Alessandro Zeni repeats Niobe, 9a slab at Arco

After learning about Adam Ondra's first ascent of this slab, I couldn't miss this appointment – it felt almost like a wedding invitation.

So in January, on my way back from Courmayeur, I decided to stop off for a few days in Arco with my longtime friend Riccardo Scarian, who, like me, couldn't wait to try this beautiful line.

We wanted to try it not only to challenge ourselves once again on a style we both love, but also to gain more perspective on our multi-pitch route Wu Wei in Val Nuvola, for which we had proposed the same grade in 2023.

The crag Spettacolo is truly one of the most extraordinary offerings of Mother Nature: a slightly overhanging slab, super compact, starting from a balcony suspended above the valley, with an exceptional view onto Lake Garda.

As soon as we arrived, we did a quick warm-up pitch on a beautiful 7a. The rock immediately reminded me of that of Totoga, with its pockets and smears. I hadn’t climbed on rock for several weeks and had some doubts about my form, which I thought was rather low, but this familiarity gave me some confidence and the holds felt good. I came down from the pitch and decided to jump straight onto Niobe.

On my onsight attempt, I managed to climb the first pitch rather easily, but fell on the crux move just after the first belay. Even though I figured out all the sequences on that first go, the upper part of the route required a bit more work. The footholds had become coated with rubber from the many attempts by climbers before me. The lack of rain recently hadn’t allowed the wall to clean itself – something quite important on this kind of slab, where shoe rubber makes a huge difference.

I couldn’t understand why certain footholds were so slippery; only after 5 attempts did I finally realise that to climb it, I would have to clean at least the crux footholds with water. So, at the end of the day, I went up with a small bottle, wet and cleaned them a bit, removing some of the rubber and restoring the rock's natural roughness.

The next day, the 14th of January, we returned to the route with the footholds cleaned from the day before. It felt like a different route! The friction had changed completely; now that the footholds were free of all those layers of rubber, my shoes no longer slipped on the crux after the first belay. But a strange sense of excitement caught me by surprise, making me lose concentration at the exit.

While I was squeezing the last good vertical hold, with my body almost horizontal to the wall, my mind was now absolutely certain I had succeeded. That was enough to make me unweight my left foot too much, get off balance, and suddenly I found myself incredulously a few meters lower, hanging on the rope.

I came back down and my friend Sky reassured me, convincing me that the next attempt would be the one. After an hour, I started again and everything went according to plan: I didn’t make a single mistake and clipped the anchor at the belay, fully enjoying the entire journey, grateful to once again be here having fun on this kind of route, in this beautiful place with a great friend.

I’m no longer a kid, and over these years I’ve learned how important it is for me to follow what I love, have fun, and find motivation, regardless of the grade or performance.

These kinds of routes are truly incredible; individual moves might seem easy at first, but in the end, what makes the difference is being able to link all the sequences without stopping, with feet that inevitably tire more as you climb higher.

That said, I still believe it's difficult to give a grade to this kind of route, because it doesn't depend only on strength but also on technique, foot sensitivity, the type of shoes, weather and wall conditions, as well as mental control.

Especially regarding this last aspect, it was particularly strange and interesting to return a few days later to take some photos with Enrico Veronese. Without the pressure of having to send the route and in a state of total calm, I managed to climb it free and on the first try again, without any warm-up! Perhaps the truth about this type of route is that some people send them quickly, others take a long time, and some might never send them at all.

I also had the chance to speak with Adam after my repeat, and we both think that the most important thing when tackling climbs of this type is the journey and the mental challenge they offer, combined – in this case – with a postcard-like panorama, a unique view of Lake Garda.

As for me, I think the grade Adam proposed for Niobe is correct and in line with what Sky and I had proposed for our Wu Wei, which is really very similar in style and difficulty (maybe Niobe is a bit more bouldery and less sustained). But really, this is of least importance, even though nowadays it seems to be the only thing that matters...

So congratulations to the extraordinary Adam Ondra for his first ascent, always an amazing source of inspiration! Congratulations also to the young talent Gianluca Vighetti for the first repeat, and to the the climber who develpped this very special and fantastic crag, Loris Manzana! Finally, thanks to my friend Enrico Veronese for the beautiful photos.

Slab climbing isn't over yet, that's for sure... this is only the beginning! Good friction to everyone!

Ale Zeni, Sutrio, Udine

Zeni thanks his sponsors: Grivel, La Sportiva, Karpos