Age: 34
Years climbing: 22 years
Sponsors: Pad, Scarpa and Ecogrips
Hometown: I live on north west coast of Italy, between the sea and the mountains. I have more than 3,000 boulder problems within 3 hours from me!
Local climbing area: Varazze, a popular area for bouldering in Italy. We just completed the first official guide and are happy since lots of climbers are coming to sample the rock.

You have developed a lot in Varazze, and the first thing a climber notices is how clean and easy it is to navigate. What motivated you to put so much effort into this area?
For the past 8 years four of us (locals) have been cleaning and preparing the area. It has been a very long and difficult job; the woods around the boulders were very thick. Now, when we go climbing it is difficult to imagine how the forest was before it was prepared. At the moment there are 620 problems and new ones keep going up.

Tell us about Gioia.
Gioia in English means “Joy”. My friend Marco Bagnasco, the biggest local climber here, discovered this beautiful line. When I saw the line it was a big surprise – every hold was in the perfect position. I worked it for 4 months: 2 months to match the long crimper in the middle of the cave, and another 2 months to connect the whole line. For sure it is the hardest line I have done in my life.

You have given it the grade of 8c (V15).
Yes, but is much harder than other 8c’s I have completed. Many strong friends of mine have been trying it lately, and told me it is for sure a solid 8c+ (V16). I knew the boulder was very hard, but I think we have to be careful with grading, especially when talking about one of the hardest boulders in the world. I need different opinions from other climbers, because to say the difficulty might be subjective. Every “reference” boulder needs different opinions before its grade is truly announced.

Total number of trophies in your guest room:
I don’t know, I never counted. I don’t need to know because it is enough for me just to look at them and relive the emotions I had when earning each one, every time thinking, ‘if I really believe in something, anything is possible’.