BURSTVeteran big wall trad climber Babsi Zangerl has climbed her first 5.15a with a repeat of Bombardino at Arco, Italy.
The line was bolted by Alfredo Webber in January 2022 and then opened by Adam Ondra the following month. Ondra gave the route a grade of 5.15a/b. The climb shares an opening 5.14a section with Bomba, an unrepeated 5.15b also established by Ondra around the same time.
Ondra took four days to clean and send Bombardino, slowly unlocking the awkward and tricky crux. Stefano Ghisolfi made the second ascent in December 2022, finding easier beta and suggesting that the route is solidly 5.15a rather than 5.15a/b. He managed to send the route in freezing conditions, as icicles hung off the wall around him. Gio Placci sent the route a week after Ghisolfi. Last year, Laura Rogora made the likely fourth ascent.
Zangerl had sport climbed up to 5.14d with sends of Speed Integrale and Sprengstoff, both in Austria. Her list of trad climbing accomplishments is long: Meltdown 5.14c, Magic Line 5.14c, Le Voyage E10 7a, Prinzip Hoffnung E9, Muy Caliente! E9, The Path 5.14aR, and Greenspit 5.14-, among many others, including Magic Mushroom, a 900-metre 5.14a on El Cap. Watch her flash Freerider on El Capitan below.
Freerider Flash
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