The Bouldering Mecca Rocklands is a busy place. As a result, rows of hard lines are repeated: Stefan Scarperi climbs Monkey Wedding (8C), Flo Wintjes flashes Amandla (8B +) and Elias Iagnemma returns home with a whole series of boulders in the upper eighth grade on his tick list.
During the summer months, many athletes enjoy the sheer endless variety of boulders in the South African bouldering paradise of Rocklands. So does the German Florian Wientjes or the Italians Stephen Scarperi and Elias Iagnemma.
Amandla (8B +): Tough flash ascent
Only recently did Florian Wientjes report the flash ascent of Amandla (8B+). The German can count himself among the illustrious circle of climbers who were able to manage the eighth degree of difficulty in this climbing style. His summary after the first Rocklands week: "I was able to draw some cool moderate lines, got a kick in the ass in some hard lines and flashed Amandla."
"I was able to pull some cool moderate lines, got my ass kicked in some hard lines and flashed Amandla."
Florian Wientjes
The most difficult flash ascents in bouldering to date include: Entlinge (8B+, Daniel Woods 2011) gecko assis (8b+, Adam Ondra 2012) Jade (8B+, Adam Ondra 2015) The Globalist (8B+, Jimmy Webb 2016) Trust Issues (8b+, Ned Feehally 2017) Catalan Witness the Fitness (8C, Jakob Schubert 2018) Decided (8B+, Tomoa Narasaki 2019) The Never Ending Story (8B+, Jakob Schubert 2020), Anam Cara (8B+, Jakob Schubert 2021) or Charizard (8B+, William Bosi 2022)
Stefan Scarperi makes short work of Monkey Wedding (8C)
Italian Stefan Scarperi managed to climb Monkey Wedding in just four sessions. As the Swiss bouldering pioneer Fred Nicole first climbed the line in 2002, he rated it 8B+. However, later repeaters rated the problem as more difficult, after which the grade leveled off at 8C.
In mid-July, the strong Italian succeeded The GuestList, The MasterKey and Sky a very special kind of hat trick: three 8B boulders in one day. Scarperi describes this event as "one of the best climbing days of his life".
Video: Stefan Scarperi draws 8b three times
Impressive Rockland ticklist by Elias Iagnemma
Stefan Scarperi's compatriot Elias Iagnemma also stayed in the South African bouldering Mecca and ended his trip with difficult ascents. Below is an excerpt of his ticklist:
- petrichor (8 C)
- Monkey Wedding (8C)
- Black Eagle (8B+)
- Sky (8B)
- The Guest List (8B)
- Quintessential (8 B)
- Moiste Meisie (8 B)
That might interest you
- Video: Dave Graham succeeds in Squalo Bianco, Florian Wientjes on a successful solo mission
- Hardest boulder in Italy? Elias Iagnemma climbs Ganesh 8c+
- The Italian Elias Iagnemma bouldering Gioia (8c +)
+ + +
Credits: Cover picture Lizzy Ellison