In this video we get to see Iker Pou try his best to turn his fingers to shreds and pop his tendons, but to no avail. Instead he makes the first ascent of Nit de bruises, 9a+, in the l'Ermitage sector at Margalef, Spain.

As reported before, he fell high on the route twice last winter when holds broke off.

Towards the ends of December 2011, I returned to Margalef more motivated than ever. I got off to a disastrous start, however, with my tendons playing up to the point where I was unable to hold my weight without fear of doing myself an injury in one of my fingers. Fortunately, my luck changed, and in a few weeks I felt back on form. So, when I least expected it, on a windy cold day which seemed anything but promising, I suddenly succeeded in making the first dreamed-of ascent of Nit de Bruixes.

The route is about 25 metres long. The first section is an overhang and constitutes some very physical climbing which gives way to the second, more vertical section.
Almost all the holds, in the very best Margalef style, are one- or two-finger holds. The route could be divided into three parts. A first, very physical part, followed by a boulder section con one-finger holds which scarcely reach the first knuckle of the finger. There is no rest in these sections and the route turns into a battle to retain strength and stamina. The third section remains- a long slightly inclined slab section which leaves no room for error.

Iker Pou is sponsored by: The North Face, Petzl, La Sportiva, Beal and Euskaltel