Wild Publico 9a by Marco Zanone

Marco Zanone has done Wild Publico (9a) in Margalef. "The start is the hardest part of the route, probably around 7C+ boulder problem. The wall is very steep, so the hardest part for me was to hit the pockets/crimps in the right spot and to keep the tension through the whole crux, especially clipping the third bolt (first 2 pre-clipped). Then you face a not so hard section that leads you into the hardest part of Pal Publico.

I randomly choose Wild Public as a project of mine, the line looked gorgeous and I had already climbed the upper part. Then It turned out to be easy or soft, at least for me. I'm sure one day I will pick up an hard one, but if it will be as beautiful as Wild Publico I will simply try harder and at the end of the process I will be even more proud of my performance. "

Please take us through your morning preparation to get the prime conditions?
It is very seldom that I get up very early for climbing because I think that my body it's definitely not used to climbing that early. I usually train during lunch or in the evening on a normal routine, so my body tries to always stick to that habit. Breaking the habits is not that simple but when motivation is high it helps to make the transition smoother and quicker.

I'm staying in Cornudella, so I had to wake up quite early (6.30 am) in order to be in Margalef when the sun was rising. When we reached the Espadellas sector (8.20 am) the sun was still behind the mountain and the temperature was around 2°C. No one was there, it was very peaceful. I warmed up on the hangboard while waiting for the sun to hit the rock. Just some pull-ups on the jug first, then on crimps and pockets. Then I did a very cool 7a to stretch my body and to get the feeling with the rock.

After a more intense hangboard session I felt warm enough to try the route in different parts. It was a week since the last time I tried it, so it was great to get into the flow and brush some holds before making proper tries from the bottom. When the sun was up, the wind came too (as predicted from the weather forecast). I was feeling great, my skin was cold and the rock was dry. After messing up once on the boulder, on my second try, I got through the crux without wasting too much power. On the second part, everything clicked perfectly, I wasn't feeling too pumped, which I was instead on the previous sessions. Glad to see some improvements in my endurance during the last month of climbing. :)