Lucia Dörffel has made the second female ascent of Hazel Grace (f8B+), in the Gotthard Pass, Switzerland.
© Elias Arriagada (@Elias.arriagadak)
First climbed by Guiliano Cameroni in 2017, Hazel Grace follows a thin seam across the face of the boulder, before climbing up its arete. Whilst Cameroni initially proposed a grade of 8C, repeat ascents have seen the grade settle at 8B+.
Commonly referenced as one of the best hard boulders in the world, it saw its first female ascent at the hands of Shauna Coxsey just over a year ago.
Dörffel climbed the boulder in the space of a single trip, taking six sessions in total. It is her first boulder of the grade, and adds her a growing list of women - now 29 in total - to have climbed the grade.
Lucia commented:
'I had this boulder in my mind for quite some time. It's a beautiful line in one of my favourite places, and it means a lot to me. Due to some health issues, I missed a lot of training and had to skip the entire World Cup season. But that also meant more time for rock climbing. I was really excited about this trip and spending time outside'.
© Elias Arriagada (@Elias.arriagadak)
'From the very first session, checking out the moves, I knew I could climb it. By my fifth session, I was already really close, falling on the last hard move. So we decided to extend our trip by two more days. I had one rest-day and tried the next day again. The weather started to change, and it began to rain a little. But I kept trying and the conditions were actually good for me. Everything came together on my send go'.
© Elias Arriagada (@Elias.arriagadak)
'It was perfect. Standing on top of this bloc, having climbed my first 8B+ was a great feeling and I'm so psyched for more'.
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