BURSTJapanese climber Mei Kotake has been on a sending spree in Gottardo, Switzerland. On her second day of climbing, she sent Quiet Storm V14 and Hazel Grace V14 in a single afternoon. The next day, she sent P.I.G. V15, her first of the grade.
“Everything went better than expected,” said Kotake on Instagram. “I tried Hazel Grace last year before the area closed for the season, so I already knew the beta. It was my first time trying Quite Storm, and it just suited me so well (154cm)! After so many setbacks with my finger injury, training, the Asian Games, and these sends, I finally feel like I’m becoming the climber I want to be at 29.”
Hazel Grace is a popular problem in Gottardo. The bloc was established by Giuliano Cameroni in 2017 at a grade of V15, which settled at V14 with subsequent ascents. The aesthetic, five-star boulder trends leftward across a seam to an arete topout in a beautiful alpine setting. It has been repeated by many of the world’s best, including Will Bosi, Aidan Roberts, Shauna Coxsey, Nicolai Užnik, Michaela Kiersch, and Nina Arthaud. In 2021, Cameroni added a sit start – Hazel Grace Low V15/16.
Quiet Storm was recently established this year by Francesco Berardino. It has already seen repeats from top climbers, including Stefano Ghisolfi and Jorge Díaz-Rullo. Coxsey made the first female ascent in the summer, a couple of months ago. Coxsey also called it a quick send, but didn’t explicitly share how quickly she topped it. A few climbers have called the boulder soft, including Jorge Díaz-Rullo, who made the second ascent, and Giovanni Giachino. A couple of others have called it soft for V14.
Referring to her send of P.I.G., she said, “I can’t believe everything that’s happened this past week. This is my first time sending this grade, and I think it’s the hardest boulder I’ve ever done. I’m climbing better than ever, so I’m really happy I got to send it now!”
Ghisolfi established P.I.G. V15 in July this year. It has not seen many repeats yet, aside from Díaz-Rullo, who made the second ascent, and now Kotake. According to Díaz-Rullo’s 8a.nu page, the problem takes some V11 moves, connecting Quiet Storm and Rosa Maialino V11.
Kotake has been an active comp climber for a number of years. In 2024, she made her first-ever World Cup podium at the Lead World Cup in Chamonix on July 14, earning bronze. Less than a week later, she won gold at the Lead World Cup in Briançon. After wrapping up the comps, Kotake visited Magic Wood, Switzerland, for some bouldering and sent New Base Line V14, her first-ever of the grade.
In November 2025, she sent Caricature and proposed V14. In her post about Caricature on Instagram, she said previous repeaters of Caricature dubbed it V12 or V13, but she felt it was V14 when she compared it to other problems she has tried around the world, including in Japan.
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