Tina Johnsen Hafsaas has completed Pure Imagination (8c+) in Red River Gorge (KY). The Norwegian has been an active IFSC competition climber for 15 years straight and her best result was fourth place in, Chamonix, in 2017. (c) Colette McInerney

How did you prepare for the trip?
I prepared for this trip in the gym. Mostly crimpy circuits on spray wall, but I also climbed outdoors on a home project once a week to prep my skin. I was pretty consistent with two days of climbing with every day 1 including hard bouldering too. I would typically do bouldering and short circuits day 1 and longer circuits day 2. If I felt too tired to boulder with quality I would do full session circuits, they are always easier for me to complete with high quality. Coming from competitions I am used to a training schedule with varied style, and a lot of the time is spent working weaknesses, but preparing for this trip I really embraced my strengths and the style I would meet in the Red. It was fun!

How was your progress on the route?
My process on the route was pretty linear, but quite slow. Because it is so sharp I couldn’t climb a lot on it every session, and that’s kind of what you want to do in the beginning while learning moves, sequences and how to rest. But I had to be smart with my skin and focus on building it up rather than tearing down. I did first half of the trip climbing on Pure with fresh skin and power after a rest day, and play around on side projects day 2, but I quickly realized skin was a crucial piece in this puzzle so as soon as I got into send mode I rested more and prioritized to get as many day 1’s as possible. I felt pretty confident on the top and did boulder to top link quite fast, but getting through the bottom boulder took me days.

My tactic was to be in a position to send once I got through the boulder. I didn’t do that, but I got pretty close second time I passed it by sticking the bump which is the red point crux, and falling going into the last rest. After this try I knew I would send, I just needed one more good day. Some bad weather followed, which gave me time to work on some new details and heal a flapper and split.

I would say some of the hardest in the process was to actually try hard. I spent days just playing on the route, finding beta and being happy with small links, and going from this chill attitude to actually try hard took a few more sessions than I thought it would. If I was to do it again I would make sure to try harder as soon as I thought it was possible. After having put in the work it all came down to details, conditions and skin. I did Omaha Beach (8b+) right after. It was a good day.

What is next and what about competitions in 2024?
Next is to continue to explore my limits on rock. I’ve never really had the time, in between competitions and the preparation that requires, but now I will take some time and focus on rock. I have a few exciting trips planned for both sport and bouldering, and also climb more on home turf. I just came back from a long-term injury so I just want to keep the momentum going and do whatever excites me. Right now that is training for rock projects and being out there trying hard.

Sebastien Bouin has made the first repeat of Matteo Gambaro’s Narcissus (9a) in Oltrefinale / Albenga. In total, he has now done over 80 routes 8c+/9a and harder which puts him as #3 on that list after Adam Ondra and Alex Megos. (c) Clarisse Bompard

”The route follows the edge of the large roof overlooking the upper part of the cliff, which is reached by climbing the previously existing 8c of ‘Calmiamoci e’ and, instead of going clipping the chain, it continues through an additional section of the roof to finally reach the exit of another 8b+ route ‘Space Shuttle’.

We spent two days in Albenga, Italy and it was my opportunity to check out the route from Matteo Gambaro - Narcissus. He told me on the phone that the route consisted of a big overhanging wall, tufas with lots of endurance needed. I said, “Ok Matteo, you’ve sold it to me, I am gonna try this one!”

I did this route on my 4th go. It’s pretty much my style. It starts with an intense 8c route, then there is a good rest, followed by the main section of the route through the roof. Regarding the grade, Matteo proposed 9a/+. I think it’s probably the right grade, without knee pads (Matteo did the route without). I sent the route using some kneebars though, and I think it is a solid 9a using knee pads. Thanks to Matteo for attracting me to this route.

Cameron Hörst and Joe Kinder have made the first repeats of Jonathan Siegrist’s One Hundred Proof (9a+) in Mount Potosi, both suggesting 9a, due to newly found knee bars.

Kinder: Good times sessioning with CAMADOHN. Got through the bottom crux and rallied to the top! Basic moves, pump, rests and simple style. Good for the old folks I’m guessing. 9a is best since there’s knees and modern climbs call for modern tactics. Double send day for Cam and me!!!!!

Hörst: ”One Hundred Proof” has been a route that I’ve always had plans of trying to do. It is a somewhat well known J star FA in the Vegas/ Southwestern USA climbing scene. What made it stand out to me is that it has been left unrepeated for the last few years since the FA. This climb got its long-awaited second ascent! I am suggesting a down grade because a few days before I sent, I found a new knee bar rest that definitely lowered the intensity of the climb a bit. I thought that since some crucial hands and feet broke off while I was climbing on it, the breakage would potentially even out the difficulty with the new knee. I really wanted this climb to remain 9a+ but in the end I still think the route is probably just really solid 9a (the way I did it). And personally one of the harder 9a's I've done since its style is not my forte lol.

I’m super appreciative of Andy Raether and J star’s vision on this route and hope it gets more attention in the future!

How did you cooperate for the send?
Kinder: Cam and I have been climbing together pretty frequently over the past 2 1/2 years. I’ve seen him progress immensely which is super inspiring and our partnership (as climber and friends) is a fruitful one. Cam’s a rare one in terms of the current generation. He has a lot of perspective and a good value set as he grew in a climber family with Eric Horst as his father. He has a good head on his shoulders, and I learn a lot from him… He keeps me as young as I can get ha ha ha!!!I’m grateful to have had all of the time climbing together. We have similar visions, philosophies, and approach to hard climbing, and that camaraderie is unique. He pushes me and I push him. What’s better than that?

Hörst: After spending a month trying a limit project with Joe Kinder in the Utah Hills (outside of Saint George) I felt like it was in great shape for a long, endurance route like One Hundred Proof.

I went down to Vegas and spent a week and a half climbing at Mt. Potosi with friends such as Alex Honnold and Joe. It was quite surreal that I was able to get the second ascent and then later that day belay Joe on the third! Not very often does that happen.

Michaela Kiersch reports on Instagram that she has, in one session, done After Hours (8B) in Huntington Canyon. The 29-year-old has now sent nine boulders 8B and beyond, out of which seven she's done in the last 18 months. She has also completed 15 routes 8c+ to 9a.

Can you tell us more about the quick send?
I left my house around 9:30 am just to have a nice solo day outside. I warmed up a little in my friend's garage, drove 2ish hours and found the boulder. It was my first time there and I gave a really good flash attempt, worked the moves (including a tricky top out), and then sent in a couple of hours. It was the perfect day out!

How does a normal training week look like?
Right now I’m trying to regain some power that got left behind in Margalef. I’m climbing 2 days on, one off! My hangboard workout will feel hard today after sending it yesterday - haha!

Karoline Sinnhuber has done Lethal Design (8A+) in Red Rock. With 135 ascents in the database, the Pete Lowe classic is one of the most logged 8A+ boulders in the US. (c) Leonard Moser

Can you tell us more about your trip and the send of Lethal Design?
I‘m in Vegas for 3 weeks in total - until 19th December. I‘m struggeling a bit with the style of the boulders here, but still having a good time :) So the send of Lethal was even sweeter. It‘s a long boulder with crimps and 4 underclings with the right hand. On my first session I had super shitty skin and 3 tapes on, so i could barely do the moves. Came back after a rest day, checked the moves and sent it in the 2nd go from the beginning. Definitely a sweet line, if you like doing a few moves more 😉

Tristan Chen has sent Desperanza (8C) in Hueco Tanks (TX). It is a lower start to Esperanza (8B+) established by Daniel Woods. Only 18 months ago, he was diagnosed with Leukemia and a couple of months later he had to do a Bone Marrow Transplant.

”After the events of last year I feel as though any hope to a sense of purpose I possessed was shown to be illusory, as if scoured clean with my marrow. I feel like this climb was one of my last moorings to hard bouldering and I’m left floating in a void ready to deemphasize bouldering for something else yet to be determined. Whether that be a different form of climbing, finding a new career, a new hobby, or simply pushing forward towards a light from within. The future remains uncertain.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I tried it a fair amount in the spring after repeating the Esperanza, but I wasn’t able to complete it then. I think I fell on the last move at least ten times, which was quite frustrating because I found that move to be easy in isolation. This time around I never fell on the last move, but I did dab once after sticking it so I had to repeat the climb a different day. This actually happened to me on my first first fifteen (except snow prevented me from topping out that time) so it’s only fitting that it should happen this time as well.

How much is added with the sit?
The sit only adds a six move V7 [7B] into Esperanza so it’s quite easy to think that it’s not much harder, but the bottom moves are quite extended and take away energy in such a way that the rest of the boulder becomes harder. By the time I did Desp I was able to do Esp pretty much on lock as a warm up and cool down. To me it felt a bit harder than Dreamtime or Pegasus, and a step above the other V14’s I’ve done this year, so lower end V15, but still maintains the grade.

Katie Lamb has presented some short clips on Instagram doing Deadlift (8B+) in Squamish, already reported, and Decided (8B+) in Mizugaki. In Kishira, the 26-year-old also sent Fractal (8A+) and leads the 8a ranking game with eight boulders 8B and beyond over the last year. (c) Keenan Takahashi

Štěpán Volf has done the first repeat of Martin Stranik's Warrior (8C) in Labské údolí. The 27-year-old has previously completed seven 8B+’ and interestingly, he's done them all over the last 27 months.

Can you tell us more about this climb, Warrior?
Well, I tried it briefly last winter doing all the moves pretty quickly in a session (8A+ into 8A into 8A in my opinion) and already back then I knew it was just a matter of time. Good conditions did not last for long so I waited and trained for this season and came down in 4th session this time - 8 in total. Had more battle with endurance and cold as it has 22 moves (16 moves in roof, than 6 moves to top out) and for good friction it has to be around 0 degrees. I am supper happy about this one and curious what else this season brings!

Jakob Schubert says about his recent upgrade of Clash of the Titans to 9b. © Michael Piccolruaz

"It's been more than five years since I first tried the "Clash of the Titans" route at home in Tyrol. It was first climbed by Alex Megos in 2017. Alex rated it 9a+ at the time, but it always felt substantially harder to me. I've climbed quite a few 9a+'s and 9b's, but none of them took as much effort as this route. However, after sending it rather quickly last year, I was no longer sure if it really deserved an upgrade, so I was hesitant to post the ascent and have a clear opinion on the difficulty. After all, the route doesn't fit my preferred style, which is crimping, but there are quite a few open handholds on this route that gave me a hard time. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to climb the route with Stefano Ghisolfi, who also took a look at the route and gave his opinion.

In general, I think we saw some kind of grade inflation in sport climbing over the last years and I feel it’s the responsibility of everyone who is capable of climbing the hardest grades to also give their honest opinion. That’s why I’ve downgraded some routes in the past. For the same reason, I now suggest an upgrade for “The Clash of the Titans."

Manon HILY, who was #3 in the Briancon World Cup in 2023, has done Los últimos vampiros hippies (8c) as well as La Bongada in Margalef. The 29-year-old has now logged 13 routes 8c and above.