Italian climber Stefano Ghisolfi makes the first ascent of One Punch, a new 9a+/5.15a line in Laghel, close to Arco, Italy.

The Italian climber Stefano Ghisolfi has established a new 9a+ (5.15a) line, One Punch, in Laghel, close to Arco, Italy after spending ten days on the project. On Instagram, Ghisolfi reports that One Punch is the hardest 9a+ that he has climbed, and that it might well be close to 9b (5.15b).

One Punch lies to the left of Queen Line, a new 5.15b route put up by Adam Ondra on April 18. According to Ghisolfi, Ondra is now close on making the second ascent of One Punch, and should be able to confirm the grade. Ondra belayed Ghisolfi during Ghisolfi’s first ascent.

Ghisolfi made Italian history back in November 2015 when he established Lapsus, a linkup between Noia (8c+/5.14c) and Anaconda (8c/5.14b), in Andonno and gave the route a grade of 9b/5.15b, the first of its kind in Italy. Last month Ondra made the first repeat of the line and confirmed the grade. For a short time this route was the confirmed hardest sport line in Italy, until Ondra’s ascent of Queen Line, which he believes is harder.

Ghisolfi is no stranger to the 5.15 grade, having made the fourth known ascent of Chris Sharma’s First Round, First Minute (9b/5.15b) in Margalef, Spain, and having bagged numerous 5.15a routes, including Ondra’s Jungle Boogie and Sharma’s Biographie/Realization, both in Céüse, France, Ondra’s Goldrake in Cornalba, Italy, and Sharma’s Demencia Senil in Margalef.



A post shared by Stefano Ghisolfi (@steghiso) on Apr 30, 2017 at 11:14am PDT



