Alex Puccio (born Alexandrea Elizabeth Cocca on June 15, 1989 in

McKinney, Texas McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano and Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about north of Dallas. The U.S. Census Bureau l ...

) is a professional climber specializing in

bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help sec ...

. She competes in

climbing competitions A climbing competition (or comp) is usually held indoors on purpose built climbing walls. There are three main types of climbing competition: lead, speed, and bouldering. In lead climbing, the competitors start at the bottom of a route and must c ...

and split her time between climbing outdoor and indoor. She finished third overall in the 2011 and 2013 World Cup bouldering competition, second overall in the 2014 Climbing World Championship bouldering competition, and has won the

American Bouldering Series USA Climbing is the national governing body of the sport of competition climbing in the United States. It promotes competition climbing in the United States in the disciplines of bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing, in elite, youth and ...

eleven times.

Biography

Puccio started climbing in 2002 at age thirteen with her mother. In 2006, she participated for the first time in the U.S. Bouldering Championships, and won the title. She later won in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. In 2008, 2009 and 2010 she competed in the World Cup bouldering climbing but only at the stage of Vail finishing sixth respectively, before and fourth. In 2011, she took part in all the steps going up to the podium five times, with three second places and two third places. Since then she has been a fixture on the IFSC Bouldering World Cup circuit where she is constantly a finalist. She has ascended over two dozen boulders graded between the United States and Europe. On July 2, 2014, Puccio ascended ''Top Notch'' in

Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park is an American national park located approximately northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is situated between the towns of Estes Park to the east and ...

, her first V13 (8B) graded boulder. A month later, she ascended ''Jade'' becoming the fourth-ever woman to climb V14. She placed second in the Boulder World Championship in Munich, Germany on 23 August 2014. On June 5, 2015, she sustained a season-ending knee injury while warming up her dynos during the IFSC World Cup competition in

Vail, Colorado Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the num ...

. She required surgery to repair the torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus ligaments in her left knee which could have resulted in months of inactivity during the recovery. Despite a six-month inactivity prediction she was back climbing V13 (8B) by October 2015 with an ascent of ''Free Range'' in Boulder Canyon, Colorado. In February 2016, she won the

Hueco Tanks Hueco Tanks is an area of low mountains and historic site in El Paso County, Texas, in the United States. It is located in a high-altitude desert basin between the Franklin Mountains to the west and the Hueco Mountains to the east. ''Hueco'' is ...

'Rock Rodeo' amid world class competitors proving that she was still in top form. Puccio also had the most productive week-long bouldering trip by any female in history by completing three V13 (8B) boulders among many other double-digit (V-scale) boulders. On June 19, 2016, Puccio underwent a spinal fusion surgery after doctors discovered a herniated disk between the C5 and C6 vertebrae. She first noticed the serious nature of the injury during the finals of the 2016 bouldering World Cup in Vail, CO when she felt shooting pain and weakness in her arms. Despite the pain she still climbed in the finals. On December 19, 2016, she climbed the iconic razor blade climb ''Terre De Sienne'' V13 (8B) at

. This achievement marked her 15th climb of that difficulty, performed just six months after a serious injury.

Competition

Puccio is America's most accomplished female bouldering competitor. She has won the ABS National Championship eleven times and has been the top American female bouldering competitor at the IFSC world competitions. She has earned numerous medals in the bouldering World Cup events including gold medals at the 2009 Vail World Cup and the 2018 Vail World Cup. In 2014, she earned a gold medal at the Arco Rockmaster event and a silver medal in the World Championships for bouldering.

Number of medals in the World Cup

Notable ascents

* **''Penrose Step -'' Leavenworth (USA) - 3 April 2018 **''New'' Bas''e Line'' - , Switzerland - September 2017 **''The Wheel of Chaos'' -

(USA) - 20 September 2014 - First female ascent **''Jade'' -

(USA) - 3 August 2014 - First female ascent * **''Dead Meadow'' -

Wild Basin Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 Am ...

(USA) - 2 June 2017 **''The Tea Cup'' - Leavenworth (USA) - 16 April 2017 **''Luther'' - Hueco (USA) - 22 February 2017 - This is the low start to Chablanke (V11) **''Terre De Sienne'' - Hueco (USA) - 19 December 2016 ** ''Nagual'' - Hueco (USA) - 21 February 2016 - FFA ** ''Slashface'' - Hueco (USA) - 20 February 2016 - FFA of this historic

Fred Nicole Fred Nicole (born 21 May 1970) is a Swiss rock climber known for his first ascents of extreme sport climbing routes, and also for pioneering the development of standards and techniques in modern bouldering in the 1990s and early 2000s; he is consi ...

climb that was once considered the most difficult boulder problem in the world and originally graded V14(8B+). ** ''Crown of Aragorn'' - Hueco (USA) - 18 February 2016 ** ''Dark Waters'' -

(USA) - 9 November 2015 ** ''Free Range (aka cage free assis)'' - Boulder Canyon (USA) - 21 October 2015 ** ''Don't get too greedy'' -

(USA) - 14 October 2015 ** ''Irreversible'' -

(USA) - 26 September 2015 ** ''Direction'' -

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(USA) - 4 March 2015 ** ''The Swarm'' -

(USA) - 23 November 2014 - Some say it may be 8B+(V14) ** ''Black Lung'' -

Joe's Valley Joe's Valley is a large concentration of sandstone boulders east of the Joe's Valley Reservoir near Orangeville, Utah. Joe's is a popular destination for bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock format ...

(USA) - 25 November 2014 - First female ascent ** ''Freaks of the Industry'' -

(USA) - 7 September 2014 ** ''The Automator'' -

(USA) - 18 August 2014 ** ''Nuthin But Sunshine'' -

(USA) - 7 July 2014 ** ''Top Notch'' -

(USA) - 2 July 2014 - First female ascent

References

External links