Marine Thevenet reports on Insta that she has done Dreamtime Stand (8A+) in Cresciano. In total, the lawyer has now done some 90 boulders 8A and harder, out of which around 30, in just the last two years. (c) Clement Lechaptois

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I tried it a session or two last year very quickly when Clément tried the Dagger a little. This year I worked it two times and did it at the 3rd session :)

How do you manage working full time and climbing so hard?
I will quit my job in few weeks :)

Wow! So what is the plan now?
I quit my job to have more time to climb and to organize my job (and my life) in my own rythm - to not have to work during the all sunny week and climb in gyms thé weekend because of a bad weather (for exemple!) I decided to do it since in the past I negotiated some sponsorship agreements for my friends and I gave them some advice regarding their image rights. I used to work in a law firm for a huge sports agent in football/rugby. I would like to help climbers or outdoor athletes to find some sponsors that fit their expectations for whatever they are :) So🤞

Ignacio Mulero reports on Insta that he has done the FA of the trad route El boulder del pedal (8c+) in La Pedriza. This means that it is one of the hardest trad routes in the world, as nobody has dared to suggest 9a. (c) Emmi Isakow

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
"El boulder del pedal" is a ball in the middle of a meadow at the top of the La pedriza with a blind and slopey crack that runs through practically the entire rock except for the entrance, which concentrates the hardest part. The movements in El Boulder del Pedal are of crimps, slopers and some uncomfortable fingers and hand jams with bad feet The protection is quite good. The entire start is protected with crash pads and at five meters you can put the first cam (Dragon 00 blue from DMM) and from there it is protected quite well with the next size.

It is very short and intense, about 12 meters. If it could not be done in trad, I would see it as a highball. In fact, it was always in my head to do it without a rope. But being on it with Nalle Hukkataival made me see that you can really protect it without altering the rock, so why not use the rope and not add danger to the ascent when it is well protected? It was difficult for me to change that thinking. There are many routes of this style. And the truth is that Nalle was right! When you lean out from the top you don't want to fall from there.

Of the difficulty when doing it with a rope, it sounded strange to me to grade it as a boulder. Talking about it a little together with Dani Andrada, who was able to try it briefly one day, it would be like an 8c+ route. For me, that comes from equivalence to a bouldering grade of around 8B+, which for me would be easier to approximate the difficulty of this route in comparative terms of difficulty.

I started trying last season but I couldn't do it. This season I had to remember again and to change methods because I broke a very important foothold and some days it was wet. This together with those of last season were like 20 days.

Now I'm going to Annot for a few days to know the place and then I'm going back to Norway to try Recovery drink (8c+ trad). In between these travels, I want to finish more projects that I have in the La Pedriza.

Cathy Wagner has done L'hypoténuse (8a+) in St Léger. "The large diagonal that crosses the wall from La face cachée de la lune (8a+) to Au nom de la loi (8b): This pure base of physical content is INSANE👌💪. Many thanks to Mick and Seb for the belay and the encouragement."

The 57-year-old has done a total of 874 routes 8a and harder which is most of the females in the world. In just the last 12 months, she has done 34 so if she somewhat keeps the pace, she will do #1000 at age 60.

Leo Bøe, who two days ago sent Fabela pa la enmienda (9a), has had another burst of productivity in Santa Linya doing Fuck The system (9a) as well as Travers de la enmiend (8c+). (c) Emile Pino

Can you tell us more about that amazing day?
When walking to the cave yesterday I had no idea what the day would bring. The clouds that were promised on the forecast were not there and the sun was hitting hard. Warming up I told my friends today will be shit… Somehow and out of thin air the wind started blowing like crazy again just like the previous good days we had. The transition from being a bit grumpy and demotivated by the condies to being extremely psyched was instant and I jumped on one of my projects.

The route I was trying was «Traversa de la Enmienda» 8c+ has a savage mono which I passed, but then fell on the following move. I came down and basicly felt fresh even though I had burned some calories already. My next try I focused on shaking my right arm alot while hanging in the mono so that the next move would be easier. It worked and I quickly passed the crux and entered the last part which is fairly easier, but pumpy as hell. Somehow this time I did not get pumped.

I came down from the 50 meter route that traverses the whole roof with fresh forearms and I was thinking to myself that I’d maybe try my main project again as the condies also were insane. I had before my send on Enmiend also told my friend, Pol Ortiz, as a joke that I would send both my projects this day. It went from being a joke to something that could be reality!

I waited a couple hours and the wind was even stronger at this point. I jumped on Fuck the System 9a and the holds were super sticky, more than ever before… Even the kneebars felt better and I could relax and rest for less that half the time compared to previous rounds.

Eventually I reached the top where I had fallen off around 4-5 times before. I was nervous eyeing out the last hold, but somehow I stuck the big move and could clip the chains!

I was super happy to send these two routes in a day and it might be my best climbing day in terms of sensations. I was feeling like I was in my best shape ever. Now I can move on to other harder lines maybe. Not entirely sure what I’ll invest my time into the next weeks, but I will for sure keep on climbing hard stuff since I’m ultra psyched !! 🤙🤙🤙

Andrine Skilbrei started climbing at age 19 and now seven years later she has done La Rubia (8c+) in Villanueva del Rosario after only some ten odd sessions. (c) Henning Wang

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I am very happy about the ascent. I was both prepared for, and expecting a longer process than it turned out to be in the end. This is my first time trying a route of this magnitude, both grade-wise and length-wise, and I must admit I was a little hesitant to even start at first. After just one session, however, I was already hooked and committed to giving it a real try. It was a bit challenging at first with very cold weather and very cold rock, as well as the crux holds being constantly wet, but luckily the weather got a bit warmer and the holds dried up just as I had all the sequences worked out and was ready for proper red-point attempts. Finishing the route and clipping the anchor felt great but in the end almost a little bittersweet as I really enjoyed climbing on it. This route is definitely a beauty, with everything from crimps to endless tufa climbing, it really feels like an adventure to climb.

What's your climbing background?
I was first introduced to climbing seven years ago, but it was not until five years ago, after moving to Sogndal to study that I really started to climb a lot. At that point, I was climbing around 6b+, but I've had fairly steady progression since. I've always focused mainly on climbing outside as that is what I enjoy the most. So far I've mostly been sport climbing, but I also enjoy trad climbing a lot.

How do you train?
I don't really follow any plan or schedule. I train mainly by climbing on the rock, at least for the last few years, but I do train indoors sometimes when I'm at home.

What are your 2023 plans?
I am staying in Spain for another month or so before driving back to Norway. I then plan to spend a bit of time in Sogndal before moving up to Flatanger for a month or so in May/June. During summer I won't climb as much as I will be in the mountains working as a mountain guide/climbing instructor. After that, I've not made plans yet beyond finishing my master's.