The biggest bouldering festival in the world took place last weekend and, in its twelfth year was a roaring success – again! MelloBlocco, held in the three joining areas of Valdimasino, Terme De Bagni and the Val Di Mello is an annual climbing event attracting thousands of psyched boulderers and climbers from all over the world, from brand new members of the community through to the very best on the planet.
This year was no different with names like Nalle Hukkataival, Adam Ondra, Barbara Zangerl and Katha Saurwein on the list of registered climbers and another +9000 people in the valley, all keen to get involved too.
Whilst the MelloBlocco event is primarily known as a competition, the vast majority turn up simply to soak up the festival atmosphere and stunning scenery. With parties, lectures, shops, food and a lifetime's supply of stunning boulders, there is plenty for everyone to get stuck into.
As always the conditions in the valley were fickle, with blazing sunshine one minute and torrential downpours the next. The ‘pro’ climbers showed determination and tenacity to climb in all conditions and the other festival goers were rewarded with some impressive spectacles of strength, technique and plenty of ‘extra-curricular’ activities to boot.
The format of the competition is a little different to what many will be used to, with all the competing climbers battling to top as many of the 10 competition boulders as they can. Each boulder problem has an allotted prize fund, which is then divided between the successful ‘senders’ at the end of the competition.
The results of the competition are as follows:
MEN 1 Adam Ondra CZ 2 Anthony Gullsten FIN 3 Martin Stranik CZ 4 Stefano Ghisolfi ITA 5 Gabriele Moroni ITA 6 Jacopo Larcher ITA 7 Nalle Hukkataival FIN 8 Stefan Scarperi ITA 9 Jorg Verhoeven NED 10 Vilimantas Pertrasiunas LIT |
WOMEN 1 Janja Gambret SLO 2 Katharina Saurwein AUT 3 Barbara Zangerl AUT 4 Jenny Lavarda ITA 5 Elena Chiappa ITA 6 Giada Zampa ITA 7 Kaddi Lehman GER 8 Michelle Theisen DK 9 Raffaella Cottalorda ITA 10 Caroline Sinno FRA |
To see more updates about the event go to www.melloblocco.it or check out the Marmot facebook page: www.facebook.com/marmot.mountain.europe
Comments