Niccolo Ceria

Movement

I choose to only boulder because there are many factors which make it great for me. But these reasons are obviously personal like many aspects of climbing. From the point of beauty, a boulder has an appearance that strikes me more than a cliff. I can analyze it better in all its complexity. It is more intimate and I like its shape much more than the shapes of the cliffs. I prefer the short efforts and I really love to understand the physical and mental process which is hidden behind a bouldering sequence. It is a game of millimeters and when a boulder is at your limit, you have to work every single move maniacally to understand every small difference in the beta. For linking just a few moves, you have to climb really intensely and at the pure limit. When the process happens, it is simply great.

Highballs

I like to try big, tall boulders because I feel really free and in great contact with the rock. Usually I try them a lot with a rope and this process is really important for doing these lines. I always try to feel the focus and determine when the best moment for a ropeless attempt without any serious danger is. I have to feel sure and ready in order to try and not miss the top. There are points when I analyze my mental and my physical state. If I feel that the symptoms of my body and mind are positive, I try it, otherwise I stop and reclimb it more times with the rope. If I climb it without danger, it means I understood well what my body was trying to explain to me. If I fall, it means that I was not able to understand the language of my body.

Off the Wagon

I remember when I was 13, I would come home from school and, together with a couple of friends, spend many afternoons watching “Dosage.” The part on Swiss bouldering was special, and the footage of The Wagon was maybe our favorite part. We were dazzled by that particular boulder, its location, and its moves too. It looked futuristic and so pure. With a bit of utopia, I asked myself if I could climb this rig one day in the distant future. I felt I was being unrealistic questioning this, but in the end I believed in this a bit. It was crazy, but eight years later I was able to send what I dreamt of when I was a child. When I did the top out of this special problem, I thought a bit about those old days and how my experiences have been great for me. It is not the best line in the world, but it symbolizes something really special and I loved to climb it. Maybe it’s not one the best, but definitely one of the most special to me.

dpm climbing