Andrea Locatelli establishes Il bombarolo, 8c+ first ascent aged 13 in Italy

Exciting news just in from the valleys surrounding Bergamo in Northern Italy where 13-year-old Andrea Locatelli has made the first ascent of Il bombarolo, a single pitch sports climb which the youngster suggests may be 8c+. If the grade is confirmed, then this would in all likelihood go down as one of the hardest climbs ever established by a climber of this age.

Locatelli has been climbing for almost all his life. He started on the woodie at home with his father Davide, but as soon as possibile also hit the crags. He's always had great fun on all terrains, from crags to bouldering to indoors, and he proved his huge talent by becoming Italian champion Lead Under 10, Boulder Under 12 and, most recently, Lead Under 14. Aged 9 he redpointed his first 8a at the crag, while at 11 he sent his first 8c sport climb and first 8A boulder.

In the last few months he repeated three more 8c's, and when the temperatures finally dropped it was time to get acquainted again Il bombarolo, a route bolted by Maurizio Tasca that Locatelli got close to sending a year and a half ago. At the time, after 5 days of effort, the fun was beginning to transform into stress and his father realised that his son needed a break. What followed was a period of fast ascents at different crags which culminated in an 8b flash and 8a+ on-sight!

On Christmas Eve Locatelli nabbed the first free ascent of Il bombarolo and the redpoint came as somewhat of a surprise. In truth the ascent wasn't completely unexpected, as the day before he had repeated Shower inverter, an 8c/+ at Malegno put up by Luca Bana. Locatelli required just 5 attempts spread out over two days for this technical climb.

As for Il bombarolo, the route offers a steep start up tufas that lead to a smooth wall that overhangs 20°, with no rests for 5 bolts. The climbing is perfectly suited to Locatelli: tiny crimps, not too far apart, and a crux from a single finger pocket where he can use only the first joint of his finger.It was bearing all this in mind that he suggested 8c+.

While waiting for the grade to be confirmed, one final note: the crag is located on private land and the locals are currently working with the owners to guarantee access.