Canale che non c'è couloir

Overview

The Canale che non c’è couloir (“canale che non c’è”, in italian, sounds like “nowhere couloir”) is a short but intense route.

Although it’s not so hard, Canale che non c’è is not suitable for beginners: if you haven’t any experience of climbing steep and exposed slopes of hard snow and ice, it’s safer that you face this couloir with the assistance of an expert climber. We can take the famous and near Chiaretti-Pietrostefani couloir as basis for comparison: it is certain that Canale che non c’è is harder than Chiaretti-Pietrostefani.

Canale che non c’è couloir is placed after Canalone Centrale and Orsacchiotta couloir, coming from Sebastiani hut. It’s placed at the left (south) of Tortuoso couloir, about 150m before Sella delle scangive saddle and 200m before the start of Chiaretti-Pietrostefani couloir.

The difficulty is AD: it has an inclination, in the hardest pitch, of about 70°, with some short steps of about 80°. It’s easy find ice and few snow also when the other couloirs of Terminillo are filled by snow: ask for info on the conditions to Maurizio Sola, manager of Sebastiani hut (phone: +39 338 4812388 - +39 0746 261184)


Best season for climb: from late december to early april
Elevation gain: about 220m from the start of the couloir

Approaching

The start is from Sebastiani hut (1820m): usually you can reach it by car, following the road from Campoforogna; in winters with many snow (es. 2005/2006) the road is closed some Km before the hut: add 40 minutes of walking.
From Sebastiani hut follow the path towards Sella di Leonessa and Colle delle Scangive (N):after you have walked 30/40 minutes from the hut, you can see on your left the Canalone Centrale couloir, good for the descent. Keep walking through north, passing by the big rocky spur on the right of Canalone Centrale, and Orsacchiotta couloir. About 150m before you reach the Selletta delle Scangive saddle, at an altitude of about 1950m, you can see on your right (west) a little loney tree, usually buried by snow, at the start of a wide couloir: that is Tortuoso couloir. On the left of Tortuoso couloir, there are some rocky pillars: among them, hidden by a rocky spurs, starts Canale che non c’è couloir.

Route Description

Climb up a steep ramp of snow (45°), rising toward right: in few minute you reach the end of the ramp and, on the left, the start of the couloir. Canale che non c’è starts steep (50°), and it rapidly becomes ever steeper; the slope rises among two walls of rocks, with an inclination of about 60°/70°: this is the most demanding stretch of the route. A couple of short steps, up to 80°, requires some attentions as well the snow/ice isn’t always good, but often you can find frozen grass mixed with snow and thin ice. This relatevily demanding pitch is long about 50m: there are opportunities for belay on some emerging rocks, but few chances to put protections (maybe you can put some snow picks). After that relatively hard section, the slopes become less steep (about 50°), reaching the top of a secondary ridge that leads to the nort ridge. From here, in few minute, you can easily reach on your left (south) the summit of Terminillo (2216m) with 10 minutes of walking

Essential Gear

Crampons, ice axes, helmet, harness, rope, some pitons or friends, slings, snow pickets.

External Links

Weather current conditions:
Monte Terminilluccio (1875m)

Avalanche bulletin:
Metemont bulletin for Central Apennines

Webcam live
Terminillo north-east side view from Sebastiani hut (1820m)
Zoom on Terminillo north east side

Images

View Canale che non c'è couloir Image Gallery - 10 Images