Watch Adam Ondra attempt a 9a onsight at Covolo, Italy

Hidden in the folds of the foothills above Vicenza above Northern Italy, for over two decades Covolo has been one of the reference points for the world’s climbing elite. It is here that Dino Lagni trained extensively before becoming Lead World Champion way back in 1999, and these overhangs and micro crimps have been the scene of some of the most important ascents at the turn of the millennium.

Those worth mentioning are: Cristian Brenna with his onsight of Ghegoro (8b+) and second-go ascent of Nagay (8c) in 1998, Luca Zardini and his flash of Shalom (8b+) in 2001, Patxi Usobiaga’s onsight of Le Dita del Guerriero (8b+) and Serik Kazbekov’s onsight of Ghegoro (8b+) in 2004, as well as David Lama’s 2008 second-go redpoint of Il guerriero del futuro (8c+/9a). No list would be complete without mentioning Adam Ondra who in 2009, at the time a mere 16 years old, completed Italy’s first 8c onsight by dispatching Nagay straight off. Remarkably, he backed this up a few hours alter with his 8c onsight of Una Vida Nomada.

A few months ago Ondra returned to this crag to see if it was possible to raise the bar and on-sight Silvio Reffo's new 9a, La Musa. Here's how he got on.

Info: www.adamondra.com, Instagram Adam Ondra, La Sportiva, Mammut