canyon exploring with Michele Angileri

Fosso di Ortanza

From Mount Gorzano the Fosso di Ortanza goes down to the Tronto in a beautiful sequence of waterfalls embedded in the splendid open landscape of Laga. In the warm season its falls are admired by hikers and rappelled by canyoneers, in winter the falls are a great playground for ice-climbers (the first to discover the sporting potential of Ortanza falls).

In Ortanza we find all the main features of Laga canyons.

I remember ...

I noticed for the first time the Fosso di Ortanza in 1994 while driving home from a hike on Gran Sasso: that looked like a canyon!
A few days later I went and see. That was the first time I put my feet on the Laga: what a beautiful and unusual environment! I climbed to the entrance of canyon, then I went to the exit, but then I did not return there to descend it: I had not the right partners for that exploration and I didn't trust to go alone, so I gave priority to other canyons and places.

When at last I began exploring canyons on Laga Mounts the Ortanza had yet become a classic canyong trail, appreciated for its unusual features. As explorations proceed it became clear that the unusual features of Ortanza were common to almost all the canyons of Laga. Of course, this does not take away anything to the beauty of Ortanza, which remains a perfect way to enjoy the magical atmosphere of these extraordinary mountains. And the fact that Ortanza is not the only place on the Laga with those landscapes and those feelings is to the advantage of those who, like me, really love those landscapes and those feelings.

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.