Alex Ventajas flashes 8c and sends TCT (9a)

Alex Ventajas, with two 9a+' under his belt, has had some good days in Gravere where he first flashed L'Extremacura (8c) and later redpointed TCT (9a). (c) Nicolò Conterno/Crimp Films

Can you tell us more about those two ascents?
Gravere is a small and peaceful sector near Turin. I have heard of it because TCT, the line dedicated to Tito Traversa, is a famous route in Italy and I was curious to try it. Even if it’s quite an old-school style, with some chipped and sika-holds, the routes have great aesthetic movements and I really enjoyed them!

L’Extremacura, it’s power-endurance route on crimps and two finger pockets on an overhanging wall. It fits my style and has no hard-to-read boulder, so I’m glad I had the opportunity to try it flash!

TCT represents the connection between L’Extremacura and the upper and hardest part of “Base Jump” 8b+, with a bad rest in between. There aren’t any extremely hard crux, but the line remains quite intense from the beginning till the end, so you need to climb perfectly the 8c, without wasting too much energy, to keep endurance enough to climb the second part.

How did you prepare yourself for the 8c flash?
This time everything was kind of improvised! I haven’t planned to try the 8c flash. I watched some videos of TCT on the road and, when we arrived there, I was lucky to find my friend Luca Casadei, who motivated me to try “L’extramacura” flash. I reviewed the sequences from the ground with him and then I started climbing. I had very good feelings going up and the more I climbed, the more motivated and confident I became to reach the top! Luca kept telling me the moves and everything went perfectly!