Melloblocco 2009 - you know the score

Mark this date in your calendar: Thursday 7th of May to Sunday the 10th. Now login to www.melloblocco.it. Click Pre-registration and fill out the form. Done? Great, now you too are part of the Melloblocco tribe... To tell the truth this pre-registration process doesn't need much advertising, the Melloblocco is a ball in motion. So much so that more than 900 climbers have signed up 50 days before the rendez-vous.

One of the reasons for this may be that if you chose to go to the Melloblocco, you know what you're in for. You know for example that Val di Mello never disappoints - there are few places like this that unite the wandering spirit of the boulderers with their desire to climb together wedged between the sky and the rocks. Perhaps it's also because climbers need to gather together and meet up... what is certain is that the Melloblocco has been a reality for 6 years, and all boulderers know this perfectly! Mello No. 6 will greet them with summits, waterfalls, meadows and a thousand and one boulder problems, aswell as a tribe which continues to grow in number. The tribe of boulderers who, once a year, all become Melloblockers.

In this edition the valley celebrates its recently gained official status as a Natural Reserve. This success was yearned for by the Melloblockers, the climbers and the Val Masino town council. It's no chance therefore that once again the meeting will strictly "Mello no car", which means that to go climbing you'll travel on foot or with the legendary Mello shuttle buses. This simple yet important awareness has worked right from the outset and involved all, because the Mello tribe has proven it loves nature without the need for impositions.

Just like last year, the meeting kicks off with the MellobloccoBaby, the special program dedicated to school children and young climbers to go climbing and discover nature. On Friday 8 May the classic meeting begins with the launch of the hardest boulder problems, set once again by Simone Pedeferri's team. The vertical marathon continues on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 May and finishes in the afternoon on Sunday with all, as usual, exhausted but happy.

There will obviously be more in store other than just the bouldering, such as the Saturday night's La Sportiva Party (as always a surprise), and the evening shows on Thursday and Friday at the Mountain Centre with plenty of videos and top climbers. Boulder clinics are scheduled, too. And as usual it'll be exciting to find out who are the big climbers who will join the Mello people in 2009. What is certain is that they will be scores and scores of Melloblockers


PROGRAM
Thursday, May 7th – Not Only Melloblocco©
10/18- Melloblocco© Baby - for children and school classes
Arrampicabile – for young people, beginners and disabled climbers
Wilderness - Discover bouldering and wilderness in Val Masino: Cyclops pathway and Val di Mello trails
21.00 Presentation of the new Val Daone bouldering guide-book ("DAONE PROG" - Ed. Versante Sud) at Centro Polifunzionale della Montagna

Friday, May 8th – Melloblocco©, Ready … Go!
09/18 - Bouldering time
11/17 - Judges at the base of the most difficult money-awarding boulders
21.00 - Music and video clips at Centro Polifunzionale della Montagna:
The North Face Climber Team ends at Melloblocco© the 2009 European tour: its best athletes present their experience among the most popular European crags and boulder sites
La Sportiva presents: the brand new bouldering video "Pure" by Chuck Fryberger and the new climbing shoe Speedster, along with live performances of Writers and Percussionists

Saturday, May 9th – No Boulder... No Party
09/18 - Bouldering time
10:30 - Bouldering Clinics for all with La Sportiva athletes. Meeting at Val di Mello car park
11/17 - Judges at the base of the most difficult money-awarding boulders
21.00 - La Sportiva Party at Sasso Remenno Camp Site. Special Event: La Sportiva Slackline Contest

Sunday, May 10th – All to the Top
09/15 - Bouldering time
10/15 - Judges at the base of the most difficult money-awarding boulders
15.00 - Closing of the event at Centro Polifunzionale della Montagna. Money-prize awarding to the climbers who have sent the most difficult boulders and drawing of the gear-prizes for the lucky ones