Simon Lorenzi (born 1 January 1997) is a Belgian professional rock climber specializing in sport climbing, bouldering and competition climbing. Lorenzi is one of the very few climbers to have repeated a V17 (9A) bouldering route, and the third climber to solve Burden of Dreams, the first-ever V17 (9A) graded boulder route. Lorenzi also made the first ascent of Soudain Seul, a V16/V17 boulder.[2]
 Lorenzi in the competition lead climbing event at the 2022 IFSC Climbing European Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Born | January 1, 1997[1] Barchon, Blegny, Belgium |
| Occupation | Professional climber |
| Height | 168 cm (5 ft 6 in)[1] |
| Climbing career | |
| Type of climber | |
| Ape index | +12 cm (5 in)[1] |
| Highest grade |
|
| First ascents |
|
Early life
editLorenzi was born in Belgium and started climbing at age 2 with his father Claude Lorenzi, who was one of Belgium's leading rock climbers of the 1990s, and who created Belgium's first 8c (5.14b) graded sport climbing route, La traction universelle, in 1994.[3]
Climbing career
editCompetition climbing
editLorenzi began his competition climbing career in 2010 when he "unexpectedly" won a Belgium Youth Cup competition.[3] By 2016, he had won the gold medal in the Junior category at the IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships for competition lead climbing.[4]
Bouldering
editIn February 2021, Lorenzi made the first ascent of Soudain Seul, a sit-start to Dave Graham's 2008 8C (V15) graded bouldering route in Fontainebleau called The Island, which was later extended by two small moves by Vincent Pochon in 2010 to become The Big Island, also at the 8C (V15) grade.[4] Soudain Seul was considered one of the "last great problems" in Fontainebleau.[5] Lorenzi proposed a grade of V17 (9A), and at the time, the only other boulder in the world with such a grade was Nalle Hukkataival's 2016 problem, Burden of Dreams. Subsequent repeats by Nico Pelorson in 2021 and Camille Coudert in 2022 softened the likely grade to V16/V17.[6]
In December 2022, he became the fourth climber to repeat Shawn Raboutou's 2022 problem Alphane, which has since become accepted as having a grade of V17 (9A).[7] After completing Alphane, Lorenzi said that he felt Soudain Seul was at least as hard as Alphane.[8][7] In December 2023, he became only the third climber to repeat Burden of Dreams, the world's first-ever V17 (9A) graded bouldering route.[2]
Notable ascents
editV17 (9A):
- Burden of Dreams – Lappnor, Finland – 27 December 2023. Third ascent.[2]
- Alphane – Chironico, Switzerland – 15 December 2022. Fourth ascent.[7]
V16/V17 :
V16 (8C+):
- Big Conviction – Fontainebleau, France – February 2022. First ascent.[3][9]
- Off the Wagon Low – Val Bavona, Switzerland – February 2022.[10]
- La Révolutionnaire – Fontainebleau, France – February 2022.[11]
V15 (8C):
- Foundation's Edge – Fionnay, Switzerland – September 2022.[12]
- Satan I Helvete Low – Fontainebleau, France – 2022.[13]
- Power of Now direct – Magic Wood, Switzerland – 2021. First ascent.[14]
- The Big Island – Fontainebleau, France – 2020.[15]
- Dreamtime – Cresciano, Switzerland – January 2019. Lorenzi's first V15 boulder.[3]
9a (5.14d):
- Coup d'État – La Tranchée, Belgium – 28 June 2020. First ascent.[16]
- Action Directe – Waldkopf, Frankenjura (GER) – 2017.[17]
Rankings
editIFSC Climbing World Cup
edit| Discipline | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 75 | 69 | 38 | 72 | 41 | 93 | 35 | ||
| Bouldering | 66 | 53 | 10 | 39 | 16 |
Climbing World Championships
edit| Discipline | 2016 Junior |
|---|---|
| Lead | 1 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Profile: Simon LORENZI". International Federation of Sport Climbing. 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d Potter, Stephen (2 January 2024). "Interview: Simon Lorenzi Makes Third Ascent of 'Burden of Dreams'". Climbing. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d Potter, Stephen (1 February 2022). "Simon Lorenzi Establishes Another V16 Low Start to Fontainebleau's Classic The Island". Climbing. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "Simon Lorenzi talks Soudain seul, his 9A boulder problem at Fontainebleau in France". PlanetMountain. February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Soudain Seul, the trailer of Simon Lorenzi's boulder at Fontainebleau". PlanetMountain. October 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Soudain Seul (V16/V17 - 8C+/9A): Is this the REAL 2nd V17?". HardClimbs. 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ a b c Potter, Stephen (17 December 2022). "Simon Lorenzi on Making the 4th Ascent of "Alphane"". Climbing. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ Potter, Stephen (21 February 2024). "Will Bosi Gets Second Ascent of 'Return of the Sleepwalker'—Confirms V17". Climbing. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Simon Lorenzi makes his Big Conviction 8C+ at Fontainebleau". PlanetMountain. January 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ "Simon Lorenzi repeats Off the Wagon Low 8C+ in Val Bavona, Switzerland". PlanetMountain. November 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ "La Révolutionnaire, another 8C+ for Simon Lorenzi!" [fr]. Grimper (in French). 22 February 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ Redaktion (2022-09-06). "Simon Lorenzi climbs Foundation's Edge (8C) at breakneck speed and targets Alphane (9A)". Lacrux Klettermagazin. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ^ "Climbing History | Satan i Helvete (Bas) 8B+". climbing-history.org. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
- ^ "No sooner said than done: Simon Lorenzi climbs the Power of Now (8c)". 13 July 2021.
- ^ https://www.8a.nu/news/the-big-island-8c-b+-by-simon-lorenzi
- ^ https://www.8a.nu/news/coup-detat-9a-fa-by-simon-lorenzi
- ^ Quentin Coster. "Simon Lorenzi enchaîne "Action Directe", son premier 9a !" (in French). Archived from the original on 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
- ^ "Official website of the International Federation of Sport Climbing".
External links
edit- Soundain Seul V16/V17, HardClimbs (2024)