Nicolò Ceria boulders 8B+ at Varazze

At Varazze in Italy Nicolò Ceria has repeated Gandalf il grigio, a great 8B+ boulder problem.

Nicolò Ceria is rapidly become an impressive force to be reckoned with, not only in Italian bouldering but also on a world level. News of his latest repeat comes from Varazze where he has just sent yet another 8B+, Gandalf il grigio, a great problem he'd eyed up last December when he sent the upper section, Gandalf 8A.

The speed with which the 19-year-old from Biella sent these 12 moves which give the 8B+ grade indicates that he is currently no where near his limit, time and conditions permitting. Our first though obviously goes to Christian Core's Gioia - attempted briefly recently by Finnish strongman Nalle Hukkataival - and another Italian ascent wouldn't go amiss!

Talking of Varazze: Marco Bagnasco, the climber who discovered and cleaned almost all the problems at what developed into one of Italy's premier bouldering areas, has now opened a Bed & Breakfast for climbers. So if you don't know where to head this weekend...