Simon Lorenzi

Instagram.com | YouTube.com | ifsc.results.info

Quick Info

Nationality: BE
Date of birth: 9th February 1997
Height: 168 cm
Hardest Boulder (Worked): 9A
Hardest Sport (Worked): 9a

References

[1] Interview with Steven Potter for climbing.com, 1st February 2022 https://www.climbing.com/news/simon-lorenzi-v16-font/

[2] Interview with Alexis Piguel for Grimper, 2024 https://www.grimper.com/news-simon-lorenzi-trois-9a-bloc-seul-trip

Contributors: LeodF (1 contributions since 03 Jan 2024), remus (27 contributions since 10 Feb 2021)
Added on 10th February 2021. Last updated on 11th October 2024.

Quick Info

Nationality: BE
Date of birth: 9th February 1997
Height: 168 cm
Hardest Boulder (Worked): 9A
Hardest Sport (Worked): 9a

References

[1] Interview with Steven Potter for climbing.com, 1st February 2022 https://www.climbing.com/news/simon-lorenzi-v16-font/

[2] Interview with Alexis Piguel for Grimper, 2024 https://www.grimper.com/news-simon-lorenzi-trois-9a-bloc-seul-trip

Contributors: LeodF (1 contributions since 03 Jan 2024), remus (27 contributions since 10 Feb 2021)
Added on 10th February 2021. Last updated on 11th October 2024.

Lists


Podcasts


Pics + Vids

Alphane (9A)
Added at 18:11 on 17 November 2023
Dune (8B)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 19:04 on 11 April 2024
Burden of Dreams (9A)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 15:12 on 28 December 2023
The Big Island (8C)
Added at 10:04 on 12 April 2024
Soudain Seul (9A, FA)
Added at 16:08 on 09 August 2024
Satan i Helvete (Bas) (8B+)
Added at 16:07 on 26 July 2023
Jungle Speed (9a)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 07:11 on 04 November 2021
La Force Tranquille (8C)
Added at 16:09 on 20 September 2021
Power of Now Direct (8C, FA)
Added at 16:09 on 20 September 2021
Power of Now Direct (8C, FA)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 13:07 on 13 July 2021
Alphane (9A)
Added at 20:12 on 20 December 2022
Off the Wagon Low (8C+)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 19:11 on 25 November 2021
Big Conviction (8C+, FA)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 20:01 on 24 January 2022
La Traction Universelle (8c)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 06:02 on 03 February 2022
Conviction (du bas) (8B+, FA)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 07:02 on 03 February 2022
Dreamtime (8C)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 07:02 on 03 February 2022
Big Conviction (8C+, FA)
Added at 07:02 on 08 February 2022
La Révolutionnaire Assis (8C+)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 19:02 on 12 February 2022
Off the Wagon Low (8C+)
Added at 22:03 on 20 March 2022
Off the Wagon Low (8C+)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 07:03 on 21 March 2022
La Révolutionnaire Assis (8C+)
Added at 07:03 on 30 March 2022
Everything the Light Touches (8C)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 16:04 on 27 April 2022
Everything the Light Touches (8C)
Added at 20:05 on 08 May 2022
Foundations Edge (8C)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 06:09 on 04 September 2022
Practice of the Wild (8B+)
View this post on Instagram

Added at 19:09 on 08 September 2022

Ascents

18 recorded ascents.

This timeline is missing some ascents where the date of the ascent is unknown. Use the other tabs to view these ascents.
Year Climb Grade Style Date
2016 European Youth Cup (B)...
European Youth
1st 3rd July 2016
IFSC World Youth Champ...
Youth
1st Lead (Juniors Male) 13th November 2016
2017
2018
2019 Dreamtime 8C Boulder | worked 11th Jan 2019
2020
2021 La Force Tranquille 8C Boulder | worked 2021
Soudain Seul 9A Boulder | worked 8th Feb 2021
First ascent. 25 sessions.

After ticking the stand start quickly the low start was a much more protracted affair, stretching out to 25 days of effort.

To make a crucial knee on the sit work better Simon borrowed a book from his girlfriend and placed it underneath his kneepad to make his shin a little longer. The name of the problem comes from the title of the book. Simon also extensively modified his shoes to get the most out of them: starting with a pair of Scarpa Instinct VSRs, he added extra rubber to the top of the shoe for better toe hooking on the big slopers and transplanted the heel from the Drago LV as he found it stuck better on a crucial left heel.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CLCxgJ2jDB1/

[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/CLFXX58DbGN/

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNqq-K0HK18

Power of Now Direct 8C Boulder | worked Jul 2021
La Traction Universelle 8c Lead | worked 6th Jul 2021
Second ascent.

26 years after his father Claude Lorenzi made the first ascent.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCWdnP0jWKc/

Jungle Speed 9a Lead | worked 3rd Nov 2021

Second try after some attempts 4 years ago.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CV0veE5jd9r/

Off the Wagon Low 8C+ Boulder | worked 24th Nov 2021

It's important to notice that the crux hold was already not the same as before. A small christal has gone and the left side of the hold is now a bit deeper. [3]

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CWtThn3tdZo/

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5X4ZR5MO6w

[3] https://www.instagram.com/p/CbVdSBvAF8b/

Conviction (du bas) 8B+ Boulder | worked 23rd Dec 2021
First ascent.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CX1V4sltCpT/

2022 Big Conviction 8C+ Boulder | worked 23rd Jan 2022
First ascent. 5 sessions.

In total the ascent only took 5 sessions, though this is largely because Simon knew the upper part (i.e. The Big Island) extremely well from the many sessions he spent refining it while working Soudain Seul.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CZFLbkvon44/

[2] https://fanatic-climbing.com/bleau-simon-lorenzi-ouvre-big-conviction-8c-font-simon-lorenzi-frees-big-conviction-8c-interview/

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=260NRRSq4d8

La Révolutionnaire Assis 8C+ Boulder | worked 12th Feb 2022
Everything the Light Touches 8C Boulder | worked Apr 2022
IFSC Europe - Continen...
Comp
1st Boulder (Men) 8th May 2022
Foundations Edge 8C Boulder | worked Sep 2022
1 session.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CiDHV1ujjAT/

Practice of the Wild 8B+ Boulder | worked Sep 2022

Simon was close to the flash on this problem.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CiQDkMjjEDB/

Alphane 9A Boulder | worked 15th Dec 2022
Fourth ascent. Around 20 sessions.

The boulder for me is an addition of an 8C and an 8B without rest, followed by an end in 7B+ traverse. The grade of 9A therefore seems very coherent to me. And indeed it seems to me a good step above all the 8C+ that I have done or tried. We all know that the grades have a subjective side and it’s part of the game so let’s just let the time and the repetitions do the work before jumping into fast conclusions on this or that boulder. [2]

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CmM4XYUj2AW/

[2] Interview with fanatic-climbing.com, December 2022 https://fanatic-climbing.com/simon-lorenzi-coche-alphane-simon-lorenzi-ticks-alphane-interview/

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rDZAm60qzw

2023 Burden of Dreams 9A Boulder | worked 27th Dec 2023
Third ascent. Around 25 sessions.

With this ascent Simon became the first climber to climb three problems graded 9A after his subsequent ascents of Soudain Seul and Alphane. Interestingly Simon used a slightly different sequence to previous ascentionits:

Instead of matching on the left hand crimp after the first move, I use a high left foot to put a drop knee. From there I cross directly to the gaston left hand and then I match on the pinch. [4]

On the difficulty of the problem compared to Soudain Seul and Alphane:

I think that Burden of Dreams is hard for different reasons but not harder. The fact is that the first move is low percentage and you have just a few tries before your skin is dead. That means that the opportunities to send are quite limited before you have to rest again at least one day for your skin. Alphane and Soudain Seul are completely different; they are physically more demanding, and it feels harder to put all the moves together, but for the same length of trip you’ll have more opportunities to send once you’ve got everything dialed [sic]. [4]

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/C1Zu5gONwDT/

[2] https://karpollaon8a.com/burden-of-dreams-third-ascent-by-simon-sisu-lorenzi/

[3] Training process for BoD youtube part 1 of 3 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7R-aIeZ7yS8

[4] https://www.climbing.com/news/simon-lorenzi-burden-of-dreams/

Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Jungle Speed 9a Lead | worked 3rd Nov 2021

Second try after some attempts 4 years ago.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CV0veE5jd9r/

La Traction Universelle 8c Lead | worked 6th Jul 2021
Second ascent.

26 years after his father Claude Lorenzi made the first ascent.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCWdnP0jWKc/

Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Soudain Seul 9A Boulder | worked 8th Feb 2021 9A
First ascent. 25 sessions.

After ticking the stand start quickly the low start was a much more protracted affair, stretching out to 25 days of effort.

To make a crucial knee on the sit work better Simon borrowed a book from his girlfriend and placed it underneath his kneepad to make his shin a little longer. The name of the problem comes from the title of the book. Simon also extensively modified his shoes to get the most out of them: starting with a pair of Scarpa Instinct VSRs, he added extra rubber to the top of the shoe for better toe hooking on the big slopers and transplanted the heel from the Drago LV as he found it stuck better on a crucial left heel.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CLCxgJ2jDB1/

[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/CLFXX58DbGN/

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNqq-K0HK18

Alphane 9A Boulder | worked 15th Dec 2022
Fourth ascent. Around 20 sessions.

The boulder for me is an addition of an 8C and an 8B without rest, followed by an end in 7B+ traverse. The grade of 9A therefore seems very coherent to me. And indeed it seems to me a good step above all the 8C+ that I have done or tried. We all know that the grades have a subjective side and it’s part of the game so let’s just let the time and the repetitions do the work before jumping into fast conclusions on this or that boulder. [2]

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CmM4XYUj2AW/

[2] Interview with fanatic-climbing.com, December 2022 https://fanatic-climbing.com/simon-lorenzi-coche-alphane-simon-lorenzi-ticks-alphane-interview/

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rDZAm60qzw

Burden of Dreams 9A Boulder | worked 27th Dec 2023 9A
Third ascent. Around 25 sessions.

With this ascent Simon became the first climber to climb three problems graded 9A after his subsequent ascents of Soudain Seul and Alphane. Interestingly Simon used a slightly different sequence to previous ascentionits:

Instead of matching on the left hand crimp after the first move, I use a high left foot to put a drop knee. From there I cross directly to the gaston left hand and then I match on the pinch. [4]

On the difficulty of the problem compared to Soudain Seul and Alphane:

I think that Burden of Dreams is hard for different reasons but not harder. The fact is that the first move is low percentage and you have just a few tries before your skin is dead. That means that the opportunities to send are quite limited before you have to rest again at least one day for your skin. Alphane and Soudain Seul are completely different; they are physically more demanding, and it feels harder to put all the moves together, but for the same length of trip you’ll have more opportunities to send once you’ve got everything dialed [sic]. [4]

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/C1Zu5gONwDT/

[2] https://karpollaon8a.com/burden-of-dreams-third-ascent-by-simon-sisu-lorenzi/

[3] Training process for BoD youtube part 1 of 3 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7R-aIeZ7yS8

[4] https://www.climbing.com/news/simon-lorenzi-burden-of-dreams/

Big Conviction 8C+ Boulder | worked 23rd Jan 2022 8C+
First ascent. 5 sessions.

In total the ascent only took 5 sessions, though this is largely because Simon knew the upper part (i.e. The Big Island) extremely well from the many sessions he spent refining it while working Soudain Seul.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CZFLbkvon44/

[2] https://fanatic-climbing.com/bleau-simon-lorenzi-ouvre-big-conviction-8c-font-simon-lorenzi-frees-big-conviction-8c-interview/

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=260NRRSq4d8

Off the Wagon Low 8C+ Boulder | worked 24th Nov 2021

It's important to notice that the crux hold was already not the same as before. A small christal has gone and the left side of the hold is now a bit deeper. [3]

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CWtThn3tdZo/

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5X4ZR5MO6w

[3] https://www.instagram.com/p/CbVdSBvAF8b/

La Révolutionnaire Assis 8C+ Boulder | worked 12th Feb 2022
Power of Now Direct 8C Boulder | worked Jul 2021
Dreamtime 8C Boulder | worked 11th Jan 2019
La Force Tranquille 8C Boulder | worked 2021
Everything the Light Touches 8C Boulder | worked Apr 2022 8C
Foundations Edge 8C Boulder | worked Sep 2022
1 session.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CiDHV1ujjAT/

The Big Island 8C Boulder | worked
Conviction (du bas) 8B+ Boulder | worked 23rd Dec 2021
First ascent.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CX1V4sltCpT/

Practice of the Wild 8B+ Boulder | worked Sep 2022

Simon was close to the flash on this problem.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CiQDkMjjEDB/

Satan i Helvete (Bas) 8B+ Boulder | worked
Dune 8B Boulder | worked
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade