Ana Belén Argudo Marugan makes first ascent of 'Jai-Alai' (9a) at Margalef

On 19 May 2025, Madrid-based climber Ana Belén Argudo Marugan made the first ascent of Jai-Alai at Margalef in Spain. Located in the distant Àtic sector and originally bolted by Iker Pou, the route had remained largely untouched in recent years. The 23-year-old first repeated Pou’s other test pieces in the steep cave - Esclavos de las Redes (8c/+) and Pelotari (8c+) - and then encouraged by the Basque climber himself started working the extremely steep, 20-move line.

After her redpoint sh expressed her excitement: “Happy and proud… Every time I tied in, it felt like going to war,” acknowledging both the physical and mental demands of the climb. On her social media, she thanked Iker Pou for bolting the route and encouraging her to try it: “You were right, it’s an incredible line.”

Argudo climbed her her first 9a three years ago, Cordia Maleficarum at Cuenca, and has since sent the 9a’s La Fabela Pa La Enmienda at Santa Linya in 2024 and Mandanga Total at Villanueva del Rosario that same year.

She is now only one of a handful of female climbers to have freed a route of this difficulty, and at present the hardest female first ascent is Sweet Neuf at Pierrot Beach in France, freed by Anak Verhoeven in 2017 and graded 9a+