The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast E167: Stefano Ghisolfi - Transitioning into a boulder bro, hold fabrication and the collaborative future for elite sport climbing
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Sep 24, 2025 
Stefano Ghisolfi, a world-class sport climber turned boulderer, shares insights on his journey from competitive lead climbing to bouldering adventures. He explains how skills from his sport climbing helped tackle challenging boulder problems like Burden of Dreams. The discussion delves into the ethics of hold fabrication and the importance of collaboration in pushing climbing limits. Stefano also reflects on balancing competition with the thrill of outdoor climbing and the evolving role of social media in a climber's career.
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Competing From A Van
- Stefano joined a lead World Cup while mid road-trip in his van and hadn't specifically trained for it.
- He enjoyed the experience despite not being in peak lead shape and made the semi-finals.
Lead Transfers Better Than Boulder
- Lead and outdoor sport climbing training overlap enough to allow dual focus more than bouldering does.
- Bouldering competition training is a very different, more specialized regime than outdoor bouldering.
Rapid Bouldering Progress After Sport Focus
- Stefano shifted focus to bouldering, quickly climbing 8C and then trying higher grades after prior sport-focused years.
- He treated bouldering as stepwise progression toward 9A after earlier big jumps like Burden of Dreams.