November 3, 2015 – After about a year of work, Stefano Ghisolfi, 22, has redpointed a 70-move route that’s likely now Italy’s hardest sport climb. Ghisolfi, who has completed three 5.15a routes, called his new route Lapsus (9b or 5.15b).

Lapsus is a marathon link-up of three climbs at Andonno in northwestern Italy, south of Turin, where Ghisolfi lives. The route links Noi (8b+), Cobra (8b), and Anaconda (8c), with the crux near the very end. Noi and Cobra were first linked in 1993 to create Noia (8c+), and last year Ghisolfi linked Cobra and Anaconda to make Cobra Reale (8c+/9a), according to Planet Mountain.

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Ghisolfi redpointed the route November 2, writing at his Instagram page: “Finally, after long time and a lot of tries, I sent the hardest project I ever tried. I spent many days on it, falling many times at the last section. Today the conditions were perfect, we came in Andonno just in the afternoon, and after a quick warm-up I climbed the route on the second go of today. I propose a new grade for me and for Italy. I think this is much harder than Biographie and Demencia."

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Ghisolfi repeated Biographie (9a+) at Ceüse, France, in June, and Demencia Senil (9a+) at Margalef, Spain, in March. Last summer he climbed his first 9a+/5.15a with Le Moustache qui Fâche at Engraygues, France. Ghisolfi is ranked seventh in the world in competition lead climbing, and he won a World Cup event in China in 2014.

Ghisolfi said the hardest route in Italy until now likely was Adam Ondra’s Marina Superstar (9a+/b, 2009) in Sardinia. “I'm going to invite Adam to try Lapsus so he can compare the routes,” he said.