Stefano Carnati ticks Ultimo tango a Zagarolo 9a (+)

Stefano Carnati, with 37 routes 9a to 9b under his belt, has repeated Ultimo tango a Zagarolo (9a+) in Grotti. The Italian only needed two days for the ascent and commented it is either a hard 9a or 9a/+. (c) Filippide Calindro

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Ultimo Tango a Zagarolo is short and specific route: it starts with a powerful ten-move boulder, featuring a long move off distant feet and then a series of two-finger pockets that are extremely hard on the tendons. The final crux is a jump from a deep, sharp two-finger pocket. I managed to stick this move in isolation already on my first try, but I quickly realised that coming into that pocket from below makes it almost impossible to get it as deep and solid as you’d want.

On my redpoint I must have pulled way too hard on that pocket, because my finger went numb for the entire upper section. That part climbs around 8a, on a vertical wall with smaller, sharper pockets… definitely not as easy as I expected after only checking it twice. Another lesson learned. In the following days my tendons were incredibly sore, and I could barely climb anything.