Switzerland Has a New V16 with Nicolai Užnik’s Full Gem
The line is a sit-start to the future-classic Forgotten Gem V15
Nicolai Užnik recently made the first ascent of a new problem in Ticino, Switzerland. His line is called Full Gem, and it goes at V16 (8C+). Full Gem is a sit-start version of Forgotten Gem V15, a climb Užnik almost flashed last January, but ultimately got on his second go. The send of Full Gem comes just barely one year after the V17 climber first tried it, as he explains below, and marks his third V16.
“What a day out in Chironico, finally wrapping up this project,” said Užnik on Instagram. “I did Forgotten Gem almost exactly a year ago, and in the same session started working on the sit start. It adds a couple of quite basic but hard moves that make the whole line significantly harder. Such a special moment when everything clicked!”
Forgotten Gem was established in February 2022 by Kim Marschner. The following month, Aidan Roberts and Yannick Flohé made the second and third ascent, respectively, on the same day. Will Bosi, Nico Perlorson, and Zach Galla are among the other top climbers to tick the line. The problem ascends a stunning, sheer face etched with little edges, which make for heinous crimps.
Užnik has been taking down V15 with progressive ease over the last couple of years. His built a solid climbing pyramid, with a robust foundation of V14s and V15s. He now has three V16s under his belt, including his FA of Full Gem. In March 2023, he made the first post-break ascent of Emotional Landscapes V16 in Maltatal, which was V15 before the breakage. He also climbed Bosi’s Brain Rot V16 in November 2025, and while he said it was likely V15, he still took the grade, but dubbed it soft.
In October last year, he climbed his first V17 when he made the first ascent of Mount Doom V17 in Maltatal, Austria. A low start to the popular Hide and Sick V14, his ascent of Mount Doom made Užnik one of eight climbers to join the V17 club in 2025. Jakob Schubert made the second ascent of Mount Doom in November 2025, confirming the grade. This month, Užnik tested his strength on a Burden of Dreams V17 replica in preparation for an upcoming trip to Finland to session the real thing.
