canyon exploring with Michele Angileri

Fosso del Cerro

Lepini, Ausoni e Aurunci are the names of the mountain groups in the southest part of Lazio, face to Thyrrenian Sea. Their compact limestone rock is perched by a dense network of karst caves, that drain to the underground almost all the water coming from rain and snow. The streams on the surface are always dry, except when there is so much water in the underground that no more water can be drained down. That's when flashfloods rumble down the streams.

It's hard finding a good canyoning trail on these mountains. Fosso del Cerro is a good canyoning trail on Lepini Mounts, the only one known at present. It it easy though not banal, it is not engaged but it has nice narrows and cascades and potholes.
It's not a great canyoning trail, but it's good enough for spending a nice sporting canyoning day.

I remember ...

We supposed there would not be any flow, and we were right. The pierced limestone of Lepini Mountains let water flow in the underground, to see the light again in big sources like the famous source of Ninfa (which is a few hundred meters after the end of Fosso del Cerro canyon). Streams have water flowing only duning heavy rains, but when it happens there are violent flashfloods. Be sure of it: there is no other reason for a rag to be at the top of a stone taller than one meter in a canyon larger than 5 meters ...

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.

Copyright © 2002- Michele Angileri. All rights reserved.