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canyon exploring with Michele Angileri

Vallone Baronello

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A great part of Sila Mounts is made of granite. But when you go through the Sila Plateau, amidst dense forests and farmgrounds, you might not realize it. You don't see rock around you, except for some rounded boulders. This happens because the granite of Sila is degraded to sand. There is no compact rock on the surface of Sila Plateau. To see compact granite you should dig a hole deep down ...

... or go where something is digging hour by hour, day by day: in the bottom of valleys, where water has reached the compact granite and it's carving it! In Vallone Baronello, where you find the strong compact granite and a canyon with beautiful pools and cascades.
In summer going through Baronello gives no trouble, in wet seasons the large flow-rate would force you to keep yourself outside the waterfalls but, I'm sure, even in bad conditions descent would not lose that typical taste of sweet featuring the canyons of Sila Mounts.

Name	Vallone Baronello
Area	Calabria, Sila
Nearest village	Savelli
Entrance altitude (above sea level)	820 m
Exit altitude (above sea level)	560 m
Length	2 km
Longest rappel	25 m
Rock	Granite
Rating	4 (summer)
Shuttle	Advisable
Explored by	Francesco Lamanna, Carmine Lepera, Franco Mascaro (G.S. "Le Grave", Verzino); summer 2009 Upper canyon: Michele Angileri, Andrea Caliò, Antonio Trocino, Andrea Pucci; august 22 2009

I remember ...

We planned that day would be exploring. I had located a good stream some months before, with cascades and pools in granite rock. But the evening before Antonio telephones me: Miché, I have in hands a newspaper article describing a canyon by Savelli. It has nice photos of cascades and rappelling canyoneers. It's called "Vallone Baronello". It has been discovered by cavers from Verzino ... I hope it's not the canyon we planned to go exploring tomorrow
Damn ... it's it. We might change our program ...
Why? I would like to go there even if it has been explored yet: looks beautiful!

Yes it was: beautiful! We went through one kilometer of canyon before meeting the cascades described in newspaper article. It had pools and a couple of rappels, and I believe Verzino cavers had not yet gone through this part because there is a good path leading directly to the cascades described in article. But it doesn't matter: the first descent of Baronello is their one.

Bravi!

Video by Michele Angileri and Andrea Pucci

Photographs in this website show ultralight ropes (6 mm ropes made of high tenacity fibers). Read multimedia book Ultralight ropes canyoning technique to learn how to use them.