Benn Wheeler and Noah Wheeler, with three 9A’s to his name, have sent Gateway (8C) in Mount Blue Sky. Little brother Benn doing his first 8C, after eight 8B+’, comments.

”It was a great moment sending back to back, we both did it in 2 days and had a similar progression. The boulder fits my style perfectly. We shared some beta but used a slightly different methods, as his arms are shorter. I’m around the same height but have 4 inches [10 cm] in wingspan.”

Matteo Marobin, with two 9a+’ under his belt, has completed Jungle Boogie (9a+) in Céüse. The 21-year-old sent his first 9a at age 17.

Can you give us the full story of the ascent?
After sending Three Degrees of Separation at the end of summer 2024, I wanted more: a harder, more beautiful, more iconic route. I'd become addicted to the process of working a route and to the happiness felt after the send. Living in Toulouse (3h30 from Oliana) and being quite a fan of Chris Sharma, Fight or Flight seemed like an obvious choice in my mind. I won't lie, I was immediately won over. To my eyes it’s the holy grail, but I knew it was going to be a long-term project: only 6 ascents since Chris Sharma freed it in 2011, and no ascent since 2018. Stefano Ghisolfi even concluded that, in his eyes, it was the hardest 9b in the world.

So when I went back to Céüse in June 2025, my goal was to send Biographie within 3 months before going back to university in September, but I very quickly realized I wasn't strong enough on two-finger pockets. On top of that there were already 4 people trying it, which I'm not a fan of. Conversely, I love being the only one trying a route because it's in those moments that I feel like I can build a connection with it.

So I went to check out Jungle Boogie. It's true it destroys your skin — I've never climbed anything so brutal on the skin — but I realized it was 90% crimps, that the moves were really cool, and that the effort suited me well: 35 moves all at the same intensity. Pure power endurance! And the cherry on the cake, I was completely alone on it! The story could finally begin. What's more, when I looked at who had sent the route (Adam Ondra, Sachi Amma, Stefano Ghisolfi, Stefano Carnati, Alex Megos, Nico Pelorson, Jonathan Siegrist, and Min Young Lee), it made me dream. I really wanted to add my name alongside those climbing legends.

I quickly found beta that worked well for me. The hardest part was definitely managing my skin: I had to limit myself to two attempts a day, take more rest days than usual, and do only short trips so my skin could heal. Since I quickly felt good on the route, I thought it would come together fairly fast (and I probably wasn't the only one to think so, since one day someone climbing a 7b to the left told me he was going home the next day and couldn't wait to see the news on 8a.nu). Well, it ended up taking a bit longer than expected. From mid-July to mid-August, I kept falling at the same move and started thinking I simply wasn't strong enough to do it from the ground. It took Yannick Flohé coming to belay me to finally get past that move.

On the last day of my last trip of the 2025 season, hopes were high. The only dark cloud was that a storm was forecast for the end of the day. I needed to time my attempt just before the storm to take advantage of the wind, but not too late either, so as not to get caught in the rain. I put in my run 5 minutes too late, and the attempt ended in a win for the weather — even though I'd finally managed to get past that last hard move. I climbed back down from the cliff in the rain, drove back to Toulouse overnight, and by the time I arrived for class the next morning I found out it had been moved to 4pm. In short, I really needed a vacation.

Back in Céüse in early June, I took a few days to rework the sections and improve some beta; the feel for it came back very quickly. I reached a point where there was no randomness left in the route at all. When I put in runs, I could control 100% of the parameters, and it's the first time I've reached that level of mastery. I knew it was just a matter of time.

This Saturday, July 4th, I finally managed to line everything up and put in the right run. I did have a small scare though, since my brother, who was filming, accidentally put his foot on the foothold I needed to reach the final jug. Fortunately, a "your foot" was enough for him to understand I needed that hold. I gave it everything and managed to stop myself in the final jug. The 7b slab that follows went well, although with only 3 bolts over 25 meters of climbing it doesn't exactly inspire confidence about falling.

Afterwards, we went to celebrate the send at the Crux with all the climbers from the cliff, and we finally drank the 1.5L bottle of Justerini & Brooks I'd bought the year before, in reference to the route's initials (JB).

Ana Belen Argudo, with 50+ routes 8c to 9a under her harness, has sent Volando Voy 8c (+). ”The route has only a few ascents, the firsts said around 8c 8c/+ but I think that compared with the others 8c’s in Cuenca Volando Voy it’s a solid 8c+ (in my opinion😊)” (c) Javi Pec

Can you tell us more about the trip and the most memorable ascents?
We spent two months in Cuenca because our van broke down and while we were sorting everything out, we decided to bivouac there since it’s a comfortable place, close to the city, where we can be completely self-sufficient.

During this trip, I managed to send also Bodhisattva 8c (+) and four 8c’s: Nuria (8c), Dioses del Pan Frito (8c), La Espada de Damocles (8c) and Punch on ire (8c).

Austin Hoyt, who did his first 8C+ last December, has completed Creature From the Black Lagoon (8C+) in Upper Chaos. ”Getting shit done!!!! Tried a bit on my first mission out here a few weeks ago, by the end of the trip I had done the moves but links were pretty minimal. Once I got back to NY, I couldn’t shake the feeling of thinking I could do it. Maybe it was silly but I said fuck it and booked a ticket back. It fucking payed off!!!! At the beginning of the summer I said “I’m gonna go do creature”, and then I did it. Pretty hyped on this one, feels like a new hard style unlocked for me! Plus, it’s way cooler in person!”

Can you give us more details of the story behind the ascent?
At the start of summer I drove out from NY and tried it for two weeks. At the end of that trip, I had gotten close-ish but nothing major yet. As I drove back home, to a competition I qualified for, I decided if I made money at the comp I’d fly back and try creature again!

A few days later I was on a flight to Denver! On my first day back Noah helped me come up with some new beta and the links got bigger. On my 7th day of trying it, I finally climbed through the crux and to the top! No punts! Excited to finish this one up as it’s not particularly my style, almost the opposite I’d say… onto the next project! Some stuff in New York and Vermont that’s gonna be next level dope.

Laura Rogora, who last Thursday onsighted her third 8c+, visited Valnerina this weekend, where she each day sent an 8c, as well as, onsighted 8b and 8b+. Over the last 12 months, the Italian has onsighted 13 routes graded 8b+ and above. Only Adam Ondra has a more impressive annual onsight ticklist in the history of climbing. (c) Marco Marotta

Can you tell us more about the hectic weekend and the most memorable ascent?
After landing back from Barcelona, Marco took me straight to Il Bunker, a new crag in Valnerina that he’s developing, to try a project bolted by Mauro Calibani.

The route starts with a sustained 7c/7c+ section before reaching the crux, where you have to fight your way out of a steep roof. On my first go, I figured out the moves and found the right beta. On my second attempt, I did the FA of GSF (8c) (Global Sumud Flotilla). I’d call it a soft 8c, mainly because, at least for me, there’s an active rest before the hard crux.

After that, I also onsighted Frankie’s Funk (8b+) (soft), Pink panzer (8b) (hard), and Sóle Amerigane (8a+ hard), as the light was quickly fading.

Pink Panzer was a big fight, as both the line and the sequences were much less obvious.

What about the climbing on Sunday? Were you close to falling?
M&M (8b) went quite smoothly. On Duroi (8c), I was lucky to figure out the right beta for the first crux, which wasn't easy to read. After that, it was more about resistance, with a few harder moves. Near the end, I chose the wrong direction and came quite close to falling, but I managed to recover.

Go shorty (8c) is a variant of an 8b bolted and freed by Cody Roth that adds a hard boulder after a good rest. Cody's beta was quite morpho, so I went straighter on the slopy tufas. I did it on my third go.

Alba Gómez Calatayud, who started climbing four years ago at age 21, has sent La Gioconda (8c).

Can you tell us more about the ascent and what is next?
I started trying it last week to get used to the style in Rodellar and the steep roofs, which is not the type of climbing I’m most used to. I struggled quite a bit with the first boulder, and I also fell three times near the top because of nerves and changing my beta at the last moment.

With the whole summer ahead, it’s time to keep fighting for it. Let’s see if the second pitch [9a] goes too.