Gianluca Vighetti sends Bombardino (9a) at Arco second go

On 29 March 2026 Italian climber Gianluca Vighetti made the sixth ascent of Bombardino (9a) at Bus de la Stria, Arco, Italy. Astoundingly, the 17-year-old completed the route in a single day and on just his second attempt.

The route was established in February 2022 by Adam Ondra, who originally proposed a grade of 9a+/b. It was later downgraded to a soft 9a+ following a repeat by Stefano Ghisolfi, who discovered a significantly easier sequence for the crux. Subsequent ascents by Giovanni Placci, Laura Rogora and Barbara Zangerl confirmed the grade. Following his rapid ascent, Vighetti proposed a further downgrade of the route to 9a.

Vighetti, who a few weeks ago sent Niobe (9a) at Arco and Lapsus (9a+) at Andonno last November, explained "This ascent literally came out of nowhere. A couple of weeks ago I made a quick trip to Arco together with my dad and my friend Giovanni Giachino, who was competing in the National Team Trials, while I took it as an opportunity to train on the routes in the Rock Master Stadium.

This was the original plan, but then, on Sunday, after he finished the Trial kinda early (2p.m.) and I had already climbed 5 hard routes, we decided to use the time left to go check out this awesome route that has been on my mind for a while. I just wanted to get an idea, to see if I had a chance and hopefully come back next season.

After an attempt where I found all the betas for the hard boulder (and not really the rest of the route), I gave it another try to see where I would fall and, I have no idea how, I didn't.

If I have to be honest I really wish I could say that I could do a 9a+ in 2 attempts, that would be crazy. But realistically I think it's 100% not more than 9a, and not a really hard one, the new beta probably makes it a lot easier than before. This route was as cool as I expected it to be, and the crag is absolutely magical."