Video of Simon Lorenzi Sending Alphane V17 Just Dropped

Watch the fourth ascent of Alphane, which was first climbed in spring 2022 by Shawn Raboutou

Gripped November 17, 2023

In late 2022, Simon Lorenzi made the fourth ascent of Alphane V17 in Fionnay, Switzerland. It was the last time anyone has climbed the hard problem, and a new film featuring Lorenzi’s send was just released by Mellow.

Alphane was first climbed by Shawn Raboutou in spring 2022 and was given the proposed grade of V17. It was then repeated by Aidan Roberts and Will Bosi before Lorenzi’s send. About the grade, Lorenzi said, “The boulder for me is an addition of an 8C and an 8B without rest, followed by an end in 7B+ traverse. The grade of 9A [V17] therefore seems very coherent to me. And indeed it seems to me a good step above all the 8C+ that I have done or tried. We all know that the grades have a subjective side and it’s part of the game so let’s just let the time and the repetitions do the work before jumping into fast conclusions on this or that boulder.”

Bosi, who in 2023 made the second ascent of Burden of Dreams V17, said this about Alphane: “In terms of a grade, I personally felt that Honey Badger V16 was more of a challenge for me and proposing a grade for that at the time was daunting as it was my first V16. At the cutting edge of climbing, grading feels so much more difficult as the margins are that much finer and personal strengths and preferences really come into play. Is it 9A? Honestly, I don’t know and as I gain more experience of climbing around this grade range I may have a better view, but it is a fantastic line established by Shawn and I look forward to seeing more experienced climbers comment on where the grade sits.”