Climbing the Pi de Sant Antoni in Pollensa, Mallorca

The mayor had called the event off. | Pilar Pellicer

Andrew EdePollensa18/01/2023 09:28
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For the fifth time, 29-year-old Sergí Gómez succeeded where others failed - he climbed to the top of the 21-metre pine tree in Pollensa's Plaça Vella and opened the bag of confetti, the signal that the climb had been successful. He was previously victorious in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017.

His climb was around 12.30am, the mayor of Pollensa, Andrés Nevado, having ordered the suspension of the ascent of the Pi de Sant Antoni shortly after midnight. This was because no one had managed to reach the top.

Various political representatives had already said that the climb had been ruined (made that much more difficult) because the highest part had been smeared with an excessive amount of butter. A sudden rain and hail storm didn't make things any easier.

The earliest documented record of the climb, which traditionally takes place on January 17 for the Sant Antoni fiestas, comes from 1873, but it is believed to date back very much further. The tree chosen is the Pi de Sant Antoni, but it is sometimes called Pi de Ternelles, after the finca where it is felled. As far as the people of Pollensa are concerned, Pi de Ternelles is incorrect, as the tree used to come from other places before Ternelles became established.