Celestite 8C flash and Lion's Share 8C flash

Tuesday Feb 24

I arrived in Brione in the early afternoon to find out that the weather was actually very hot. I met Martin Švec and Jana Švecová, alongside Sam Weir, and went to check the Deep Fake, a longstanding project first ascended by Nathan Phillips and graded 8C+. Martin was working on the problem and kept convincing me that it was a great candidate for flash. It is important to note that we are very similar in arm span and height, so I knew sticking to his beta would likely be the best option. In the heat of the day, touching the crux holds, I almost wanted to give up for the day. It looked just impossible. But we went back in the late afternoon, I warmed up on Flash Flood 8B by flashing it and I felt really good and strong. As it got dark, it felt humid, but a moment later, the rock felt sticky. I knew it was time to go. Still, I can't really tell if I trusted myself. I was just excited to give it a try.

I felt really flowy and all of a sudden I climbed past the undercling crux, having still the 8A standstart to do. I felt good and still sticky. I was afraid about the second last move, which is a close bicycle move, but in the end it worked out very well and all that was left was to throw for a lip. But I was feeling good, and I wanted to eliminate any danger of falling off, so I really wanted to control it. A little hesitation, a little flash pump and I was back on the ground. I did not even try for a second time. It took quite a lot of energy, both physical and emotional, and I just wanted to rest for the next day. Grade-wise, the problem is very height-dependent and for my height, 8C fits perfectly. Nathan's beta is significantly harder due to his height.

Wednesday Feb 25

I waited until the afternoon for the best weather window. We hiked up to Kingdom boulder and I felt good. A little hesitant about what to do for warm up, I finally decided to go for Vecchio Leone 8B, an absolute classic and rightly one of the most attempted of this grade. My foot slipped as I was going for the pinch. I was a bit disappointed, but I thought I would be luckier with the main goal of the day, which lies a few meters to the left.

Lion's Share 8C was a long-standing project that was finally first ascended by Aidan Roberts. It is important to note that Aidan used a different starting position. He started from a crouch start in wide compression, using a different sequence for the first 2 (3) moves. All following ascents were done starting from sitstart on the right, which is arguably a more logical start. I was unaware of this before my ascent. I just had the video of Jakob Schubert and Sam Weir. This has probably resulted in Aidan's perception of difficulty 8C/C+.

Yet again, like on Deep Fake, it did not look very flashable even though I was aware that Sam Weir had not been very far from flashing. Holds are small and are really far apart. But studying the boulder a bit better, I set off with more hope. The first two moves are the real crux of the boulder, and I got them just perfectly, as they are a lot about precision. And I was in the 8A+ stand start, revolving around a big span and an improbable footwalk across. I found myself almost falling while doing the foot-walk, but by changing my shoulder position, I was able to stay on the wall.

Sticking the final jug was an awesome moment. A great feeling and very surprised that flashing an 8C, which is not much about power endurance but rather about raw strength, was possible! It is probably rather low-end 8C, but it feels harder for me personally than Foundation’s Edge.

Thursday Feb 26

Training.

Friday Feb 27

Rest.

Saturday Feb 28

It was my first time in Val Bavona ever. The valley is full of bouldering gems (but also trad climbing), and it was Dave Graham who probably did the most work, putting Bavona really on the climbing map. I was blown away. Pietro Vidi made a little tour with us in the morning. Then we went for Captain Nemo 8C. My flash try wasn't very dramatic, as I fell off the first move, which is a very tricky kneebar. It took me a few tries to understand it, but ultimately I sent it. The quality of this problem is sky-high. Then we moved to Celestite 8C(+) and La Rustica 8C blocks as the late afternoon humidity settled in and river-polished granite has better friction in humidity.

Celestite has never been on my mind as a candidate for a flash try. I mean, looking at a video of the absolute kneebar master and wizard himself, Dave Graham, who put up the first ascent of this incredible boulder, it doesn't look flashable at all. I was there with Pietro Vidi and Giuliano Cameroni, who showed me all the beta and I set off for my flash try, with nobody, including me, really expecting that I would get very far on this boulder. But somehow, I felt all the body positions really well, my kneepads were sticking and even though my biceps were about to give in, all of a sudden I was on the lip, not really knowing what to do and with my hands being really sweaty. Luckily, I kept together and made it to the top. Regarding the grade, we agreed with Pietro, who did it a few days before me, that the boulder is 8C. Dave's beta was slightly harder.

Read more on Planet Mountain in a pretty packed interview by Nicholas.

Photos here and in the gallery by Martin Švec (Lion's Share 8C) and Giuliano Cameroni (Celestite 8C).