Elias Iagnemma Makes Fourth Ascent of Burden of Dreams V17
He sent the problem using some wildly unique beta. It's his first V17.
Italian climber Elias Iagnemma just sent his long-term project, the world’s first V17 (9A), Burden of Dreams, widely regarded as one of the most difficult boulder problems in the world. Iagnemma’s send is the problem’s fourth ascent and third send over the past year. Located in Lappnor, Finland, Burden was established by Nalle Hukkataival back in 2016. Hukkataival spent four years of on-and-off projecting before his eventual send.
After getting very close to sending Burden last year, Iagnemma travelled back to Finland this winter. In early March, he very nearly sent the problem, falling on the final hold. He was then forced to cut his trip short due to an extended bad weather window. With conditions improving, he recently travelled back to Lappnor and made quick work of the problem. “Finally [it’s] done,” said Iagnemma on Instagram. “What a night and what a fight. I have no words to describe all of this. The dream comes true.”
One thing that makes Iagnemma’s ascent extra exciting is that his beta makes Burden look like a completely different problem from previous ascensionists. He’s taken a highly creative approach that involves seven hand moves to reach the top, a deviation from the standard five-move beta.
After sticking the first move – a throw with the right hand to a crimp – Iagnemma brings up a left heel near the left hand starting hold. He then bumps his left hand to a tiny crimp unused by other ascensionists. He stays on this hold only a brief moment before bumping again to a high left hand crimp gaston, which is the fourth hold in the standard beta.
Iagnemma then brings his right arm across his body and grabs a left-facing sidepull, a hold unused by previous ascensionists. This allows him to rearrange his feet so that he can move his right hand to a pinch crimp, typically the third hold in the standard beta. From there, like everyone else, he launches to the final three-finger drag hold. But unlike everyone else, he launches for the hold with his left hand. As he hits the hold with his left hand, rather than holding the vicious swing, he uses the momentum to quickly clutch a hold further out right with his right hand. You can watch an attempt from his early March session below:
After Hukkataival’s ascent back in 2016, Burden of Dreams sat for over six years without a repeat. Many of the world’s best tried their hand at the problem including Daniel Woods, Shawn Raboutou, and Stefano Ghisolfi. In April last year, Will Bosi made the coveted second ascent of the problem, using nearly identical beta as Raboutou. Simon Lorenzi then made the third ascent in December, using some funky, new beta. After sticking the first move with his right hand, instead of matching with his left hand, he brought up his left foot into a back-step drop-knee, bringing his left hip close to the wall. This allowed him to move directly into the crimp gaston with his left hand, skipping a hand move.
Iagnemma is one of Italy’s strongest boulderers. He’s climbed V16 in the past including an FA of Ganesh in Crognaleto, Italy and a repeat of Gioia in Varazze, Italy. He has many V15s and V14s to his name, primarily in Switzerland and Italy. On a rope, he’s made 5.15a first ascents, including Ten and Ultimo Tango a Zagarolo, both in Italy. His repeat of Burden of Dreams is the second V17 send of 2024, with the first being Bosi’s second ascent of Return of the Sleepwalker in Red Rock.
Elias Iagnemma and Burden of Dreams V17
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