Andrea Polo climbs The Core 8c+ at Medveja in Croatia

These are the words of Italian climber Andrea Polo after his recent first repeat of The Core, the sport climb bolted by his brother Enrico and freed in 2011 by Klemen Becan. At the time the Slovenian put forward the grade 9a making it the hardest in the country but Polo states "I reckon 9a suggested by the first ascentionist is slightly overgraded and while waiting for confirmation from future repeats, I suggest this fantastic route is more like 8c+."

All the ascent details are documented in Polo's blog and he concludes by saying "This is certainly the hardest route I've climbed so far, the culmination of a highly satisfying season and hopefully a great start for my upcoming trip France and Spain. Fantastic... every now and then dreams really do come true!"