Eva Hammelmüller has had a productive week in Seynes sending Métaphysique des tubes (8c) as well as ten more routes 8a to 8b. (c) Felix Mast

"We decided to check out a new climbing area this Christmas break - this time Seynes in Southern France. The routes are amazing and I decided to focus above all on climbing many different routes. I am really happy that I managed to send Metaphysique des tubes (8c) and L'odyssée (8b+), as well as, Les brigades du chibre (8b+). Seynes was an amazing choice and we had such a good time there climbing amazing tufa kinglines like Dinosaure (8a+)".

Stefano Ghisolfi has done the FA of Il terzo occhio (9a) in Arco. It total, the Italian has done 47 routes 9a and beyond, out of which 17 are FAs.

"About Il Terzo Occhio, Adam bolted the second part of this route, the first part is 8a+. We tried it together along with Laura Rogora last year for one day, at the beginning it felt harder, more like 9a+, but then I tried it this year for 4 more days and sent it, 9a is the grade that fits better to it. After the chain of the 8a+, there are 2 hard sections about 7/8 moves each, with a good kneebar in between."

Noah Wheeler has repeated James Webb’s Sleepwalker (8C+) in Black Velvet Canyon. ”16- or 15/16 [8C+(-) or 8C/8C+]. Came back this year hopeful but doubtful and felt far stronger on the crux move than I imagined I would. The crux ended up being the last pinch throw but with some tweaks and deliberation I got it done first go of the 5th total session. Psyched on deeper down the wall.”

New video by Noah - Is Sleepwalker 8C or 8C+? Some other repeaters have also indicated it being a bit ”soft” for the grade. The sit start is Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) and before completion, Daniel was able to do the stand up to four times in a single session.

Can you tell us more about this boulder problem and the process you went through?
I originally saw the boulder 2 years ago on my first trip to Red Rocks. I briefly felt the holds and wrote it off as a project for the future. Last year I came back with the intent of sending having a few harder climbs under my belt. However the weather was awful for the 2 weeks I was there and I only got 2 sessions in on the climb, where I completed all the moves quickly but was unable to make significant links (notably, the crux sloper bump link was undone). Coming back this year I was both cautious and invigorated by the misfortune of my last trip - knowing that the forecast looked better but that I only had 2 weeks in Red Rocks. In the first session back I felt surprisingly good on the crux sequence and ended up dialing it fairly well. The following session I gave 5 or 6 ground rips, all of which ended with a fall going to the last left hand pinch on the top of the boulder. The next session I managed to top it out first try of the day!

Pepa Šindel, who at age 14 did his first 9a+, has sent Martin Krpan (9a) in Mišja Peč. "I spent the Christmas holidays in the Slovenian climbing area Mišja peč. I climbed the route Konec mira 8c/c+, which I had tried before. Two days later I climbed Martin Krpan, which is an extension of the Konec Mira. I climbed this extension on my 4th attempt and started the new year very well! I ended the short trip by climbing the endurance route, Karisma 8b+."

What are your plans for next year?
My plans for the 2024 season are to continue climbing 9a routes and maybe try some 9a+. Especially Hades 9a in Austria is a big challenge for me.

Sera Gearhardt has started 2024 by sending Fingerslut (8B) in Joe's Valley (UT). In 2023, she did a dozen boulders 8A to 8B and she is #6 in the ranking game. (c) Three Peak Films

”This boulder climbs the start of a 7C+ into a tiny crimp and committing jump to a jug. The jump has a huge swing over a rock. I'm not a very brave climber in general, so even though I found beta to make the swing much smaller than others, I struggled with committing to it from the bottom. I prefer to climb in static positions. I did the move in isolation a ton of times to feel safer and practiced a little on the kilter board with huge swings. On the go, my friends had to yell a ton of encouragement to get me to commit to it.”

Iris Matamoros Quero has repeated El osteopata (9a) in Mula, Murcia. This was the 43-year-old's fifth 9a, and his third in the last 16 months.

Can you tell us more about your latest 9a?
I tried the route 10 years ago for the first time, when a good friend bolted it. It's not a very nice area, so the route was never very popular. The rock is of poor quality and some holds have been glued. 8 years ago, before my oldest son was born, I was about to do it but things changed after his birth. Although it was always on my mind, I didn't find the time to go back in a good shape. Last year some friends climbed it and they motivated me to try it again. So this year I took it as my main goal. The route has a first part on 8c, very physical, with very bad feet and some random moves. Then a knee rest in which you rest your arms but exhaust your legs and your core. In the final part, the hardest thing is to get completely rested to the last crux, alone is not very hard, but you have almost done an 8c+ and your body is destroyed.

What is coming up next?
I have bolted another hard one just on the right. I have been trying it to warm up but never done any proper tries. It is really hard and now I am really motivated to try hard 💪💪 and the link of El Osteopata with that will be super hard. In march and april we will go to Santa Linya again, I have an other 9a in my mind😅🙏🙏