A present for the future, G-Rota

[9b]

Italian here.

F.A. Adam Ondra, 2010/01/02 (ascent will be included in this film).

Here report.


FULL SCREEN ALBUM (You can increase speed).



How the line was born

After Marina Superstar, my goal was to find and bolt a "100 % 9b" for:

- Adam "the future", to make him a gift for the new year

- the future climbers, to make a present to our local climbing evolution

I had the name of the route in my mind, before than the route itself ... :-)

 

So I searched and found the line, studied it from the ground for days, trying to imagine if it was possible and, most important, if it could be 9b ;-)

My envisioning of the whole line was for me quite obvious, even if kind of "crazy" for our local standard: some climbers were skepticals about it.

I realized it was not possible to bolt the roof for a single person without a belayer.

So I asked Daniele Dazzi, an old friend of mine, if he knew a person who could help me to bolt the line.

Daniele suggested me to try to ask to Ivan Maghella, a guy who was bolting some new lines in Madonna della Rota.

Ivan Maghella didn't know me, so he didn't believe at me:

" Do you really know Adam Ondra ? Are you sure Adam Ondra will arrive here ? ".

And Ivan didn't believe in my idea too:

" How can you be sure the line is 9b ? "

At the end, with many doubts, Ivan accepted my proposition, but when we met I was with strong flu and cough ...

So the roof (the most difficult part to bolt) was bolted in two days of horrible weather by Ivan Maghella belayed by me (me I put just one bolt).

In the following photo You can see how me and Ivan fixed my violet rope to bolt the roof:

To bolt the roof, belayed by me, Ivan "walked" balancing on that violet rope :-) !

Ivan never stopped to be skeptical:

"Are You sure Adam will be able to climb this line ?"

After having bolted the roof, I went 2 full days by myself to clean it and ... cure and dream "my" creature :-)

 

Cleaning hold after hold, I discovered the most difficult move:

a crazy, strange, wild dyno to a 2 finger pocket, cruxing the right hand on the left one, but with the right arm behind your head and the body completely horizontal: "with this move is 9b for sure", I thought ...

 

After my cleaning, Berni Rivadossi put his own sika to consolidate few crucial holds, in the roof, to increase safety of the route (basing on considerations from Manolo too, why not ?).

Unfortunely Berni didn't put enough sika in the crucial hold on that most difficult, strange move ...

After being arrived, Adam tried very well all the moves on the roof and gave me two important news:

the line was possible to climb and ... it could be 9b !!

Suddendly, trying the most difficult move, the dyno, Adam broke the crucial hold where Berni didn't put enough sika :-(

So my personal dream to let Adam realize in Italy his first 9b disappeared  ...

Adam searched and found another different, higher way to climb the roof: according to this new method, we replaced 2/3 bolts, following his own suggestions.

 

And Adam brushed some holds in the new part too.

 

Miroslav Ondra, belayed by Adam, replaced the first bolt too.

After Adam Ondra had progressed on the roof, Ivan Maghella, belayed by Beppe Castellini, bolted the vertical wall, following Adam's suggestions.

To study the line, bolt, clean and consolidate the most crucial holds (except one ... :-) was a nice teamwork !
No team managing was necessary, things came from pure passion for climbing and sharing, it was really the perfect climbers "party".


The funny thing is that the roof is the hardest part of the route (about 9a) and it was bolted by Ivan (who never climbed something more than 7b+) following my suggestions (me I never climbed something more than 8b+):

so it has been proven it's possible also for normal climbers to bolt a really hard route  :-)

When Adam was trying the route, everybody continued to ask me:

" Are you sure he can climb this route ? "

Adam answered for me.

At the end, he wished happy new year to the rocks around too:






The sector is perfect for Christmas time :-)


The line (You can see many photos before it was bolted too):

It's about 35 meters.

It's really unique:
it combines athletic bouldery moves on roof, with a vertical wall.

First part on roof (about 20 meters).
Stand start (7c boulder).

A 7c boulder finishing in an 8c+ route, then the crux:
a very long move (7c boulder "but You are pumped")

 

 

 

Traversing from right to left (six powerful quite hard moves after the crux):

 

 

 

 

Even if some crashpads are strongly suggested, You can't start to climb from the end of the roof (some meters from the ground).

There is no other hold You can reach from the ground, if not the stand start at the beginning of the line.
For safety reasons maybe we'll remove a big stone under the roof.

To the second part:
after some "rest", about 4/5 meters on overhanging wall, with the last boulder (7a+ boulder).

The last boulder (7a+ boulder), added to the second part (7c+ route) could be about 8a+ route.

The second part: a slightly overhanging vertical wall, 7c+ route.

 

 

(Adam's 8a page)




Hard 9a or easy 9a+ is a "slash grade": 9a/+

[9b]

Adam Ondra, few moments after having climbed Chilam Balam:

"ok, maybe A present for the future could be 9a+ :-)"