Matteo Menardi, 16-year-old climbs 9a at Gemona

The interview with 16-year-old Italian climber Matteo Menardi who recently climbed his first 9a, Nove G at Gemona del Friuli.
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16 year old Italian climber Matteo Menardi repeating Nove G, the 9a freed by Adam Ondra at Gemona.
Marco Menardi
A few days ago at Gemona del Friuli in NE Italy, Cortina-based Matteo Menardi repeated Nove G, the route freed by Adam Ondra in December 2013 defined by the Czech as a 'a difficult 9a'. For Matteo this is undoubtedly an outstanding performance, not only because he checks in with the route’s first repeat, but also because the crag is located far from home and, in successfully redpointing the 20m line, he has leaped upwards from his previous 8c max directly to 9a. Above all though, Menardi’s success comes about at a mere 16 years of age, meaning that he is now the youngest Italian ever to have climbed this hallmark grade. Bearing this in mind, we managed to steal some time off the youngster in between his training, climbing outdoors and school for this short interview.


Matteo can tell you briefly how you got into climbing

I started when I was 5, my father took me climbing, as he almost always does even now. I immediately fell in love with this sport and I so started at the crags around Cortina. As time passed I started to visit other crags, too.

What do you like about climbing?
I like the fact that you can always try new moves, new routes. I love climbing on-sight, not so much because of what I’ve achieved in this style, but because you can really test yourself versus the rock, you need to read and interpret its features. I also really like to see what else the crags have to offer, the environment they’re set in, the climates that are so diverse, etc ...

Do you consider yourself more a crag or competition athlete?
Certainly more an athlete for climbing outdoors because, until now, the is is where I’ve had most more fun.

Tell us about your hardest routes so far
Apart from this 9a, I’ve climbed two 8c's, Phlogiston in Val di Landro, close to Cortina, and The Magic Roof in the same valley. I’ve onsighted an 8b, I sessanta Ruggenti at Somplago and several 8a+ and 8a’s.

You're 16, you still go to school. Tell us about a typical day.
I’ll tell you about my typical day when my father and I manage to combine his work commitments with my grammar school commitments: I’m at school from 7:50 to 12:50 and then, if we’ve managed to work things out, my father waits for me at the school gates with a packed lunch and we head off to the crags, such as Gemona for example where I climbed Nove G. I generally climb four days a week, either training or climbing outdoors.

You live in Cortina and the mountains practically tumble into your living room. Are you currently focusing only on climbing, or is there more? Big mountain routes? Snowboarding?
At the moment there’s only climbing. I skied until I was 11, but then I decided to get more serious about climbing.

Let’s talk about your recent performance, Nove G. Why did you choose this route? It is not exactly around the corner…
My father and I chose this route because it’s the one that suited me most if you bear in mind how far it is from home. And as it happened I also really liked the line, as well as the crag itself.

Tell us about your first impressions? How many times did you try it and how did the redoint go?
In the beginning the first bouldery section, reckoned to be about 7c +, caused me truble. After I worked it more I managed to refine the moves and the crux and the rest flowed fairly well. I tried it for about ten days in total; once I even fell off right at the end. And then I found myself in a similar situation: boulder OK, I managed to get past the next tricky section, took some risks and clipped the chain!

And now ? What's next?
I’m currently attempting La Linea dei Sogni at Erto, a solid 8c+ that’s testing me a fair bit. Besides this I want to climb routes that really offer something substancial and I'd like to improve by climbing routes that don’t suit my style in order to create a firm basis for the future. With my ascent of Nove G I learnt a lot about my potential and I’m sure that in the future I’ll be able to break this barrier. And in the future I’d also like to take part in more competitions.




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