Citta dei Sassi - Sport Climbing Crag

Cita dei Sassi is a great sport climbing and bouldering area on the Sella Pass, not far from Val Gardena in the Dolomites, with a number of boulders and short, bolted sport routes all a short walk from the car park.

To access the area, drive over the Sella Pass until you reach the parking areas for the Cabinovia Forcella Sassolungo lift and the Rifugio Malga Sella. There is a small amount of free parking near the roadside but most of the parking is paid, and can fill up fast in the high season (July to September).

The crag is made up of many different sectors, mostly between the upper and lower 526 trail, and while some are easy to spot right off the trails, others take a little bit of searching for. We used the Rockfax climbing book to find the routes.

With so many to choose from, climbers do tend to spread out, meaning you shouldn't be waiting too long for a route when it's busy, if at all.

There are routes for all levels, from French grade 3 up to 7c+, with the majority of routes being in the middle grades. Some of the routes had the option to top out, so there weren't chains at the top, just bolts. While we chose to practice cleaning the anchors here, it's also possible to simply walk up the backside of some of the boulders and get your gear back that way. 

The quality of the rock here is great, it there are plenty of opportunities to practice gear placements and anchor building on many of the surrounding boulders too if you want to refresh your skills before heading up the nearby Sassolungo.