Cristian Brenna repeats "Alien carnage" 8c+ at Castillion

The Italian Cristian Brenna repeats "Alien carnage" 8c+ at Castillion in just three attempts

December 2000

Cristian Brenna on "Public Enemy" 8b.
photo Federica Balteri.

What has Cristian Brenna been up to of late? After his recent repeat of "The Big Mother" at Erto he decided to make the most of his current form by paying a brief two-day visit to Castillon, the famous French crag just west of the Italian border.
Brenna immediately got to work and on the first, damp day on-sighted "Final fantasy" 8a+, before having a quick go on "Alien carnage", a highly intense 8c+ freed by the German Bindhammer brothers and repeated by Dai Koyamada, Yuji Hirayama and Severino Scassa.

On the second day conditions were perfect. After having warmed up he checked out the 40 move "Alien carnage" a second time before setting off on his third attempt. He quickly powered through the initial overhanging 8a+ section to the route's only rest, two vertical holds and a good but wet pocket, and then continued via an intense sequence of monodoigts and two-finger pockets to the finishing holds and abseil chain. This lightening-fast ascent brings Brenna's tally of 8c+ to a remarkable eight.

What is even more remarkable however is the speed with which he redpointed the route. The Italian plays things down by stating that "Alien carnage" suited his climbing style, but whatever way you look at it, an 8c+ in just three attempts is record breaking!

Cristian Brenna repeats "The Big Mother"
PlanetMountain.com’s interview with Brenna