Stefano Ghisolfi crowned king of Arco with Excalibur 9b+

Stefano Ghisolfi is the chosen one. The 29-year-old from Turin was the first to "draw" Excalibur on that smooth sheet of limestone above Drena close to Arco, Italy, which until Friday 3 February had resisted the valiant attempts of some of the best in the world. Ghisolfi has suggested 9b+ for this fierce test bolted by Cristian Dorigatti and Morris Fontanari and, as such, the climb now stands as one of the hardest in Italy.

Over the course of several months Ghisolfi, Adam Ondra and Will Bosi attempted the route which, with its tiny holds, ushers in a level of power hitherto unseen on the world's hardest climbs; indeed, unlike most other 9b, 9b+ and 9c, Excalibur is short and incredibly intense.

Pietro dal Prà, who established one of the hardest routes in Italy in 1987 at the age of just 16, stated quite rightly: until a few years ago crimps this small were barely holdable on vertical slabs. While the size of the holds has remained almost the same, the wall now overhangs 40°...

Ghisolfi's first ascent of Excalibur comes after a myriad of 9b, and repeats of the 9b+ Perfecto Mundo at Margalef in Spain in 2018, Change at Flatanger in Norway in 2020 and Bibliographie at Ceuse in France in 2021.

Stefano Ghisolfi 9b or harder
11/2015 - Lapsus 9b, Andonno, Italy, first ascent
01/2017 - First Round, First Minute 9b, Margalef, Spain
11/2017 - One Slap 9b, Laghel, Arco
01/2018 - La Capella,9b, Siurana
12/2018 - Perfecto Mundo 9b+, Margalef, Spain
12/2019 - Stoking the Fire 9b, Santa Linya, Spain, first repeat
09/2020 - Change 9b+, Flatanger, Norway, first repeat
01/2021 - Erebor 9b/+, Eremo di San Paolo, Arco, first ascent
08/2021 - Bibliographie 9c, Céüse, first repeat
12/2021 - The Lonely Mountain 9b, Eremo di San Paolo, Arco, first ascent
02/2022 - L'Arenauta 9b, Sperlonga, Italy, first ascent

Links: FB Stefano Ghisolfi, IG Stefano Ghisolfi, La Sportiva, CAMP