Gabriele Moroni climbs Güllich testpiece

Italian climber Gabriele Moroni has sent the 12th ascent of Action Direct, the test piece 9a first freed by the legendary Güllich in 1991.

The 23-year-old completed the ‘fierce sequence of monodoigts and two-finger pockets in Germany’s Frankenjura on 17 April’, according to climb.co.za.

The sport climber from Novara in Northern Italy had been working the route since 2008.

This is only the 12th ascent of the route in almost 20 years, the climb reaching cult status amongst the world’s top rated.

“Action” remains not only one of the most coveted, but also one of the most “international” top level routes, reports noted following the ascent.

For Moroni the climb was a surreal experience. He had this to say after completing the route: “I’m only now beginning to realise what I’ve done. I was in a sort of trance yesterday, which started from when I stuck the final mono (from where I’d fallen off a number of times) until I woke up this morning… it’s an incredible sensation, you’ll find it hard to understand how much this weighed down on me and how free and serene I now feel inside…”

Moroni is presently one of the world’s top talents in rock climbing. Notably, he has climbed three 8c+ - SS 26 at Gressoney, Zauberfee at Arco and Shangri-la in the Frankenjura in only two weeks, while in the Bouldering World Cup 2009 he took home bronze.

Sources: climb.co.za; Planetmountain.com

Image: Gabriele Moroni attempting Action Direct in 2008 Photo by Bernardo Gimenez