Monte Padro

Overview

Monte Padro is the northernmost of the six "big" peaks of corsica, situated between Asco and Tartaigne valleys.

There are two normal routes up to this peak and several further (easy) possibilities. I stick to the NE arrete I made, the other common route would be from above Asco through the SW flank.

Getting There

Public transport is non-existent.

For the northeastern normal route (which I will focus on) trailhead is the Maison Forestiere du Tartaigne-Melaja (703m) at the D963, which is no more than a ruin at the end of one of the worst and most remote roads in Corsica. It is connected to the rest of the world either by the very steep road from Ile Rousse via Speloncato across Bocca di Battaglia; or from Ponte Leccia via Bocca a Croce. Both about 50 km that will take far more than one hour even for sportive drivers.

The south side is accessed from short behind Asco at the D147; this road joins RN 193 (Ajaccio - Bastia) close to Ponte Leccia. This route is marked on the 1:50.000 map Corse Nord (see "Maps") and I will not deal with it further on as I have not made it.

Red Tape

None. Several rules from the parc-naturel are not more than self-evident (no open fire etc.).

Camping / Accomodation

North side: None. Next village is Mausoleo, more than 10 km before the Maison Forestiere; there is a gîte d'etappe at Pioggiola 14 km before the trailhead.
Next to the Maison Forestiere there are quite beautiful places for a tent but no facilities.

When To Climb

The NE arrete and the E flank should be snow-free about May to June up to September.

Weather conditions

For Weather information for Corsica lookup the Meteo Corse page

Maps 'n' Books

Monte Padro is divided onto two "top25" maps: IGN OT4249 "Ile Rousse" and OT4250 "Monte Cinto" 1:25.000 (for the northern side one needs both, for the south side the second is sufficient). IGN-Link

Corse du Nord, 1:50 000, Ed. Didier Richard, map no. 20 (here the southern route is marked!).

Images

View Monte Padro Image Gallery - 8 Images