Ainhize Belar Barrutia has been on a trip to Margalef where she managed to send Aitzol (8c) and On Egin (8c). In the VL ranking game, the 19-year-old is runner up having done eleven routes 8c to 9a+ the last 12 months.

Can you tell us more about the trip?
I spent two weeks in Margalef with the goal of continuing my recovery from injuries, climbing to get back in shape, and testing the projects I had. The weather was very bad and didn’t help much. Now I am in Madrid training.

What injuries have you had, and what’s next?
An inflamed A4 pulley and pain in the elbow tendon. I will be back in Cataluña at the beginning of April to try different things in Margalef and Siurana. I have also been trying Victimas Perez (9a) a bit.

Pietro Bassotto, who did his first 8c+ at age 59, has made the FA of Mata Leao (8c+) in Novalesa, which is a link up of an 8a+ and Karate Kid (8b+). The 61-year-old began climbing at age 24 with a focus in competitions and in 1998, he was #13 in a Speed World Cup. His outdoor climbing progression is a testament to late-blooming excellence: he sent his first 8b at 40, 8b+ at 47, 8c at 56, and 8c+ at 59. Over the past three years alone, he has completed ten 8b routes, ten 8b+ routes, three 8c routes, eight 8A boulders, and an 8A+ boulder.

Can you tell us more about the FA?
The free climb was unexpected because the send was not planned given the time of year, but the weather forecast predicted higher-than-average temperatures, so I went to try the project that had been on hold since last year.

How did a normal climbing week looked like when you were projecting it?
I spend the weeks with two to three sessions on rock, if the weather permits, and two to three workouts in the gym or at home, where I have a mini gym. Of course, if I know I have to try an important project, I take much more care in resting and maintaining the condition of the skin on my fingers.

Why do you think you've been able to improve as you've gotten older?
I believe that in addition to increasing the time I dedicated to it, it was also the approach with which I approached the projects, then the motivation came as a result.

What is next?
For lead near home, I don't have much to do. I have a very difficult project that I performed well on last year. However, I think it will be challenging to find ideal weather conditions to attempt it consistently, especially since it has been raining so often this year.

On the boulder, though, I still have a lot to work on in certain areas, and I think I will dedicate a lot of time to it.

Stefano Ghisolfi has repeated Chris Sharma’s Neanderthal (9b) in Santa Linya. Previously the last month, the Italian has done The full journey (9b) and Sleeping Lion (9b).

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
So this is my third route. I tried it for the first time at the beginning of March and felt good on it, I like the power and endurance style. On the second day I was already able to climb from the ground to the crux move, where I fell 4 times before the send.

After I stucked the move yesterday I didn't fall, but it's actually hard until the top. It took me 9 days in total, same as the full journey.

His next plan is Fight or Flight (9b), to fullfil his goal of doing a 9b in four different crags during the trip to Spain. At 32, he has completed four 9b+ and eleven 9b routes, making him a strong contender for the second-best redpoint tick list in the world, behind Adam Ondra.

Théo Charmasson has repeated Seb Frigault’s Le Dernier Fléau (8C) in Fontainebleau, which is a sit start to an 8B+. ”A mega crazy boulder with a totally insane mono suspension! 8c/8b+? Not enough experience yet to judge...”. Later the same week he sent Mécanique élémentaire (8B+) in just two sessions commenting that it feels more like an 8B.

Can you tell us more about Le Dernier Fléau?
I’m really happy to have sent this 8C, which is quite rarely repeated and requires a strong physical base and a full-body suspension on a mono. Fun fact: beacause I have big fingers, I couldn’t use tape like other climbers to protect my skin, which meant I was limited to only 4 attempts per session!

What is your climbing background?
I started climbing at the Massy club in my city when I was 15 years old, and in recent years, I’ve spent most of my sessions in Fontainebleau. This year, my level has significantly improved, as I’ve sent 4 8B , 2 8B+, and my first 8C in the past 12 months.🔥

Why do you think you level has improved so much the last year?
It’s hard to say, but, it’s probably due to the spray wall training I’ve been doing for the past two years. Also, I had more time to invest in my climbing this year, which gave me the opportunity to work on bigger projects.

Nina Arthaud, who did her first 8B+ boulder last autumn, reports on Instagram that she has done Direct North (8B+) and The Swarm (8B) in Bishop (CA). (c) Clement Lechaptois

The 24-year-old retired from competition in 2021 after making two Lead World Cup finals. For the past 1.5 years, she has focused on outdoor bouldering, sending some ten problems graded 8A+ or harder.

Can you tell us more about the ascents?
Direct is on one of the Peabody, which made the climb extra special. Climbing this huge boulder that starts with your butt on the ground and comes up a few feet later was super cool. The Swarm is the boulder I’ve always had in mind, one of my dream boulders, long before I went to Bishop. I started trying it pretty late in the trip and underestimated how hard it would be because of the “skin factor”. So it turned out to be a good cat and mouse game where I had a lucky day on the last day of my trip. So happy!!

I’m beyond grateful for all the places I got to visit during this trip, all the people I met there & the support I get from my sponsors, especially the Karma8a team!

How does a normal week look like back home?
Lots of board climbing, some running, some strength training and some saunas. I’m back at university [Master in Psychology] back at work [route setting] and training, waiting for some nice days to go climbing outside in the area.

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.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The experience with this boulder has been new ground for me. Success, distraction or defeat tends to come within just a few sessions, so to find a boulder that perfectly rode the line of possibility, in a style that continued to captivate me, has been really special.

17 sessions since 2021 and the last two seasons dedicated towards it makes this comfortably my biggest effort on a boulder. It broke me last year, both physically from the intense heel hooks, and mentally as pressure from the weather, my leg and my own head began to hamstring performance.

I tried to learn from that this year, having spaced out sessions and trying to emphasise the joy of climbing, rather than the outcome. I’m not sure I’ve ever really reached that kind of mindset, I’m always looking forward to the next goal. But I think I had some success in a conscious effort to combat my default.

It was clear this year that I could do it, with a high point on my second session, beyond the point that I thought it likely I’d fall. It took another 3 sessions after that, with several falls at the end. More than enough time for doubt to creep in. In hindsight I’m glad It made me fight for it again. Doing it quickly, whilst satisfying, wasn’t the experience I came for. Bettering oneself is what makes a project special, and the changes this boulder forced me to make certainly did that.

I didn’t get the perfect go, things felt off through the beginning, and my feet were sliding around in the top. Despite that, the feedback on my right hand was good and I kept tension hitting the lip allowing a moment to take a breath and squeeze for the cut. It was just enough. I thought it might click and feel easy in the end, it didn’t, and I’m happy with that, I wanted it to be hard.

Lara Neumeier has repeated Alex Luger’s Psychogramm (8b+) in Bürser Platte, after projecting it for seven days. The 26-year-old German has previously sent trad routes and big walls up to 8b. (c) Jacopo Larcher

”Psychogramm (8b) at Bürser Platte – a route where the name says it all. Technically demanding, mentally challenging and with micro-gear as protection: a real challenge. The idea of climbing this route has been on my mind since I spoke to Michi Wohlleben about it last fall. Despite its intimidating reputation and its few ascents, I made my way to Bürser Platte mid of January to give it a try. It was a cold day, the conditions weren't ideal - but I was able to find a beta for the crux move, which I was very happy about as it is known as a reachy move. I was motivated but decided to come back with warmer temperature.

I returned to Bürser Platte at the end of February. It was much warmer, the sun was higher and the rock heated up during the day, limiting the climbing window to an hour or two in the evening shade. In the warmer conditions, the crux felt extremely hard and I only managed to stick to the move on one out of ten tries. Small and sharp crimps, micro footholds and only few placements consisting of micronuts made it spicy, scary and made me doubt: was it really possible to climb the route safely? Was it worth the risk? But, I kept trying it. On day four, I managed to send it on toprope, on day five I checked the gear and ordered a few more micro nuts. On day six, I managed to send it on toprope while placing the gear. After that, I felt ready to lead.

The night before my first lead attempt, Jacopo and I went through the pictures and footage of his ascent, and Jacopo gave me some of the micronuts he had placed at the time. The next day, I went up the static rope once again during the day and made minimal adjustments to my placements. In the evening, the time had come: with Jacopo Larcher and Calum Muskett as belayers, I dared to try on lead - with two ropes to prevent a possible ground fall.

I was motivated and a little nervous but felt well prepared. The first part went smoothly, even though placing the gear was tiring. The crux demanded everything: technique, precision, and trust in the protection. I managed to stick the crux move and climbed on, leaving the last piece of protection below me. The run-out to the belay was big and the last moves were a bit shaky, but I didn't let go. The last move. The last hold. Then clipping the chains. And I sent it. What an experience!”

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.