Gola di Mikado, the beautiful new sport climbing crag near Capo Pecora in Sardinia

With the development of Mikado, financed thanks to a crowdfunding campaign launched in July this year, I can now say that we've completed an interesting new sport climbing area on the SW coast of Sardinia. Close, but not too close, to Capo Pecora, the famous trad climbing area that has made this stretch of the Italian island so well-known among climbers.

After developing Andromeda (featured here and also in the topos section of pietradiluna.com) we concentrated our efforts on Gola di Mikado, a beautiful little granite cove which proved highly popular last summer. This narrow gorge is reached via a thin chimney only about ten meters high; the complex approach was kindly sorted out by Bruno Fonnesu.

The gorge has two walls, the left one (west) is slabby and criss-crossed by some surprising cracks (hence the name of the sector). The routes are mostly easy, pleasant and long. Ideal for beginners therefore.

The opposite wall (east) provides a more typical granite style climbing and is characterised by cracks and overhangs. The climbing is physical and requires technique, thankfully though there are some easy routes, too. At the time of writing there are also two projects.

When looking at some of these climbs one might wonder why they are all bolted, given that they follow pristine cracks. Well, as I have explained in the past, this is a sport climbing area and, like all sports crags, even routes which could be protected with trad gear are bolted! If you don't like it, you can always climb them greenpoint! Alternatively, I really recommend you explore the nearby trad area ​Capo Pecora, with its +150 trad climbs! From the base of Mikado you can easily scramble down (grade I) to the sea and swim (in the summer), the location is incredibly beautiful and atmospheric.

The crag was bolted by myself, Antonio Iaria and Tatjana Goex. The best time of year is winter and mid-seasons, but even in summer you can climb in the shade (morning west sector, afternoon east sector). The best friction is to be had when the sun has dried the rock and the wall is in the shade, or on sunny winter days. The gear used is 316L steel (Petzl bolts and hangers), while the belays are Lappas with new non-welded rings. As mentioned, the approach takes just 10 minutes from the parking lot. Given the complex scramble into the gorge, this crag is not suitable for children and difficult to reach with dogs.

Warning: wear a helmet while belaying and pay attention to the blocks that sound hollow. Don't pull wildly on the holds as if you were in a gym. Climbing outdoors is like this, cleaning a new crag completely is impossible, and you'll have to resign yourself to pulling "gently" on some holds that don't seem 100% solid. It is the price to pay for being able to climb on such beautiful rock.

I would like to thank all the people who contributed to the realization of this project. Thank you for the donations: Koala Park, Marta Casati, Marco Delogu, Carlo Caserta, Cinzia Puggioni, Francesco Maggi, Cesare Arienti, Michele Bonan, Giulia Mari, Davide Borin, Anna Sara Milia, Selene Gaviano, Stefano Boi, Filippa Schnabel, Silvia Piselli, Roberto Valdo Cortese, Francesco Pittau, Elisa Recchia, Giovanni Vito Di stefano, Stefano Bulgarelli, Maria Chiara Garaldi, Agnese Pernice, Carlo Barberis, Marco Brigonzi, Lorenzo Bottazzi Massone, Samuele Malavasi, Andrea Pisciali, Cristian Pilo, Enzrico Bedino, Augusto rebonato, Norberto Cefaratti, Stefano Peddis, Stefano Tagarelli, Davide Anardu, Patrick Raspo, Tommaso Frigo, Matthias Abele, Andreina Mandelli, Francesco Fiorentino, Alessandro Vallicelli, Marco Michele Lotta, Pasquale Russo, Alessandro Bucciarelli, Elena Curioni, Andrea Alea, and all anonymous donors.

by Maurizio Oviglia