Camilla Bendazzoli nails Nagay (8c) at Covolo, Italy
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Luca Giovannini
Every crag, like every area, has its own legendary route. And for Covolo, and therefore for the area around Vicenza in Northern Italy, Nagay certainly slots into the mythical route category. Freed by none other than 1999 Lead World Champion Dino Lagni, it is on this steep and technical overhang that several generations have cut their teeth, more often than not popping off the tricky boulder at the top. It is a supreme historical test, and anyone who in the Veneto region wants to enter the upper echelon will, sooner or later, tackle Nagay.
In 1998 Cristian Brenna - at the time unquestionably one of the best in the world - caused soewhat of a sensation by sending the pitch on the second attempt, while the best performance was made by Adam Ondra in 2009 when he claimed Italy's first 8c onsight on this route. Ondra was a mere 16 years old at the time and, inspired and on fire, he ended the day by onsighting the 8c Una Vida Nomada. Even by today's standards, that's textbook climbing.
Local climber Camilla Bendazzoli is on fine form and although Covolo isn't her favourite crag, she put in the effort and sent the route two weeks ago. Prompted after the ascent, she told planetmountain.com "in July it was the only crag close to her home where I could climb during the week. So I went there a couple of times, and although I didn't have a project in mind, since Davide (Picco ed) knew Nagay very well, I decided to give it a whirl. I immediately did all the moves, but it was way too hot to link the. In mid-October I returned for a few more sessions and after a few days I managed to string it all together ;-). Given its reputation, I really didn't expected to send!"
Bendazzoli's is the first female ascent this historic test and comes after the 8c's Cinque Uve (2019), Reini Murata (2020) and Mr Teroldego (2022), all located in her favourite Arco area.
