Silvio Reffo frees The ring of life 9a/a+ at Covolo

Reffo explained "The ring of life is a classic examples of seeming impossible: at first I could hardly do the single moves and I couldn't link more than 4 moves, my fingers kept uncurled due to the difficulties and my forearms exploded. It's really intense, a first 8c+/9a section requires excellent body control is followed by a rest and the second section, stamina based, an 8c/c+ in its own right."

Reffo attempted the line a couple of times last year and returned to Covolo about a week ago thanks to the perfect climate and after having trained specifically for a couple of months. "It immediately felt completely different" Reffo explained "I managed to link the hard sections without dropping off each hold. I tried it for 5 days in just a week and at every attempt I fell higher and higher. Last Sunday I battled hard and fell from the last hold, this convinced me that I really could do it. On Tuesday morning I had a couple of hours to spare before going to work and I succeeded on the redpoint. It's certainly the hardest thing I've climbed to date. Big dilemma about the grade: certainly harder than 9a, so I (cautiously) suggest 9a/a+."


Thanks to La Sportiva, Ferrino, adidas eyewear, C-lover