Stefano Ghisolfi Sending Excalibur 5.15c
Long-awaited uncut send footage for one of the world's most difficult sport routes was just released
On February 3 last year, Stefano Ghisolfi made the first ascent of his long-term project Excalibur, giving it a grade of 5.15c (9b+). The climb is located in Drena, Italy, near Ghisolfi’s hometown of Arco. The line is short, steep, and powerful. It works its way up a series of sharp micro edges and small awkwardly-positioned pockets to a fierce boulder problem up high, requiring an extremely technical heel hook.
In February this year, Ghisolfi released a nearly 30-minute film documenting his time on the climb. Yesterday, after reaching 100,000 YouTube subscribers, he released uncut send footage of his first ascent, which you can watch below.
Excalibur was originally bolted by Cristian Dorigatti and Morris Fontanari. Shortly after bolting the route, the pair invited Ghisolfi to try the project in early 2021. Ghisolfi put substantial effort into unlocking the complex beta in 2022, working the moves with some of the world’s top climbers including Adam Ondra, Will Bosi, and Jakob Schubert. Excalibur has not yet seen a second ascent.
There was much speculation as to whether the climb would be 5.15c (9b+) or 5.15d (9c) once completed. Ghisolfi had this to say about the grade: “I’m also confident to propose 9b+ as [the] grade, this time I have no doubt about it, and for sure it is the hardest of all my first ascents, and probably the hardest route in Italy now!”
Ghisolfi is one of the world’s best sport climbers. He has climbed four 5.15c’s: Excalibur in Arco, Perfecto Mundo in Margalef, Change in Flatanger, and Bibliographie in Céüse. In 2022, he repeated Adam Ondra’s Move 5.15b, and put up two 5.15b’s of his own in Italy, The Lonely Mountain and L’arenauta. Last year, he repeated Ondra’s Kangaroo’s Limb 5.15a in Flatanger. Over the past year, he has spent multiple trips trying to make the second ascent of Silence 5.15d.
Stefano Ghisolfi’s FA of Excalibur 5.15c
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
