The Art of Failure: The Journey to Success in the World of Sport Climbing

In the world of climbing, achieving success often requires a journey full of failure. It’s not uncommon for climbers to fail repeatedly before finally reaching their goal. This period of struggle can last anywhere from a single session to weeks or even months, especially when tackling mega-projects like Stefano Ghisolfi’s Burden of Dreams V17 and Silence 5.15d.

Stefano Ghisolfi is one of the world’s best sport climbers and has set his sights on two incredibly challenging climbs as his mega-projects: Burden of Dreams V17 and Silence 5.15d. A recent film released by La Sportiva documents Ghisolfi’s attempts at these climbs during a trip to Scandinavia in May 2023. This came shortly after his successful ascent of Excalibur 5.15c in Arco. The film provides a detailed breakdown of the challenging crux of Silence, which is rated around V15.

Over the past two years, Ghisolfi has made multiple trips to Flatanger in pursuit of the second ascent of Adam Ondra’s Silence 5.15d. Additionally, he has taken on Nalle Hukkataival’s Burden of Dreams, a newer project for him. Despite not being known for his bouldering prowess, Ghisolfi has impressed many with his progress on Burden of Dreams and has expressed his determination to attempt it again.

Ghisolfi’s impressive climbing resume includes ascents of multiple 5.15c routes, such as Excalibur in Arco, Perfecto Mundo in Margalef, Change in Flatanger, and Bibliographie in Céüse. In 2022, he repeated Adam Ondra’s Move 5.15b and established two 5.15b routes of his own in Italy