-and-down that varies the rhythm of the climb before the next vertical challenge.
Descending slightly, you arrive at the seventh tower "Dolci", from which a path starts that climbs to the summit, bypassing the final towers. This tower is purely vertical and climbs, with the aid of numerous stirrups, a wall that in the upper part becomes overhanging and athletic. Pay attention to the cable, which, if pulled, tends to swing to the left; it is advisable to proceed in a straddle position for better balance. In the upper part, the smooth rock and the distance between stirrups require abundant use of the cable.
The Dolci tower represents another point of physical intensity. The vertical wall evolving into overhang demands arm power and strategic use of the cable for balance. The presence of an escape route at this point underscores the increased difficulty of the subsequent sector.
You continue on the eighth tower "Busti", which attacks near an arete, climbing vertically on the right side, aided by some stirrups. In the upper section, the cable bends to the right, leading beneath a slight overhang; it's best to bypass a rocky roof to the left and then climb in strong exposure on an arete. Parallel to this tower, on the right, you can take the recent "GAMO" variant (Gruppo Amici Monte Ocone), considered one of the hardest and most demanding sections of the entire climb, with passages in clear overhang.
The Busti tower and its GAMO variant embody the most athletic and extreme character of the ferrata. The roof bypass and the arete climb require combined strength and technique. The GAMO variant, with its sharp overhangs, is an option for experts seeking maximum physical commitment in a highly exposed environment.
Descending a few meters, you reach the start of the ninth tower, treacherous due to a protrusion that forces a short but physical pulling effort on the cable, aided by a stirrup. The rest of the tower is a vertical wall to be climbed while pacing your energy. Once the ninth tower is finished, you proceed horizontally on a debris-covered ledge.
The initial passage under the protrusion is a critical point of pure strength, a "wall" that tests remaining energy. The subsequent debris ledge offers an important moment of horizontal recovery, albeit on unstable ground, before the final pitches.
Ignoring the escape route and continuing to the right, the tenth tower "Corti" begins. The slab you face is fairly hold-filled, and you can try to climb until reaching a series of stirrups that lead beneath a rocky gendarme. You climb it in magnificent climbing, exploiting abundant natural handholds, overcome a crack, and climb the final section.
The Corti tower offers pleasant climbing on more fractured and hold-filled rock. The ascent of the gendarme is technically rewarding and panoramic, restoring a sense of classic climbing before the conclusion.
From the tenth tower, an unstable path leads to the start of the eleventh and final pitch, "Torre Orobie". Here two options present themselves: to the right, an extremely difficult variant that starts with a clear overhang; to the left, a difficult variant that climbs a smooth wall. The two cables rejoin a few meters above. Once the cables are rejoined, you climb the final rocky rib, finishing the tower at the box with the summit logbook. Following the obvious path for a few meters, you reach the summit of Monte Ocone at 1351 meters. The time for the ferrata is about 3 hours from the start, for a total of 3 hours and 20 minutes from the parking area.
The Torre Orobie concludes the itinerary with a fork that sums up its character: a choice between an extreme variant for purists of strength and a difficult but more classic one. The summit, reached after the final rib, is a 360-degree panoramic point that crowns a challenging and varied route.
Descent
From the summit of Monte Ocone, three descent options can be chosen, in decreasing order of difficulty.
- Facing the Bergamo side, proceed to the left, descending an exposed small ridge with some equipped sections until intersecting the CAI 571 trail, taken on the approach. Follow this trail, which runs parallel to the ferrata, downhill toward the car (about 1 hour from the summit, total 4h30).
- Facing the Bergamo side, proceed to the right, descending via the easier normal route until intersecting the CAI 571 at Passo Pertus. Turn left toward the north and look for the point where the ferrata passed on the ascent, then descend via the trail parallel to the towers (about 1 hour from the summit, total 4h30).
- As in the previous point, but at the intersection with the CAI 571, keep to the right, continuing south toward Convento Pertus. Past the convent on the right side, continue in a slight ascent to the left (without following the mule track) until meeting the signs for the CAI 574, which you take downhill to the road. At the next fork in the woods, keep left. From the road, descend to the left to the parking area (about 1h15 from the summit, total 4h45).
The descent options offer different characters: the first maintains exposure and residual technical commitment on the small ridge; the second and third opt for more walkable routes, with the third slightly lengthening the journey in a more pastoral environment around the convent.
Useful Notes
The ferrata climbs parallel to a trail that from the parking area intersects the CAI 571, which runs mid-slope below the summit. This trail can serve as an escape route and as a steep return path up to the seventh tower; in the later towers, you will encounter two other escape routes. At a certain point during the climb, it is possible to abandon the via ferrata to the right and continue toward the summit via an equipped trail that features exposed and non-trivial sections. The variants present are all of a difficulty level higher than the average of the ferrata. The overall physical commitment makes it a very difficult route for those who do not fully exploit natural and artificial holds.
The presence of multiple escape routes and the parallel trail offers flexibility, but the alternative equipped trail should not be underestimated. The itinerary therefore requires continuous assessment of one's own abilities and conditions.
An important note concerns the equipment cable, which has a rather large diameter and in some circumstances can prevent the smooth sliding of carabiners; it is good to keep this in mind during progression. The rock is in many sections compact and solid, but often also quite smooth, making the present stirrups very useful. The ferrata was inaugurated in June 2017 by the Comunità Montana Valle Imagna and S. Omobono Terme.
The particular cable, with its generous diameter, may require a more decisive action to slide the carabiners, adding an element of technical attention to the progression. The quality of the rock, though solid, confirms the technical nature of the route, where artificial equipment strategically integrates natural holds, especially on the smooth slabs.
