Aidan Roberts has made the first ascent of the sit down start to Vecchio Leone (f8B), and has graded it 8C+.

Aidan's ascent of Vecchio Leone Sit Start marks the end of a successful trip to Switzerland, during which he was able to make the second ascent of Alphane (f9A), as well as another top-end Shawn Raboutou boulder, Child of Hell 8C. This was Aidan's second time on the Vecchio Leone boulder, having flashed the stand start version of the problem in March of this year.

Taking to instagram to share the news, Aidan said:

'In a true boulderers style I've been meticulously making my way through the sit starts of the classics on this wall… Perhaps a nice excuse to run some laps on the worldclass top sections'.

'But this one is a bit of an age old project. Very obvious and rather deceptive. Upon first glance it looks as though a jump would be the easy solution but some subtle texture and rounded holds make them too poor to maintain tension, the alternative swing being far too wild for myself! Instead some poor feet and complex body tension was the solution for me. Plus I had a great time solving the sequence puzzle and sessioning with Shawn Raboutou'.

Having spent the majority of his Switzerland trip on projects he described as 'conceptual projects or at least ambitious lines', Aidan described his trip as one where 'learning lessons from each climbing experience' and 'appreciating the process' of climbing had its own value, 'regardless of the outcome'.

A return to Chironico at some point in the future seems likely, with Aidan stating:

'Lots of things to come back for, lots of things to work on. Let training season commence… I'll be back'.

For footage of Aidan's flash of the stand up start, Vecchio Leone (f8B), check out the video from Wedge Climbing below.