Stefano Ghisolfi’s enterprise: Change 9b+

Stefano Ghisolfi conquered Change, the first 9b+ difficulty route in the world, “freed” by the legend Adam Ondra in 2012 in Flatanger, Norway.

This is the second most difficult route, after Ondra himself freed a 9c in 2017. To better prepare for the challenge, the Piedmontese climber lived for weeks in Scandinavia, with the exception of the fast trip to Brunico where he won his seventh Italian Lead Championship.

“The route is 55 meters long and there are 185 movements to do – declared the climber registered for the Gruppo Sportivo delle Fiamme Oro Moena – I have been more than a month here in Norway to try the route. I arrived in camper with my companion, who supported me every day, and I lived 24 hours a few meters from the cave with the obsession to conquer it. And I finally made it! The climb lasted more than an hour and it was exhausting. I risked to give up several times, but I held on until the last. My incredulous smile and my forearms deformed by the effort are the perfect picture of my endless battle.

Ghisolfi, an athlete managed by the EIS sports management agency, confirmed the grade suggested by Ondra in 2012. With this repetition he then climbed two 9b+, after the Perfecto Mundo repetition in Margalef (Spain) at the end of 2018, and as many as six 9b, proving once again that he is comfortable both on the cliff and on the artificial walls.