20-Year-Old Climbs Three V16s in Under Two Weeks
Francesco Berardino is quickly making a name for himself in the world of bouldering
In January this year, Italian climber Francesco Berardino sent three V16s in Switzerland over the period of two weeks: Celestite, REM, and Return of the Dreamtime. A new film released by Mellow shocases Berardino’s sends of Celestite and Return of the Dreamtime, which you can watch below.
Berardino started his sending spree with the second ascent of Dave Graham’s ultra-technical Celestite V16 in Valle Bavona. Sitting directly beside Jimmy Webb’s testpiece La Rustica V15, Celestite is a problem defined by micro-beta. It’s made up of two halves, a V12 into in a V14 with no rest in between. The problem opens with a highly technical sequence of five nearly upside-down kneebars of lots of delicate hand matches and adjustments. Graham originally approached this section climbing straight on before experimenting and finding easier beta with the kneebars. After the sequence of kneebars, the following V14 section includes a powerful roof pull to an exit on a tricky, droppable, and very high slab.
According to Berardino, the most difficult of his three January V16 sends was Guiliano Cameroni’s REM in Cresciano, which he sent roughly a week after Celestite. Established in 2019 at V16, Paul Robinson picked up the second ascent a year later and instead suggested V14. Sam Wier sent the problem in early 2024 and agreed more with Cameroni’s assessment, believing the problem to be upper-end V15 or lower-end V16.
Two days after he respeated REM, Berardino made the second ascent of Return of the Dreamtime V16. The problem was first climbed by Yannick Flohé in January last year. It links the classic Dreamtime V15 into the finish of Somnolence V13.
Francesco Berardino sends Celestite V16 and Return of the Dreamtime V16
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