Bolted Crack Sent on Gear at 5.14bR, Bolts Remain

Barbara Zangerl and her partner Jacapo Larcher made the first free ascent of an old bolted project called Gondo Crack in Switzerland. Both climbers freed the 15- year-old project first bolted by Allesandro Manini. After their sends, Larcher said, “As its name says, it follows an obvious crack which you can also protect with trad gear. Maybe it’s not as safe as with bolts, but for us it made more sense to climb it in this way. We called it 8c (or 5.14bR). The bolts are obviously still there, so you can choose the rules of the game you want to play. You should go and check it out: it’s really cool.” It was Zangerl’s first send of the grade while placing gear.