14 December 2020
Gioia 8C? by Niky Ceria
Niky Ceria reports on Insta that he has done the fourth ascent of Gioia 8C? in Varazze. "Since kneebar didn't suit my interest and the original beta didnโt fit my skills, I took more time and I finally figured out a different method which came out being less skin dependent and slightly more powerful."
Here is how the boulder was presented in 2015 on 8a. "It was set up by Christian Core, the former World and European Boulder Champion who twice has won the World Cup, as an 8C in 2008. Later, Adam Ondra and Nalle Hukkataival repeated Gioia and gave it the personal grades of 8C+ and 8C/+, respectively. These ascents established Gioia as one of the first upgraded hardcore boulders in the world. During the years, many more have tried to repeat it with no success and many believe that Gioia is the first 8C+ in the world. What is not well known is that there are five glued holds on Gioia. A week ago, Dave Graham and Daniel Woods started to work on it and Dave actually found a new kneebar making the crux possible easier and later, a foothold broke, making the crux on the 8A+ stand version significantly easier. The next day, Christian glued it back trying to make the foothold as in the original shape and size. This made the Burrow Files publish a critical article and the controversy was out. Christian is very sorry for this as he just wanted to preserve Gioia in its original shape as the boulder and it's difficulty is important in the history of bouldering. Picture is from Core's FA."
Here is how the boulder was presented in 2015 on 8a. "It was set up by Christian Core, the former World and European Boulder Champion who twice has won the World Cup, as an 8C in 2008. Later, Adam Ondra and Nalle Hukkataival repeated Gioia and gave it the personal grades of 8C+ and 8C/+, respectively. These ascents established Gioia as one of the first upgraded hardcore boulders in the world. During the years, many more have tried to repeat it with no success and many believe that Gioia is the first 8C+ in the world. What is not well known is that there are five glued holds on Gioia. A week ago, Dave Graham and Daniel Woods started to work on it and Dave actually found a new kneebar making the crux possible easier and later, a foothold broke, making the crux on the 8A+ stand version significantly easier. The next day, Christian glued it back trying to make the foothold as in the original shape and size. This made the Burrow Files publish a critical article and the controversy was out. Christian is very sorry for this as he just wanted to preserve Gioia in its original shape as the boulder and it's difficulty is important in the history of bouldering. Picture is from Core's FA."
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Jorge Diaz-Rullo reports on Instagram that he has made the first ascent of Cafe Colombia in Margalef. At 27, heโs already stacked four 9b+ sends and now heโs adโฆ
16 March 2026
Ondra flashes 3*8C in two weeks
โI stopped focusing on competition bouldering after last yearโs World Cup in Prague, partly because I can already feel it on my body, especially in my shoulders. The modern competition style, with a lot of jumping from one hold to another, is very demanding for the shoulders.
Outdoor bouldering isโฆ
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Sean Bailey reports on Instagram that he has done the first ascent of Duality of Man (9c) in Dry Canyon. โ After four total years and three seasons of climbing,โฆ