Lucia Dörffel climbs 'Hazel Grace' (8B+) at Switzerland's Gotthard Pass

Hazel Grace, was first established by Ticino local Giuliano Cameroni in 2017, and initially given the French 8C
grade, although subsequent ascents have now seen the grade settle at 8B+.

Dörffel managed to climb the boulder during a single trip to Switzerland last week, and needed a total of six sessions to successfully solve its intricacies.

Hazel Grace is Dörffel's first boulder problem at the 8B+ grade. Following Shauna Coxsey’s repeat in summer 2024, Dörffel is now only the second woman to climb the boulder.

The 25-year-old athlete commented: “I had this boulder in my mind for quite some time. It’s a beautiful line in one of my favourite places, and it means a lot to me.

Due to some health issues, I missed a lot of training and had to skip the entire World Cup season. But that also meant more time for rock climbing. I was really excited about this trip and spending time outside.

From the very first session, checking out the moves, I knew I could climb it. By my fifth session, I was already really close, falling on the last hard move. So we decided to extend our trip by two more days.

I had one rest-day and tried the next day again. The weather started to change, and it began to rain a little. But I kept trying and the conditions were actually good for me. Everything came together on my send go.

It was perfect. Standing on top of this bloc, having climbed my first 8B+ was a great feeling and I’m so psyched for more."