Some tough boulders were committed in Ticino: Francesco Berardino repeated Return of the Dreamtime (8C+), Daniel Woods bouldered Embrace Gravity (8B+) and Giuliano Cameroni freed Tombola (8B).
Even if Ticino didn't live up to its name as Switzerland's sun lounge over Easter, several tough lines have been repeated and climbed for the first time in the recent past.
Second ascent of Return of the Dreamtime (8C+)
Am Dreamtime-Boulder in Cresciano the strong Italian could Francesco Berardino the first repetition of Return of the Dreamtime get hold of. Yannick Flohé first climbed this 8C+ boulder in February 2023. The line starts like the Fred Nicole classic Dreamtime, but then leads away to the right after the dynamic move to the edge.
Daniel Woods repeats Embrace Gravity (8B+)
The American bouldering professional Daniel Woods had once again traveled to Switzerland to pay another visit to Alphane. Even though he hasn't (yet) made any progress in this project, he succeeded Val Bavona the ascent of Kim Marschner's 8B+ line Embrace Gravity. Daniel Woods was quite taken with the highball, once discovered by Jimmy Webb and his friends:
This is one of those lines that makes your jaw drop and you want to start climbing straight away.
Daniel Woods
The veteran enthuses that the selection of holds, the structure of the rock and the movements are simply perfect. The boulder is high, but not dangerous in Daniel Woods' eyes. “I was happy to find such good conditions and to be able to climb the line before this epic bad weather front came in.”
New 8B test piece in Brione
Giuliano Cameroni could in Brione start a new line for the first time:Raffle (8B). “Wonderful compression climbing on the best rock,” is how the Ticino native summed up his new creation.
The crux of Tombola is a drop knee to achieve a tiny vertical bar.
Giuliano Cameroni
Giuliano Cameroni had had his eye on the line for a long time. But it wasn't until this year that he and his brother Diego finished cleaning it.
That might interest you
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- Bouldering world elite besieged blocks in Ticino
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Credits: Cover picture Sam Pratt