Monte Rinatu

Peaks: Monte Rinatu (1569m)

Area: Etna, Sicily

After dropping the family off at Catania airport, my satnav directed me back through the centre of the city to avoid jams on the motorway. Nerves frayed, it was a relief to eventually get to the turn and begin heading back to Etna. This time, solo, I wanted to leave the tourists behind so headed for the much quieter northern slopes with two nights booked at the Rifugio Citelli. The main motivation was to get to the top without being charged with a criminal offence (!) but I also wanted to complete my exploration of the lower slopes and multiple subsidiary peaks and craters. I headed through Milo via a little shop visit and reached the Citelli at lunchtime. After a quick bite, I checked into the refuge (a cell with a bed, but also an incredible view straight down to our house in Riposto 1700 metres below, and across the tranquil Ionian Sea to Calabria). I knew a big summit day was in store tomorrow, with at least 1700 metres of climbing, so opted for something relatively gentle but meaningful this afternoon, exploring another piece of the larger Etna jigsaw. I drove to the Grotte del neve, the snow cave, and ran south along an abandoned road for at least 3k. This ends at a long abandoned monastery, and leads to paths through birch woods. Then a junction - and I had no real way of knowing which direction to take, a classic dilemma. In the end, I chose badly, heading north through thick woods to an old lava flow before deciding to reverse on a hunch. This worked, eventually, and led to a track up Monte Rinatu - which is one of several old crater cones along the north-eastern side of Etna. I must have missed the standard circular route because my direct path became very tenuous and overgrown, a bit of a nightmare for a while, and eventually led to open ash slopes and a summit overlooking the Valle del Bove - which, as I'd established on Wednesday - is a stunning sight. High above, I could again hear the explosions from the south-east crater. The path was so vague that I had a job even retracing it, but eventually headed back the same way and visited the cave before dining on pasta trapanese and veal at the hut. A beautiful still night looking down at the lights of Riposto and Taormina (and Reggio di Calabria) and up at a full moon.