All climbs

The first 8c+ in Italy.

The name comes from a song in the musical Wicked which also has a song called Defying Gravity.

Initially Ramón Julián Puigblanque climbed the full line, then at a later date an intermediate lower off was added that avoided the upper 8b+ section, as this is frequently wet.

References

[1] https://www.8a.nu/news/ashima-was-misinformed-about-the-9a+-grade

Four new pitches 8b+, 8c, 6c, 6c linking Bellavista (E10) with the Cassin Route (E5)

Alexander Huber:

the 8b+ pitch is 60m long, while the roof is breached with 11 new bolts. But the route is anything but a ladder of bolts. It's fairly demanding both physically and psychologically, you have to know how to climb above quite long run-outs.

References

[1] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/alexander-huber-frees-pan-aroma-8c-on-cima-ovest-di-lavaredo-dolomites.html

[2] https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Aroma

12 moves

First climbed by Jerry Moffatt after a long layoff, during which he got into fast motorbikes. A powerband on a bike is the specific RPM range where an engine produces its maximum torque and power.

In early 2025 the large flake which makes up the start of the problem broke off. [1]

References

[1] https://bleau.info/orsay/2734.html

Tried by Sébastien Bouin and Charles Albert before Alex Megos made the first ascent. Named because it's on the Face de Rat.

Originally proposed as '4-dan or harder' (4-dan equates to 8A+/8B), this 6m-tall king line is listed as 5-dan 8B+ on Rocktopo and v13/14 in repeater's videos. Either way, likely to be one of the hardest crack boulders in the world.