BURSTLaura Rogora has just climbed Narcissus 5.14d (9a), marking her twelfth climb of the grade in 2026 alone. She continues to make 5.14d look routine, but no other woman in the world comes close to her volume of hard sends. Few other climbers, regardless of gender, come close to Rogora’s mind-boggling high volume of hard sends.
“Last weekend I climbed in Albenga with [Mauro Sormani],” said Rogora on Instagram. “The first day was honestly a bit of a disaster. I struggled quite a lot to figure out the beta on the first pitch, Kalmiamoci [5.14a/b]. I definitely still have a lot to learn when it comes to this really steep style and kneebars
“On the second day I finally managed to get through the crux, but then two footholds broke near the top. Luckily, I managed to repeat the lower section on the next go and bring the rope to the chains. To finish the day, I managed to onsight Nuovi Aromi, a really beautiful [5.13b].”
Narcissus is located in Albenga, Italy. It was established in 2020 by Matteo Gambardo, who proposed a grade of 5.14d/15a. When Ondra and Seb Bouin repeated the route, they both used kneepads, unlike Gambardo. They believe using a kneepad makes the route 5.14d instead of 5.15a. Rogora also used a kneepad and agreed with the 5.14d assessment. Hers was likely the first female ascent.
According to Ondra’s 8a.nu page, he and Bouin “took kind of different direction/beta on the very top (what we believe is more intuitive), which makes it much easier.” Ondra ultimately said, “I think it could be soft [5.14d] like this. The way Matteo did it is much harder and could be even [5.15a]?
On Instagram, Bouin said Gambardo described Narcissus to him on the phone as “big overhanging wall, tufas, endurance” – all features that are enticing for Bouin. The French climber described the route, saying it begins with an intense 5.14b into a good rest, followed by the main section of the route, which ascends a steep roof.
Rogora is an absolute force on rock. She recently made the third ascent of Ondra’s Big Twin 5.15a in Laggio Nord in the Italian Dolomites. She climbed Bibliographie on August 13, and barely one month later, she has already added five more 5.14d’s and one 5.15a to her massive ticklist.
She also set another record this year – she became the first woman to climb more than 50 routes graded 5.14d (9a) or harder. Known for her mind-boggling sending sprees, her record-breaking achievement of 50 climbs graded 5.14d and harder has already grown to 58.
The 25-year-old Italian climber’s ascent of Bibliographie 5.15c in August was historic. The route was established by Alex Megos back in 2020. It took Megos 60 sessions, and he initially proposed 5.15d. Stefano Ghisolfi made the second ascent a couple of weeks later and, with his new beta, downgraded the route to 5.15c. Sean Bailey’s third ascent took 24 sessions. Bouin took around 40 sessions, and Jorge Díaz-Rullo, like Megos, did it in around 60. Janja Garnbret sent it in 21 sessions. Rogora’s six-day send of a 5.15c route is unprecedented and one of the greatest achievements in climbing ever.
Seb Bouin Climbing Narcissus 5.14d
The post Laura Rogora Reaches One Dozen 5.14d’s in 2026 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.