Leo Bøe has done Era Vella (9a) in Margalef. The classic 50m long line FA'd by Chris Sharma was, for many years, the most repeated 9a in the world but then it got downgraded and lost some of its appeal. However, due to more recent hold breakage, 9a is once again being claimed. “Beyond happy with this route! So fun to work and always a fight vs the pump. Who is crazy enough to bolt a line like this…?? I would like to thank all the people who came with me and got me motivated to try hard! 9 days of effort.”

Can you tell us more about Era Vella and your personal journey on it?
I did all the moves on my first round, but I realized it would be a proper fight to link all of them together. For me to send the route I had to get out of my comfort zone and enjoy getting pumped out of my mind. In my attempts I fell and went right back on until I reached the anchor. During a session I would do a run from bottom to the top 3-4 times and would need 2 full rest days to recover. Suddenly when I managed to do the route with 1 fall I knew it was about to happen. I was so close, and suddenly falling at the last quickdraw… Usually people don’t fall at that point, but for me the redpoint crux was just doing the last few easy moves.

What about the backflip? How long was the fall?
I was full of adrenaline! I just unclipped the anchor and jumped. I fell to the first quickdraw after the no hands rest so possibly a 30m fall. I have never done something like that before.

Jorge Diaz-Rullo has done the third ascent of Chris Sharma's Sleeping Lion in Siurana. Sharma proposed 9b+, but the second ascensionist, Alex Megos felt that 9b was the appropriate grade. Díaz-Rullo yet to comment on the difficulty. (c) Marco Zanone

Diaz-Rullo comments on Instagram; "Between some things and others, this route has taken me more attempts than I originally thought. It has been very difficult to find the day without being too tired, with good skin and with good conditions here in Siurana.

Sleeping lion has helped me to get in shape and continue very motivated with my next projects, but also, it has served me as a learning experience because at the same time I was working on it I have not been going through my best stage on a personal level. In the end, I did it!"

Martina Demmel first made a second try send of Margafelas (8c) in Margalef. "A surprise at the end of the day. [It] Has the potential for a big classic but unfortunately, a bit crumbly since I even broke 2 edges while sending... not the style you would expect when it's named after the area... found some solid beta & probably my style;)" (c) Vera Bakker

The following day she kept her second try streak going by doing the same with Pati noso (8c+) in Siurana. "I was dreaming about this line for years! While checking the moves on the new upper part, I got a big flapper from the crux hold but somehow, the strong wind kept pushing me to the top the next (2nd) try!! Muchas gracias Marius & Olga! Riding that wave..."

Over the last three years, the German has been the best female onsight climber in the world with 38 onsights 8a+ to 8b+.

Have you tried any harder onsights or anything a little more long-term on this trip?
Not really but somehow I also haven't tried [to onsight] anything in the 8a+-8b+ range, so I don't know if it would have been possible... I've tried something harder but now the weather seems not ideal to go back to the shade [where it's located]. Mostly, I feel too mentally tired to keep pushing or "forcing" myself to use the last few days to try something what for the moment might be out of my reach... So, I'm probably gonna try some single day projects or anything I'm truly motivated for the last few days [in order] to feel recharged when I [soon] go back to training!

Marine Thevenet, who has done over 100 boulders 8A and harder, reports on Insta video that over the last seven weeks she has sent Nobody ist der Größte (8A), Sissyfuss (8A+) and The Great Shark Hunt (8A+) in Chironico as well as Darkness (8A+) in Brione.

Which boulder was most special or meant the most to you?
Haha the most special… maybe Sissyfuss. I injured my pulley on it back in the day and it was really challenging to go back to it. The first move requires pure strength and when I tried the boulder this winter I would have been happy to complete just that one move, as a form of revenge and progress. I actually managed to do that move several times and [then I] fell at the mantle because I didn’t check the beta.

What is next?
Ticino offers a lifetime list of boulders to try - so it is not difficult to find other projects. I am motivated to enjoy the process of projecting on harder climbs for me, it is something I want to experiment these [coming] days.

Meini Li, who did her first 8c at age 10, has redpointed the 40 m long Tornado (8c+) in Yangshuo. The 13-year-old Chinese climber needed six days and 13 attempts for the send. (c) Liu ”Karma” Chuang