Monte Gozzi (Rocher Gozzi)

Overview

Monte Gozzi is a rock made of red granite that stands out of the Val de Gravona by 500 almost vertical meters. There are a whole bunch (50!) of climbing routes of almost all severities (5c through 8a though most of them are in the 6 range).

Though I myself am no rock climber I come to present this rock on S.P. since there is an easy trail for folks like me who have problems with the vertical. If you are interested in the climbing routes, take look at the links I included. Unfortunately all are in french.

Even the normal route using the hiking trail offers you amazing and breathtaking views, just take a look at the pictures. You can find bolts almost everywhere on the rock and to me the granite seems to "have a lot of grip". Should be fun!

Getting There

You can make out Rocher Gozzi as soon as you leave the island capital of Ajaccio on the west coast of Corsica. You head for the general direction of Cargese and Porto (in the north) on the coastal road (D81). As soon as you cross the Col de Listincone you turn right to the mountain village of Apietto which serves as the base for any expedition to Monte Gozzi. You have to find your way through the underbrush (Macchia) so be sure to wear long pants. Don't lose the trail - the Macchia can be very tricky, especially where the bushes are larger.

Hafway to the Rock you cross a plateau that serves as the base of paragliders - from there on there the trail is clearly visible.

Red Tape

I'm not aware of any red tape. But in Appietto use the correct trail. There are two possible paths but one leads through private property.

When To Climb

Being located rather low on the island the best time should be April through October. Tourism in Corsica starts around May/June so finding accomodation will be the toughest part in winter.

Camping

There are camp sites in the Gravona valley, accomodation can be found in Ajaccio (30 min by car) so there is no need for free camping.

Mountain Conditions

For Weather information for Corsica lookup the Meteo Corse page

Maps 'n' Books

As for Maps I used only a road map scale 1:200000 since the guidebook I used has maps and is really excellent.

The book is:
Corsica (Corse / Korsika)
Klaus Wolfsperger, Tom Krupp
Rother Verlag
ISBN: 3-7633-4819-0 (English)
ISBN: 3-7633-4907-3 (French)
ISBN: 3-7633-4280-X (German)

External Links

• Climbing routes in Corsica
  
  Very nice (french) description of several climbing locations in Corsica, among them Monte Gozzi


• Free climbing in Corsica French climbing page with a link to nice photos of Rocher Gozzi

Images

View Monte Gozzi (Rocher Gozzi) Image Gallery - 7 Images