Siara Fabbri Sends Compass North V14

The Fionnay problem follows fierce crimps across a very steep cave

Aaron Pardy October 5, 2023

On September 24, Siara Fabbri added another hard Swiss boulder to her tick list, Compass North V14 (8B+) in Fionnay. Fabbri has spent the past two years climbing difficult blocs throughout the country. In November last year, she sent her first V14, the ultra-classic New Base Line in Magic Wood. In July, she sent the vertical test piece Kingda Ka V13 in Ticino. A month later in August, she topped the popular Permanent Midnight V12, grading the problem V13 for her reach.

Compass North is quite a new problem. Clément Lechaptois opened the line in May last year, and its gone on to see a few notable ascents including a flash from Daniel Woods and a first female ascent from Marine Thévenet. It starts as for Shawn Raboutou’s F*ck the System V16 but breaks out to a rising traverse across a 45-degree overhanging wall of small crimps.

“This was high up on my list to do this year, and I’m so psyched things could come together and I could put down this steep crimp test-piece by [Clément Lechaptois],” said Fabbri on Instagram about her Compass North send. “A couple sessions prior I felt able to do it but just needed the right conditions and skin. Luckily it got cold recently, and first go on the day I could stand on top of the giant boulder.”

Originally from the U.S., Fabbri now works as an antimatter researcher for CERN in Geneva. According to her 8a.nu page, since 2022, she’s sent an impressive two V14’s, two V13’s, five V12’s, and ten V11’s.