Hardest Route in Italy | Wonderland 9b/9b+ | Adam Ondra
Adam Ondra takes on Wonderland, a breathtaking new route at the Terra Promessa crag near Arco, Italy, pushing the boundaries of what is possible on rock. Developed with the vision of Alfredo Webber, who spotted the unclimbed line and placed the bolts, Wonderland challenges even Ondra's elite skillset with a sequence of slopy pinches, tiny crimps, and a demanding tufa section that forced the team to wait out a seeping hold through the winter before conditions finally came together in spring. This film documents four intense days of effort, failed attempts, broken holds, and the emotional rollercoaster of projecting a potential 9b+ — a grade that would make it not just the hardest route in Italy, but one of the hardest in the world. Ondra's candid vlog style brings viewers inside every moment of the send, from the agonizing near-misses to the triumphant clip of the anchor, offering a rare and compelling window into what it takes to establish a route at the absolute frontier of human climbing.
Adam Ondra · 21:07
Even though the crag is called Terra Promessa (Promised Land), I hadn't thought that it would once host Arco's and Italy's hardest route ⚡. The hard routes around 8b and 8c were developed mainly by Reini Scherer in the late 90s and since the development of this crag has mostly stopped. There were still quite a few spots where the rock was untouched, but the question was if it would go. Alfredo Webber, once again, saw this wonderful line, put the effort, and placed the bolts, but the question mark was about the very beginning. I found a detour slightly to the left using a few very slopy pinches and tiny crimps, replaced 3 bolts, and it was obvious that line was possible! We worked on the route for a few days in the autumn with @steghiso. Eventually, I felt I was quite close to sending, but despite this winter being extremely dry, this crag is not exactly winter crag and the crucial tufa kept seeping. The route dried up in March and after a few days of work, I did the first free no-fall ascent through "Wonderland", some of my proudest first ascents! Regarding the grade, I know it is considerably harder than most of the 9b's, but if it really breaks into the 9b+ barrier, it is really difficult to know... Timecodes: 00:00 - Intro 01:00 - Adam Ondra talks about the project on Terra Promesa (Masone, Arco) 02:13 - Working out a climbing route (kneebar, crux move…) 03:06 - First light tries 03:56 - Broken hold after the crux 04:23 - The first real good try 06:28 - The end of the first day on Terra Promesa 06:54 - The second day? Today is not the day! 07:21 - Alfredo Weber talks about Terra Promesa crag 09:18 - The third day - the first try: 2 mistakes 11:28 - Pushing just too much 12:20 - The fourth day 13:35 - The beginning part of the Wonderland 9b/9b+ 14:19 - The kneebar 15:25 - The crux 18:29 - The anchor of route Wonderland 9b/9b+ 18:50 - Adam talks about the ascent with Alfredo, Pietro Dalpra and his wife Iva 20:06 - Why the grade 9b/9b+? 20:30 - Funny outro ENGLISH SUBTITLES ARE AVAILABLE IN THE VIDEO SETTINGS ČESKÉ TITULKY JSOU DOSTUPNÉ V NASTAVENÍ VIDEA Get AO Photo Book + Free Signed Postcard https://eshop.adamondra.com/p/ao-photo-book-free-signed-postcard#110311 Have you seen this video of mine ?! https://youtu.be/JPsWEr_v_ak Thumbnail picture by: Petr Chodura Special thanks to Alfredo Webber Pietro dal Pra Mauro Mabboni Story by Adam Ondra Directed & edited by Laco Korbel Camera Pavel Klement Laco Korbel Jan Vogl Stefano Ghisolfi Production Kateřina Kuřátková Jan Verner Jakub Pína Subtitles by Jarka Marčeková © 2022 AO Production s.r.o. Songlist Fugu Vibes - Rusty Telescope Sirus Music - Cave Crystals DeKibo - Spirit of Wars Life is an epic film - Get your way #climbing #rockclimbing #mammut @mammut