Ana Belen Argudo FA’s Jai-Alai (9a)

Ana Belen Argudo, with four 9a’s under her belt, has done the first ascent of Jai-Alai (9a) in Margalef, after projecting it for some 15 sessions. (c) Jaume Cebolla Vincent

Can you tell us more about your FA?
Earlier this year, we spent a lot of time climbing in Àtic — the name comes from it being the highest sector in Margalef. Because of the long approach [30 minutes], very few climbers go there. But it features a high-quality vertical wall with around 10–12 routes in the 7th grade, and a steep wall with four hard routes: two first ascended by Iker Pou, and two still unrepeated (at that moment)

I started by repeating the two routes climbed by Iker: Esclavos de las Redes (8c/+), which he also bolted, and Pelotari (8c+), bolted by Vicent Palau. After that, I focused on the two lines further to the right, both bolted by Iker and, at that time, still without any ascents — Jai Alai, and another one that hadn’t even been cleaned yet and didn’t have a name.

I spoke with Iker, and he encouraged me to try both — and even to finish cleaning the unnamed route. But he especially recommended Jai Alai. He told me it would be very hard — around 9a+ — but an amazing line. I felt intimidated, but I gave it a try… and instantly fell in love. The style suits me perfectly: super steep, around 20 moves with no rests, on shallow two-finger pockets.

The mental side was the most demanding. If I wasn’t 100% focused, I couldn’t even get a proper attempt — the route demanded everything from me. It was the first time on a project that I would head back to the van without having done the crux even once, not even in isolation.

We filmed the whole process and are now working on a film to share how special this journey was for me. Now it’s time for others to get psyched and try this incredible route.

Here’s a video from our YouTube channel that gives you a first look at Jai Alai, and also the unnamed project. While working on Jai Alai, I got motivated to clean the other route as well and even gave it a few tries. But in the end, I had to fully focus on Jai Alai, as it was so demanding it required 100% of my energy.