In September 2025, climbers Chris Deuto (USA), Ben Sotero (Brazil), Andre “Zóio” Junior (Brazil), and Dan Teitelbaum (USA) made the first free ascent of A Resistência (750m, 8a+) on Pedra da Fortaleza, a 965-meter monolith in the state of Espírito Santo. A Resistência was established by Tomás Kampf, Willian Lacerda, Valdesir Machado, and Ed Padilha in 2019, but three crux pitches had not been freed until this year’s effort. Deuto wrote about his experience on the wall for the 2026 American Climbing Journal (ACJ).

—The Editors