Alex Johnson, with 22 boulders 8A+ to 8B+ under her belt, has completed Columbian Bowtie (8A+) in Castle Rocks (ID). ”So good, haven’t had this much fun on a boulder in forever. biggg kitty tracks, dead truck key close call, and lucky slice pizza.” (c) Sera Gerhart

Can you elaborate a bit more on that epic comment?
This climb is so fun! I went with Sera Gearhart, and on the hike down we saw fresh mountain lion tracks which is always scary. When we got back to the parking, my electric truck key battery had died so my truck wouldn’t start and we thought we were stranded hours from the nearest city with no phone service! I took the key apart and put it back together multiple times and one time we got lucky and it worked. My truck turned on! I think we were more excited about that than the send. We celebrated by getting Lucky Slice Pizza. 🍕🍕

Colin Duffy has, in one solo session, repeated Daniel Woods' Deathstar (8C) in Eldora. ”This thing is rad, the bottom sequence makes the stand start moves wayyy spicier. On the send go, I lost my feet while sticking the final slot, but I was able to hold it one handed! Not the cleanest send but got the job done. 3rd 8C in 9 days, let's keep the momentum rolling...”

Amandine Loury, who earlier in 2024 did her second 8c+, has done L'étrave (8c) in Saint Léger and Rest in beast (8b+) in Buoux. In the VL ranking game, the 34-year-old is #4.

Can you tell us more about the 8c?
L’étrave is a very beautiful and various line in Praniania sector. It’s the direct start of La Trav vers l’étrave 8b+ that I send in 2020. The start of L'étrave is very powerfull with long moves and hooks. Just after there is a beautiful pumpy section before a good rest and to finish there is a hard and mental section with crimp on a vertical wall. So I was happy to not fall in this last part, because I was not sure to send again the start.

Olivia Ma, who last month got the silver in the Pan American Lead Championship, has done Lethal Design (8A+) in Gateway Canyon.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
As far as boulders go, this one’s pretty up my alley— I’m more of a sport climber, so it was nice to put my power endurance to use. The tricky part for me was managing my skin and energy, since I had a short trip and it’s a long climb. It took me most of my first session to tinker through my beta, so my tank was running low by the time I started giving goes. I was psyched to send it first ground go the next day. It felt really nice to finish up Lethal, it has some movement I’ll keep with me for a while. And it’s my first of the grade!

What is your climbing background?
I grew up mainly as an indoor comp kid in New Jersey, but I’ve been lucky to have gotten some good time outdoors, especially in my early teens (thanks mom). It’s been busier for me since I started competing in multiple circuits, especially when I started applying to and attending college. But now that I’ve graduated from youth I think I’ll have more choosing room. I’m excited for that!