The Italian climber has made the fourth ascent of Chris Sharma's Sleeping Lion (9b). It is already Ghisolfi's second 9b during his trip to Spain, and he still has two more to do.
After Alex Megos and Jorge Díaz-Rullo, Stefano Ghisolfi now has it sleeping lion (9b) in Catalan siurana It is considered one of the most difficult first ascents of Chris Sharma, who had freed the route in 2023 after several years of project work and proposed the grade 9b+ for it.
Nachdem Alex Megos After being the first to repeat Sleeping Lion last spring in just eight days, he downgraded the route to 9b. Jorge Diaz-Rullo later described it as a difficult 9b. Ghisolfis is now the third repeat of Sleeping Lion, which is in the sector The pati not far from classics such as La Rambla or La Reina Mora.
The lion has awakened! After three falls on the last crux, I finally climbed Sleeping Lion in Siurana.
Stefano Ghisolfi
The Italian had the 54-train long line for the first time together with the Spaniard Díaz-Rullo during the Siurana Climbing Festival 2023. Shortly afterwards, Díaz-Rullo took on the route – his ascent was successful in February 2024, one month after Alex Megos.
Ghisolfi wants to climb four 9b routes in his trip
Sleeping Lion is the second 9b that Stefano Ghisolfi has climbed during his current trip to Spain. About a week ago he managed the third ascent of The Full Journey (9b) in Margalef.
The goal of this holiday: to climb four 9bs in four different crags. Two have been completed, two are still pending.
Stefano Ghisolfi
So which two routes are still outstanding? On Instagram, Ghisolfi reveals that Fight or Flight (9b) in Oliana is still on his list – a former Sharma project from 2011. The planned fourth 9b is currently unknown.
Sleeping Lion: tenth 9b for Stefano Ghisolfi
Stefano Ghisolfi's extensive tick list in ninth grade continues to grow: Sleeping Lion is his tenth 9b in total. In addition, Ghisolfi, who is now in bow lives, has so far collected four routes in grade 9b+ – including Perfecto Mundo in Margalef.
His long-term projects include Silence (9c) in Flatanger, Norway, with which the Italian climber would advance to a new level of difficulty. Before heading back to the far north, Stefano Ghisolfi will continue to collect 9bs in Catalonia.
Alex Megos gives a special insight into Sleeping Lion (9b) and his project process on the route on his YouTube channel.
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+++ Credits: Cover image: Sara Grippo