Laura Rogora has made the first female ascent of Goldrake (9a+), at Cornalba, Italy.
The route, which was established by a seventeen year-old Adam Ondra, is a testpiece of crimping endurance on highly textured rock that is as tough on the skin as it is on the tendons.
Originally given a grade of 9a+, Goldrake has seen a series of quick ascents since 2010, resulting in the grade shifting slightly downwards, towards 'soft 9a+' or 'hard 9a'. In 2021, Ondra himself said that the route offered the 'notorious dilemma' of 9a or 9a+, and that he was 'absolutely not sure about the grade', but that he had opted for the harder of the two as he felt the route was in his style, and still put up a 'really incredible fight'.
Rogora's ascent of Goldrake, the first by a woman, is her ninth at 9a or harder, and comes off the back of European Championship wins in both the Lead and the Combined formats earlier this month.
Sharing news of her ascent on Instagram, she said:
'I've been wanting to try Goldrake 9a+ at Cornalba for years, but for one reason or another, I never had the chance… until now!'
'After the World Cup in Prague, with four days before leaving for Korea, I finally got my chance. On my second try, I already made it with one rest, and the next day I sent it on my first try. The route is totally my style, maybe a bit easier than expected, but absolutely amazing!'
'To finish the day I also managed to onsight the classic Jedi (8b), and climb Gold Jedi, 8c'.
Rogora now heads to Seoul for the final Lead climbing competition of the IFSC World Cup season. She is currently in fifth place overall, but a good performance in Seoul could see her finish as high as second place in the 2024 rankings.
Check out the video below, featuring a young Adam Ondra, to get a better sense of what Goldrake is all about.
Comments
That soundtrack of Ondra’s FA is the stuff of nightmares 😂