Yuji Hirayama has just cranked the roof crack Greenspit 5.14a in Italy’s Valle dell’Orco.  

The website 8a.nu quotes Hirayama’s Facebook post, which states, “Back from Italy.  I did the Green Spits (I think it’s more like 8b+ with placing gears) second go!  Short trip but great satisfaction.”

Greenspit was originally climbed by the Swiss crack master Didier Berthod in 2003.  Berthod first climbed the line with pre-placed gear before returning to send while placing all gear on lead.  Greenspit traverses a 40-foot roof and was originally equipped with green bolts, which is how the climb received its name.  Berthod chopped the bolts before sending the pitch and graded it 8b+ (5.14a).

Greenspit has been credited as the hardest crack climb in Europe.  Featured in the movie First Ascent by Sender Films, the crack remained unrepeated for five years until Nico Favresse of Belgium nabbed the second ascent in seven tries.  Tom Randall of the U.K., who has recently made headlines for his offwidth skills, made the third ascent. (See full report here).  Stevie Haston, also hailing from the U.K., made an impressive flash of Greenspit in 2009.

Although widely known for cutting edge sport climbing, Hirayama is no stranger to climbing hard cracks.  In 2009, he made the sixth ascent of the iconic Cobra Crack (5.14) in Squamish, Canada.  He has also made ascents of other notable cracks climbs such as The Sphinx Crack (5.13b/c), Pheonix (5.13a) and Cosmic Debris (5.13b).