BURSTAdam Ondra has just flashed his third V15 (8C), Celestite in Valle Bovona, Switzerland. He executed the flash on February 28, three days after he flashed his second V15, Lion’s Share.
He has had a wildly successful week of bouldering in Switzerland. On Day 1, he flashed Flash Flood V13, nearly flashed Deep Fake V15/16, but fell going for the lip – he opted to leave the boulder unfinished to save his juice for the next day. On Day 2, he attempted to flash Vecchio Leone V13 but had a foot slip, then went on to make his historic second flash of Lion’s Share V15. Days 3 and 4 were devoted to training and rest. On Day 5, he made very quick work of Captain Nemo V15, and somehow still had the energy to flash Celestite.
Celestite was opened in 2023 by Dave Graham. Sitting directly beside Jimmy Webb’s testpiece La Rustica V15, it is a problem defined by micro-beta. It’s composed of two halves, a V12 into a V14 with no rest in between. The problem opens with a highly technical sequence of five nearly upside-down kneebars of lots of delicate hand matches and adjustments. Graham originally approached this section climbing straight on before experimenting and finding easier beta with the kneebars. After the sequence of kneebars, the subsequent V14 section includes a powerful roof pull to an exit on a tricky, droppable, and very high slab.
As always, Ondra continues to deliver his most honest assessment. He could easily have taken the original grade of V16 as proposed by Graham and Francesco Berardino, the problem’s second ascensionist. But with his beta, which differs from Graham’s, he thinks Celestite is V15. This is not his first time downgrading or confirming a downgrade of one of his cutting edge flashes. He’s flashed at least nineteen V13 problems, several of which were proposed V14, that he downgraded post-flash
“Celestite has never been on my mind as a candidate for a flash try,” said Ondra on Instagram. “I mean, looking at video of the absolute kneebar master and wizard himself [Dave Graham], who put up the first ascent of this incredible boulder, it doesn’t look flashable at all. But after my ascent of Captain Nemo, the late afternoon humidity settled in, and it was a good option as it is river-polished rock where a bit of humidity actually helps. I was there with [Pietro Vidi] and [Giuliano Cameroni], who showed me all the beta, and I set off for my flash try, with nobody, including me, really expecting that I would get very far on this boulder.
“But somehow, I felt all the body positions really well, my kneepads were sticking and even though my biceps are about to give in, all of a sudden I was on the lip, not really knowing what to do and with my hands being really sweaty. Luckily, I kept together and made it to the top. Regarding the grade, we agree with Pietro, who did it a few days before me, that the boulder is [V15]. Dave’s beta was slightly harder.”
Ondra’s flash of Foundation’s Edge made him the third climber ever to flash the grade, and only the second to flash this particular problem. Yannick Flohé achieved the first-ever V15 flash in July 2025 with his first-go ascent of Foundation’s Edge. The following month, Jules Marchaland flashed Power of Now Direct in Magic Wood. Ondra was already considering attempting a groundbreaking V15 flash, and he admitted that hearing about Flohé’s success only fueled his motivation. His recent flash of Lion’s Share made Ondra the first person in history to flash two V15s.
Dave Graham’s First Ascent of Celestite V15
The post Another Historic Send for Adam Ondra Who Just Flashed His Third V15 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.