Rio Aracli  
Description:
Mountain canyon with a good height difference but a rather discontinuous character. It starts in open environment surrounded by vegetation, the flow varies considerably in relation to the season. Evaluate it carefully earlier in the season.


Zone:
Friuli Venezia Giulia - Paluzza (UD)

Elevation and length:
Entrance: 1240 m
Exit: 915 m
Height difference: 325 m
Length: 1200 m
Highest pitch: 55 m

Advised decent period:
From May to October

Exposure:
East

Timings:
Approach: 15 mins
Descent: 3h
Return: 10 mins

Shuttle:
10 km

Anchors:
Expedition

Advised ropes:
2 of 60 m + emergency rope

Gear:
Full wetsuit, bolting kit

Escapes:
Yes, all along the route

Map:
Carta Tabacco 1:25000 foglio n° 09 - Alpi Carniche - Carnia Centrale

Interest:
Local

Difficulty:
V4 a1 II

Coordinates (WGS84) for downstream (valley) parking:
-

Coordinates (WGS84) for upstream (mountain) parking:
-

Coordinates (WGS84) of the riverbed access point (start of canyon):
-

Approach to the valley (lower car park):
From Tolmezzo take SS 52bis towards "Passo di Monte Croce Carnico - Paluzza". After passing the village of Paluzza, on the left you see a modern wooden bridge that crosses the River But. From the main road, a small road on the left allows you to access the canyon. Leave the car in the wide open space near the bridge. From here you can also see the final waterfall, hidden among the vegetation.

Approach to the mountain (upper car park):
Go back towards Paluzza and after about 2 km turn right (after a former barracks). Reach Cercivento and then, just as you exit the village, leave the main road and take a parallel road to the right, following signs to "Pian delle Streghe" (brown sign).
Continue for about 6 km up to a hairpin bend to the left, from where an obvious concrete road branches off to the right and climbs steeply. Follow it to the end, near a shed. Park on the left in a small grassy area.
From the car park, go straight past the house; the road becomes a path that goes uphill into the woods until you reach the river bed.

Description and technical notes:
The descent starts from this point or from the small waterfall a little further upstream that can be easily reached following the left bank.
01 - NA 4 L
02 - P (4 + 6) L
03 - D 4 L
04 - P 10 L
05 - D 8
06 - NA 6
07 - P 12 R
08 - T 4 (by-passable L)
09 - NA 8 L
10 - NA 18 L
11 - NA 15 R
12 - NA 6 L
13 - NA 55 R

Exit:
After the 55 m waterfall, there is a little downclimb, then, on the left there is a walkway that runs along the stream collecting water for the water company. From here, walk down through the woods following the pipe to your right and, as soon as possible, cross it and try to find the way through the woods with least severe slope that allows to intercept the path. Once you reach the path, continue down to the bed of the River But and to the bridge that brings you back to the parked car.

Notes:
The first descent was made on 10/19/13 by the group CanyonEast (S. Broili, C. Chiesa, C. Vogrig).
The descent is very slippery and discontinuous, it is equipped with thin cords (lanyards) on natural anchors and with single spit-fix 8 mm and chain links for ropes of 9 mm. The downstream part of the catchment is dry and does not present major difficulties.

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Layout, design & revisions © 2017, CanyonEast Canyoning Team - Seba Broili, Vanessa Johnston, Romy Siegl, Cristian Vogrig
Webmaster: uomonero@canyoneast.it - Revised - - 22/08/2017