Exodia — the world’s first proposed 9A+ | Elias Iagnemma
"Exodia — the world’s first proposed 9A+ | Elias Iagnemma" is a rock climbing video (14 minutes) published by La Sportiva on May 29, 2026 with 197K views. Available to watch free on CouchClimbs.
Elias Iagnemma spent four and a half years and over 200 sessions on a single boulder before finally standing atop Exodia — a line he proposes as the world's first 9A+. What began as a project slowly became a daily ritual, woven into every season and setback, always present even when it felt completely out of reach. La Sportiva documents this obsession with rare honesty, from the earliest failed sequences to the morning everything finally clicked. What makes Exodia extraordinary is its architecture: an 8B+ opening pulls you deep into the movement, followed by an upside-down rest that restores the arms while draining everything else, then an 8C+ finale that has turned back even the fittest climbers. This film is a portrait of what it means to commit fully to the outer edge of human possibility — and what it feels like when years of doubt collapse into a single, almost unbelievable send.
La Sportiva · 14:12
For four and a half years, Exodia was always there. In the background, yet never really far away. There were moments when it felt close, almost within reach — and others when it went back to feeling completely impossible. “I’d wake up in the morning, have my coffee, and then head straight to Exodia. I’d go to bed at night still thinking about that boulder.” Over time, it stopped being just a project. It became a routine — something that was part of every day, every season. More than 200 sessions under that boulder, trying to piece together something that never fully wanted to reveal itself. A process that was never linear. Getting closer, falling, taking steps back. Reaching the final moves, and the next day not even being able to start. “There were moments when I wanted to walk away. But what never faded was the desire to go back.” Exodia isn’t about a single crux. It’s an 8B+ that draws you in, followed by an 8C+ that shuts you down. In between, an upside-down rest that brings your arms back — while draining everything else. “Sometimes I couldn’t tell how close I was. With this boulder… you just never know.” Until the moment it happens. When I had already told myself it was over — that’s probably when something finally shifted. “I’m not saying it’s the hardest boulder in the world. I’m saying it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” Exodia — the world’s first proposed 9A+ First ascent: Elias Iagnemma
Categories: La Sportiva, Bouldering, V17