The harmonious chaos of Melloblocco 2024

Melloblocco 2024. Where do we start? From the fact that there's just over a month to go before the bouldering meeting which promises, once again, to be the largest climbing meet in the world? From the awareness that the event days are different - from Wednesday to Saturday, in the hope that people take a slightly longer break and enjoy the valley to the full, and won't get stuck in traffic on their return home on Sunday evening? Or should we start from the over 1000 climbers who've already registered? Or from the bouldering areas, the program, the athletes who'll travel up into Val Masino and Val di Mello? It's not easy to convey all this information in a logical manner, but we'll try do our best, because Melloblocco has always been a "harmonious chaos", and this year will be no different.

So let's start with the dates. The event kicks off on Wednesday the 8th of May and ends on Saturday the 11th. Nothing official has been planned for Sunday. The awards ceremony and the party will take place on Saturday evening, and anyone wishing to climb in the valley the following day is welcome to do so. The Tourist Office at San Martino will be happy to offer advice, but this year Melloblocco has officially abandoned its Sunday program. There are multiple reasons behind this decision: in order to help those who've travelled a long way to return home safely, so to reduce crowds in the valley on a day which is already very popular with tourists, and to reduce homeward traffic late on Sunday night. The organisers hope that that many will actually manage to take a few days off and enjoy the valley to the full, and this change is an incentive to experience the Valley on weekdays - it's even more fabulous during the week - and a message to slow everything down a bit. In short, a mellow Mello.

1000 registered climbers. Yes, over a thousand climbers have already registered from across Italy and from 27 different countries, with the largest groups coming from Germany, Switzerland, Spain, France and Great Britain. This confirms that the Valley, and the event, have lost none of their charm in all these years. More precisely, in 20 years, given that the very first meet took place back in 2004. On that occasion over 300 climbers headed up into the valley; even if this number has increased dramatically and even if climbing has changed radically in these two decades, the basic ingredients are still the same: pristine granite, a lush green valley, an emerald-cold river, snow-capped mountains and steep rock faces that rapture your attention and fuel your dreams. Pre-registration (with no obligation) is useful in order to organise the meeting as efficiently as possible, and pre-registration also enable you to purchase the event bag in advance (only 2,500 are produced) and therefore guarantee you'll get the "treasure map" of the boulders and this year's t-shirt. You wouldn't want to climb without the legendary Melloblocco t-shirt, would you?!?

Boulder Area. Just like in previous years, preparations began early to prepare the bouldering areas that will be used during the meeting. The team is the tried-and-tested one from last year: Matteo de Zaiacomo, Andrea Pavan and Marco Bufalo, along with the guys from the Valmasino Climbing Club. And just like last year there will be some new areas, but since one of the aims is to restore existing zones to their former glory, this edition will rotate around the Mota sector, close to San Martino. The area is located approximately 200 meters as the crow flies from the Melloblocco village; it hosts boulders of all shapes and sizes suitable for everyone, and the setting is tranquil and relaxing. The team has also been restoring the Visido area; some paths will be rebuilt in order to create a circular route that connects the various bouldering areas. The approach to Visido is a little longer than to Mota, but the variety and quantity of boulders on offer will make the hike more than worthwhile!

The program and the athletes. Straight out: there's a whole lot going on and the list of athletes is exceptional. But we're not going to reveal too much right now because the program is evolving constantly, with some interesting new additions being made every day. In the meantime though, we can confirm that in the very near future we'll releasing detailed information about the program, the evening lectures and the top climbers who will travel into the valley to take part in Melloblocco 2024. Just like you? ;-)

For info and pre-registration visit www.melloblocco.it

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MELLOBLOCCO 2024
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When: 8 - 11 May 2024
Where: Val di Mello / Val Masino (Valtellina, Sondrio, Italy)
What: the world's biggest bouldering meeting
Who: for all those who love bouldering, from across the globe
What for: climb the numerous boulders and valley rock faces
Organisation: Associazione Operatori Val Masino
Info: www.melloblocco.it / Instagram / Facebook