Piemonte - Rifugio Barbara

(Revised and updated February 2026)

Content

General information                                                            (Back to map Piemonte)
Photos

General information                                                                   (Content)

Situation: In a side valley (Valle Carbonieri) of the Val Pellice 50 km south-west of Torino.
Climate: Alpine pasture at an elevation of 1800 m. Snow in winter.
Rock: Serpentinite; rock similar to Gneiss, often with a reddish, ochre-coloured, green, black patina.

Topos: 

Rifugio Barbara - Bloc

GEBRO Verlag, 1st edition 02/2026

more info and ordering

iBloc

GEBRO Verlag, 1st edition 04/2007

more info and ordering

 

If you have info about new problems, please send it to the following e-mail address:

barbara_news[at]blocheart.de

 

You can also attach photos for the new problems!

Please try to keep the size of the photos reasonable, 709 pixels wide would be excellent!

If you should draw the course of the new problems into the photo, the use of white colour would be best!

Of course you can also give own suggestions for the grades. We will collect this internally and then, if there is a definite tendency, this will be listed here. If grades should change because a hold/foothold has broken, we will of course list this directly.

Many thanks!

 

 

Boulder problems
About 290 boulder problems Fb 1 to Fb 9a+ in 8 different sectors.
Historic problems (Fb 1- Fb 6b): 46
Fb 4: 18
Fb 5: 25
Fb 6a-6b+: 51
Fb 6c-7a+: 56
Fb 7b-7c+: 53
Fb 8: 32
Fb 9a-9a+: 1
 

Description

Home of two milestones of bouldering: Kimera (Fb 8c) by Christian Core dating to 2006, and Exodia (Fb 9a+) by Elias Iagnemma from autumn 2025, the world's first boulder problem for which the Fontainebleau grade Fb 9a+ was suggested.

 

Wonderfully situated high mountain valley around the Rifugio Barbara Lowrie in the Alps of Piedmont in a breathtaking mountain scenery, especially in late autumn when the larch forests turn coloured and the surrounding high peaks are powdered with the first snow.

The area offers some sectors, starting with several boulders along the narrow access road in the Valle Carbonieri. Other sectors are close to the rifugio and on the Alpine meadows around, most boulders though are at the end of the valley scattered on the rising hillsides of the basin of the valley.

As one can see from the distribution of difficulties of the boulder problems there is something for everyone. From very easy slabs, sometimes with anchors on top for topropes for children, to the hardest available at the moment in the world of bouldering, everything can be found.

With 33 problems in the 8th and 9th Fontainebleau grades the area offers an unique density of hard and hardest problems and on the surrounding hillsides are waiting unexplored boulders in masses for motivated developers.

 

Photos                                                                                            (Content)

 

The rifugio is laying on a alpine pasture....

.... and the first boulders are close to the Rifugio.

Slabs and very good wallclimbing in the easier parts of the area ...
(Danny the dog, Fb 6b/c)

... and powerful sit starts in the sectors further in the back (Big mother, Fb 8a)

New sitting starts also in the older sectors (Post office Fb 6b+).

Wonderful coloured overhangs with problems in the 7th and 8th Fb-grade

Wow, sunny kissed even in fall and boulders like in the desert of Utah!