BURSTIn November 2025, Elias Iagnemma made the first ascent of Exodia and proposed a grade of V18 (9A+). If confirmed, this would be the first-ever V18 boulder in history.
Exodia is in Rifugio di Barbara, Italy. The boulder was first envisioned by Christian Core and sat unfinished for years after his attempts. According to Brazz, Exodia features a 60-degree overhang, 25 hand moves, and is approximately eight meters of climbing.
Describing Exodia, Iagnaemma believes the problem starts with a hard V14 section into a no-hands, inverted double knee bar rest, followed by a final V16 section with a very powerful crux move. The megaproject would eventually take him 211 sessions over the course of four and a half years to send. La Sportiva has just released a new video of Iagnemma’s first ascent – you can view the video below (remember to go into your settings and turn off YouTube’s auto-generated English dubbing for a better experience).
“I’m not saying it’s the hardest boulder in the world,” said Iagnemma on Instagram. “I’m saying it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
For context, the grade of V17 has only been in existence since 2016, when Nalle Hukketaival opened Burden of Dreams in Lappnor, Finland. The bouldering world did not see another V17 ascent until 2021, when Simon Lorenzi made the FA of Soudain Seul in Fontainebleau, France. Nico Pelorson repeated Soudain Seul that year, and Daniel Woods opened Return of the Sleepwalker, the first V17 in the United States. The number of V17 ascents has increased significantly over the years. We saw 16 sends of V17 in 2025, plus Iagnemma’s proposal of a new number grade.
Iagnemma has climbed some of the hardest boulders in the world. In March 2024, he became the fourth ascensionist of Burden of Dreams V17. In January 2025, he made the first ascent of The Big Slamm V17 in Tintorale, Italy – the problem has yet to be repeated. Back in 2021, he climbed Gioia in Varazze, Italy, calling it V15/16. The following year, he FA’d Ganesh V16 in Tintorale, Italy. He topped Ephyra V16 in Chironico, Switzerland, in February 2025.
Elias Iagnemma’s first ascent of Exodia V18
The post The First Ascent of the World’s First Proposed V18 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.