Lorenzo Bogliacino ticks Narcissus (9a)

Lorenzo Bogliacino, with four 9a+’ under his belt, has done Narcissus (9a) in Erboristeria. In the VL ranking game, the Italian is #13. The picture is from Naturalmente (9a+).

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
First of all, I have to thank Matteo Gambaro for the vision in bolting and releasing such a beast! I returned to the Erboristeria sector somewhat casually after a few years. I used to climb there a lot back in the day, when I was younger and climbed all the routes up to 8b. At the time, I felt too weak to tackle the most challenging lines in that physical style across the entire roof.

Over the years, my climbing style has evolved a lot. I’ve gained some weight (around 7–8 kilos), and now I feel much more confident on roofs and overhanging walls. Last but not least, I’ve really improved my kneebar skills! On the first day, I managed to do all the moves, but unfortunately, on the second day, I broke a big key hold in the first boulder section. It stayed intact in my hands, so I called Matteo, who decided to try and reinforce it to preserve the route in its original state.

After a couple of days working on the second part of the route, last Wednesday, on my fifth day, in terrible conditions at 8 p.m., and a bit tired after nine days of work in a row, I managed to send the route! In the final section, I chose to use the easier beta like Bouin and Ondra, which felt more logical to me, but I’d like to come back and try the original finish, as Matteo did!