Bombo Balla 8b+ on trad gear by Alessandro Larcher

Alessandro Larcher, who did his first and only 9a in 2019 at age 19, gives us the interesting story of how he last autumn did Bombo Balla 8b+ in Bus de vela first on bolts and later on trad gear. After having done sport routes on trad gear, chopping bolts has previously been quite common and always created conflict, so we asked Larcher if the bolts will remain. "Yes of course. It is one of the main routes of Bus de Vela and it was born as a sport route." (c) Martin Giovanazzi

"In October due to the pandemic all the climbing gyms in Italy were closed and therefore I decided to train at the Bus de Vela crag near Trento. I tried an old project of mine called Bombo Balla (8b+) and after few tries, I was able to send it. After the ascent, I thought that maybe it was also climbable on gear since there are many holes and some small cracks on the route. I had never placed any cam or nuts before trying Bombo Balla so in the next few days I asked my dad to help me and to explain to me how to be safe using cams and nuts. After checking the route with him we placed all the protections and I tried to fall on them to gain some trust in the gear and some confidence in myself. At the end of the day, I was able to send the route pink point. Two days later I came back and after the warmup, all went smooth and I sent the route placing all the gear while climbing! It was a big adventure and through this process, I discovered a new dimension for me in climbing! Trad climbing is amazing and the mind is so important! This route has opened my eyes towards the big potentials of repeating hard sport routes on gear and I already have some ideas😉👌🏻"