Stefano Carnati does L'isola che non c'è (9a)

Stefano Carnati, who over the last three months has climbed four 9a routes, has repeated Fred Nicole’s L'isola che non c'è (9a) in Amden. Without the rope, the 27-year-old sent three 8C’s in October, so the Nicole classic, which starts sitting, seems to have been a perfect fit for the Italian.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
L’isola che non c’è is a pretty unique line: a hybrid route that starts with a long, sustained bouldery section and then joins a short five-bolt route to exit the cave. It was put up by Fred Nicole, and it had been sitting in the back of my mind for years. But since it’s quite far from home, I kept postponing it.

Last year, in mid-October, I was climbing in Ticino and the weather turned terrible. The next day, a friend and I committed to driving to Amden. The limestone there is beautiful, and the cave didn’t disappoint at all.

That day I climbed the first part Cavernicole (8A), and then returned for the longer version Ragtime (8B+), which avoids the route section entirely. After that, I started working the rope part… and ended up falling there quite a bit. It’s not extremely hard on its own, but coming from the very bottom of the cave it demands a ton of body tension, and that adds up.

Coming back this year, everything just clicked. Good sensations from the first go, and the climb finally came together smoothly.