Billy Ridal, with seven 8B+’ under his belt, has completed The Big Island (8C) in Fontainebleau. ”17 sessions since 2021, two dedicated seasons and multiple leg injuries. The first boulder that has kept me hooked for such a sustained period. A big fight even on the send, such a joy to battle through those slopes. Made up.”

Matt Fultz has repeated Nathan Philips’ Deep Fake (8C+) in Brione, which is a sitter to Fake Pamplemousse (8A). The 33-year-old has previously sent eight 8C+' and he is #1 in the VL ranking game.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Deep Fake fit me pretty well and was just the style of problem I was looking forward to trying on my Switzerland trip. It took only a couple of sessions to learn all the moves and make some good links, but there are a lot of hard moves! I fell off the last move 6 times over the following 3 sessions. Then the rain came for a week straight and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to climb again before we left for the USA. But it cleared up just enough for me to give it another session, and luckily I was able to make the most of it!

Loic Debry hit his peak in route climbing in 2022 when, at 25, he made the first ascent of Shogun (9a). In September 2023, he embarked on a year-long cycling and bouldering trip to Rocklands with his girlfriend. The trip ended with a ligament injury, which led him to focus on weight training having returned to Fontainebleau. This shift seems to have pushed his performance to new heights, as he sent four 8C (+) boulders in under three months; La Picharête (8C), The Big Island (8C) and Le pied à coulisse (8C+) in Fontainebleau, as well as Juneru (8C) in Albarracín. (c) Sophie Berthe

How does your climbing background look like?
I'm 28 and I’m a Belgian climber. I started climbing being around seven years old at my local climbing gym. Nobody in the family was a climber or an athlete, so I wasn't initially pushed to performance. Around 14, I started climbing more seriously in a training group. Being of small stature at that time, I didn't really stand out in the competitions. I had a big lack of strenght which helped me greatly develop good technique, sensations and flexibility. I continued to feed my passion by discovering outdoor climbing of all types. At 19, we went with friends on a three months climbing trip where we went bouldering, lead climbing, bigwall climbing, trad climbing, deep water soloing and mounteneering.

The following years I climbed a lot in Freyr, THE Belgian local crag. I slowly built up confidence in the technical climbing and could climb one of the legendary routes there : le Clou 8c. In 2021, I tackled a long standing project there. Seven months later I was clipping the anchor of “Shogun”, Freyr’s first and only 9a. Unrepeated to this day. It took time for me to adapt to lead climbing being quite afraid of the void. I really got onto it when I did my Erasmus in Catalunya. There I could take the time to climb a lot on beautiful routes. This led in the end to the send of Fabelita in Santa Linya: My first 8c lead. After that I got motivated to go to Ceuse and could climb “Mr Hyde” an iconic 8c+, and my first of the grade.

With the years, I got more drawn to bouldering, and Fontainebleau became my favourite destination because it suits my style very well. I was still working on my strenght a lot in the climbing gym, but it builds up very slowly for me. During my studies at university I trained my ass of hoping to one day become a professional climber. At the end of my studies I had to admit that wasn't going to happen soon. That was the time my girlfriend convinced me to go on the biggest journey of our life.

What made you challenge yourself going by bicycle to Rocklands?
It was my girlfriends idea. Sophie (Berthe) always wanted to cycle around the world as a kid. As the youngest of three siblings, she lived as a baby in Rwanda and has always been frustrated being the only one of the family having no memories of it. Cycling through Africa seemed the "normal" thing to do. In the start I couldn't even think of leaving climbing aside for a whole year, but after a lot of convincing we found ourselves in Caïro (Egypt) in september 2023. On our bicycles we both had a smal "bike-crashpad", and our climbing shoes. That's how we startes this one year/12 000km cycling trip to Rockland's South Africa. (Which happend to be one of the most amazing experience in my life).

How much climbing could you do on the trip?
A disappointingly small amount. But the climbing we had on the trip was defenitely memorable. Our first climbing experience was in Soudan, climbing on 40°C black burning rocks with pyramids in the background. The best climbing we found was in the south of Kenya. We stayed for three days in a very small village surrounded by huge yellow granite boulders. Bouldering in Namibia (spitzkoppe) was also an experience I'll not forget soon, as our mini crashpads flew away under our feet at every boulder. Luckily I brought a portable climbing hangboard that helped me keep some fingerstrenght along the way for the 1,5 months we stayed in Rocklands.

How has a normal climbing week looked like this winter?
After the cycling trip we decided to move to Fontainebleau. I found a part time job at the local climbing gym so I could keep time to climb outside. We also decided not to buy a car. So I usually have four days a week where I have the possibly to climb outside (if the weather allows it). I then jump on my electrical bicycle with my cart full of crashpads to check out the next project. The working days and the rainy days I try to train at the gym or rest.

How many 8C boulders have you done and which ment the most to you?
I climbed four until now. I send the four of them in less than three month, which was very unexpected. I worked the first one for a long time though. It is called La Picharête (8C) and I started working on it at my arrival in Fontainebleau. I injured my crossed ligaments at the end of our trip in Rockland's some months ago. I could work the boulder because it was close to the ground and close to home. I had to wait for the next winter to finish the climb after 15 sessions on it. Climbing an 8C boulder was a dream of mine since a long time! The next one I tackled was the famous The Big Island (8C). A dream boulder that I expected to take a long time to climb, because I thought it was my antistyle. In the end I needed only 5 sessions (Good thing there is a sit start 🫣). I then climbed Le pied à coulisse (8C+) in 5 sessions too, and Juneru (8C) on my trip to Albarracin in 3 sessions. The climbing in Albarracin being more straightforward, it takes probably less time to figure out the right beta, or maybe it it a soft one?

How can you best explain your recent peak performance?
As I told before, I hurt my knee on our last days in Rocklands. The return in Belgium was quite hard. I expected to get back to climbing, but I had to wait six months for a full recovery. We spend the three first months in Belgium organizing our move to Font. During those months I spend losts of time lifting weights and hangboarding. As I said before, I'm a technical climber who lacks strength. I don't know if resting my upper body for a year helped or not, but combined with my infinite motivation after the trip, and the forced weightlifting because of the injury, I definitely passed a milestone strenghtwise. The rest of the story is just good sense : Moving to Font, I could climb whenever I want in the forest, working on projects, gaining experience and developing even more "font style technique".

What is coming up next?
I find myself now in an unplanned situation. I send four times more 8C boulders than I was hoping for this year, in only three months. Luckily I still have a lot of boulders to climb in font. The next logical step would be to work on La Révolutionnaire (8C+) and Soudain seul (9A). I tried the last one once, and realised the bottom part is very Morpho. [Loic is 168 cm with a 177 cm span.] Let’s see how it works out next winter!

Cy McIntosh has done Life of Villains (9a) in Hurricave. ”Yessss! Such a fun route to Seige! New level for me. Not limit tho. I want more!!!”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I got on this route just to check it out right after doing Flight of the Conchords (8c+) (they share the same ending). It felt pretty extreme but I got super obsessed and started trying it every day. Hurricave partners were getting pretty slim at the time so I would normally roll up solo, warm up on some drop off boulders, try to bum a belay from whoever was there to give a few go’s then head to work. Eventually it happened.

It was probably 10ish sessions on Lov although I already had the top boulder pretty dialed.

How does a normal climbing week look like?
I’m living in my truck right now just focused on climbing so I can climb every day I want. For Lov I liked doing 2 days on it and then one day climbing something else.

Mark Brand, with two 8B+’ under his belt, has completed The Big Island (8C) in Fontainebleau. “Wow, really happy with this one. Such an iconic hard boulder in Font. Couldn't train much over the last little while and felt a bit out of shape before coming, so it was surprising how well this boulder went. No expectations, just joy.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
So yeah, I decided to take a short trip to Fontainebleau just after setting for the Youth Boulder Nationals. I hadn't really been able to train much in the period prior and hadn't climbed outside since the end of October, so I didn't have any big expectations or goals for the trip. It was quite warm over the weekend, but some overcast weather made me decide to have a session on The Big Island to check where my shape was at. I had tried it before, but always just a singular session with months to a years between them. The session went suprisingly well, quickly doing the boulder in two parts and sticking the crimp twice in a window of 5 minutes.

On Tuesday I had a shorter session in full sun, but felt too tired from Sunday and the 'restday'on Monday. The day after temperatures dropped a bit and it was cloudy. I went back to The Big Island, just to see how much progression I could make before heading home. There was no real pressure to do the boulder, the boulder felt possible to me and I could always come back later. I was already happy with the progression I made on the boulder, which put me in a good headspace to just enjoy the session and see how far I could push it this trip.

Conditions were definitely a bit better than before and I felt good while warming up. After some tries and a small beta change I ended up sticking the foot transistion after getting the crimp (which was the redpoint crux for me) and I climbed the boulder. It felt amazing to finish such an iconic line in Fontainebleau and one that has been living in the back of my mind for quite a while.

How come you think it was possible to send with not so much training or outdoor climbing lately? How was your mental game?
I didn't have a lot of expectations before coming and even after the first session I was content with just seeing how much progession I could make on the boulder. This put me in a good place to just enjoy the sessions. Also knowing could quite easily come back another time, be it in a couple of weeks or at the end of the year when it is a bit colder. This all made me feel no real pressure even when giving it proper goes.

Michiel Nieuwenhuijsen, who flashed his first 8B last year, has flashed ADHS (8B) in Schwarzenbach a.d.S., and here is the Instagram video. Some have actually said that the Moritz Perwitzschky’ Boulder is possibly the best 8B in Germany.

Can you tell us more about the flash?
ADHD is a lonely boulder, about one hour north of the Frankenjura. It looks amazing! My friend Lorenz Ulmer brought it to my attention and got me all motivated to go for a flash attempt. I was a bit hesitant at first, but had to promise Lorenz I would go for it :-)

Normally I don't like to do a proper warmup on a hangbord, but this time I took some extra effort to do it all: pull ups, fingers, shoulders, hamstrings. Walking a few times to the boulder between my different warm up exercises to feel those holds. More and more I started to believe I could flash this. And for some reason, there was no added pressure, just focus. When I was finally ready, I was totally in the zone. I hit every hold perfect, it felt like I already did these moves before. Even the little heel zip did not put me out of my concentration. Standing on top there was a mixture of joy and amazement 🔥 Holy shit 🔥 One hour driving, one hour hangbord, one minute climbing, one hour driving back. Worth it! Huge thanx to Lorenz 🙏

Hugo Parmentier, with 13 routes 9a to 9b under his belt, has repeated Chris Sharma’s Papichulo (9a+) in Oliana. (c) William Barcello – PhotoVertical.com

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the long trip coming up?
So basically we build a van all the autumn till mid january. The plan is to go climbing during a whole year in France and neigbour countries with my girlfriend Tess. We started the trip to Oliana and stayed there for 1 month and a half. We needed to get back to real climbing after 3 months of tiring work in the garage to make our new home.

I went back to Papichulo which I tried a lot over 1 month and a half last winter. This route is pretty far from my usual hard projects choices as it’s super long, resistant and requires the ability to rest and poor holds and climb on sustain climbing for ever. It has been such a hard process last year getting stuck for something like 20 tries in the second move after the main rest. Making almost no progression was so hard mentaly. This year having a real “home” and lot of time ahead helped a lot! I gave basically 1 try a day and then climb other thing to keep my motivation high! Thanks to Laura Rogora’s beta. I could skip the cross move that kept me falling last year! Then I could progress on pretty much every try that led to the damn Sennnnd !!!

Pretty cool we share the send try with my parents for their first day a the cliff and with close Friends! Such an interesting experience on this route that began to teach me patience. Really glad for the people I met there and the whole experience eventhough it was tough.

Simon Lorenzi reports on Instagram that he has repeated Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Red Rocks, after projecting it for some 35 sessions. The 28-year-old active competition climber has previously done the FA of Soudain seul (9A), repeated Alphane (9A) and Burden of Dreams (9A). Including some 8C+’, the active competition climber has the most impressive boulder tick list in the world together with Will Bosi. (c) Bobby McGee Vannoy

”Last day, best day before my flight back to Belgium and the end of my visa. Best way to end my trip with a good crew and energy at the Boulder”.

What are your next plan?
Enjoy climbing in Europe with my friends with no pressure.

Are you going to compete in 2025?
Yes, in the 3 boulder World Cups in Europe.

Which could possibly be your fifth 9A?
Megatron! The next year or this fall I hope to complete the one I miss from the 5 firsts V17.

What about doing one more 9A FA
I’d be psyched to try the right exit of Alphane yeah but we’ll see.

Babsi Zangerl, with a dozen routes 8c+ and beyond under her belt, has done Solitary Souls (8c+) in Arco. In the world of multi-discipline climbing—including trad and big-wall—Babsi is the top female climber and confidently ranks among the overall Top 5, regardless of gender. (c) Matteo Bavona

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Solitary souls is a 35m long endurance line. Very steep and very pumpy. I already tried it last winter but it was always wet during a long period of time. This year I came back and the whole line was completely dry and I was psyched to invest some time to gain some endurance back.

After 7 days of getting too pumped to connect the hardest part of the route I finally felt ready to fight through and clip the chains.

Eli Perry, who did his first 8C last October, has repeated Pegasus (8C) in Joe's Valley (UT) after trying it for some 50 sessions.

Can you share more details about the ascent and the progress made throughout the lengthy process?
I started working pagan low v13 December of 2023 and I managed to send it quicker than I expected, so I figured I’d try the low, Pegasus. All the moves went pretty quick so I got pretty sucked into the idea of doing the full line. I tried all throughout that winter and spring, constantly dealing with splitting my pointer finger on this really sharp tooth and just too hot or too cold of conditions. Ended up projecting it all through the following fall and winter too. I kept learning little tiny bits of micro beta and new tactics that eventually led to the send just the other day on March 8th.

Have you only been climbing on this the last 3 months and what is next once the big project went down?
Pegasus has been pretty much the only boulder I’ve been trying, I spend a lot of time in the gym in between sessions and I made it out to Vegas and Bishop for a trip but mostly just trying Pegasus.

I’ve put a good amount of time on Grand Illusion (8C+) and I’m hoping to put a lot more time on it this spring so I can hopefully get it done. Also heading to Rocklands this summer so hopefully can take down some more blocs out there!