Francesco Berardino Sends a Daniel Woods V15 in Switzerland
Berardino returned to the problem years after he first attempted it
Italian climber Francesco Berardino just announced that he climbed 4-Low V15 (8C) in Ticino, Switzerland. The line was discovered and cleaned by Giuliano Cameroni and Jimmy Webb, and was first ascended by Daniel Woods in March 2020, right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. After his FA, he opted to leave the country quickly as cases rose and a travel ban was issued in the US.
“This was the last boulder I sent on my trip to Ticino,” said Woods at the time. “The last 10 days were some of the best climbing days of my life. Each day, the threat of Covid-19 grew and grew though. After sending this bloc at 1 a.m. I went to sleep just dreaming of all the hard blocs to come. Next day I woke up to news flashes that covid-19 had risen to 2500 cases, 20 [minutes] from the small valley we lived in. A travel ban was put on by the US (not for US citizens though), Swiss police enforced social distancing in stores, Swiss police were booting out all cars with foreign license plates. I had Italian plates and would have to go back to Milan. These were all signs that told me to get the f*** out, so I did.
According to Woods, 4-Low is hard for the grade, featuring 13 intense moves, linking a seven-move V14 into a six-move V12. Dave Graham picked up the second ascent in 2022. Martin Stranik topped the problem in 2023 and Pietro Vidi and Gio Placci sent it in 2024. Earlier this year, Cameroni finally made an ascent. “I tried this rock years ago and felt very close, but then I abandoned it for other projects,” said Berardino of 4-Low on Instagram. “Returning this year, it took me three weeks to send it. It was difficult to understand the first sequence.”
In January 2024, Berardino sent three V16s in Switzerland over the period of two weeks: Celestite, REM, and Return of the Dreamtime. He made the second ascent for two of these problems, Celestite and Return of the Dreamtime. Later that year, in November, he ticked Captain Nemo V15 in Valle Bavona. In 2023, he sent Somnolence V13 and two Shawn Raboutou problems in Ticino, Off the Wagon Low V16 and Roadkill V15.
