Zach Galla, who was #8 in the Salt Lake City World Cup last spring, has repeated Jimmy Webb’s Sleepwalker (8C+) in Unknown Crag. The 23-year-old has previously sent four boulders 8C to 8C+.

"Still, in disbelief, this one came together the way it did. I had tried it for four sessions before this trip and had weird progress. I did the moves fairly quickly but had such a hard time making any promising links. Coming back this year, I felt confident that if I could learn how to dial the bump from the slope into the crimp, I could give some send rips before heading home. I was hoping that the new beta discovered by @ryu____1 was going to be my key to making this thing possible but after my first two sessions back I wasn’t convinced. I was able to do the moves this way but I didn’t feel confident I was going to be able to make it work from the bottom. Warming up on my 7th sesh, the climb felt totally different. The friction was bomb and the links were coming together. I decided to give some goes from the start to just try and do it in overlapping sections. On my 2nd try, I made the link and managed to keep scaling and before I realized what had happened I was on the jug.

There is a lot of backseat grading controversy surrounding Sleepwalker because of it’s number of ascents and I totally understand why. I feel there are quite a few things to attribute to so many people having success. The biggest factor in my eyes has to be the accessibility and comfortability of the climb. The location, style and rock allow for you to have long sessions working the climb without losing very much skin.

Another reason is all the beta options it has. While they are all hard af, there now seems to be a method that can suit a lot of different body types and climbing styles. Personally, Sleepwalker is surely one of the hardest things I’ve managed to get on top of and totally warrants the grade for my experience."

What are your competition plans for 2024?
I didn’t make the olympic team so I’ve been taking time off comps to climb outside more! Will maybe try and do a world cup next year, but outside is the main focus!

Sebastien Bouin made the FA of DNA (9c) in La Ramirole last year. Now the 25 minutes mini-doc is out.

Jules Marchaland has done Le Cadafist (9a) in and Comité d'accueil (9a) in Séranon. In total, the 22-year-old has now done eleven routes 9a and beyond.

Comité d’accueil: 2 days - I fell at the end on the first day but the end was wet so then I waited three days and came back to send it! Crimpy vertical endurance line, crazy rock, good line for winter, sun and not so far from my house!

Cadafist - 3 days, I fell on the last section on the first trip so I really wanted to come back. After sending, Comite D’acceuil I came back and I sent it on the first day! 3 sections - 8a+, small crimp to go to the crux with pinch and two finger pocket, endurance section and very hard finish (end of « reve de poutre » 8c)

Benjamin Blaser, who previously has sent a dozen 8B's, out of which the last in 2019, has done Dreamtime (8C) in Cresciano. (c) Silvia Flury

"My Dreamtime journey started on 22 December 2022. I did the stand start on my 5th go. It was a crazy feeling for me to do it so quickly. It was also my first session on the sit. In this session, I could to every move from the sit. No links in between but I was very happy about it. It took me about 3 sessions to get from the sit to the stand start. The sessions after were always the same. I could do the lower part quite easily but fell always on the big move from the stand start. On February 11th I could do the first time the big move coming from the ground. I fell off on the 3th last move. I was happy but at the same time very frustrated that I could not climb it....

From then it got worse. The mental battle was very hard for me. I knew I could do it but it was not happening. In April I stopped trying it because of the too warm conditions. I trained very hard 2 months before the Ticino season started. I was confident that I could do it this season. I had one session to just try the moves and get the feeling back. On my second session this season I had a good feeling. The stand start going down again very fast and easily. A friend of mine had the idea to do a video call so that they could join the session and give me support. Then it happened. On my sixth go from the ground in this session, I stuck the big move and stood on top of this amazing boulder. I could not stop my feelings and began to cry after the send. I was so happy that I just climbed my Lifetime Goal!"
How come you have not sent anything at your max limit the last four years?
I was not really on projecting something hard. I just wanted to climb as much as I could in the range that I could climb it within one or two days.

Minyoung Lee, who was #12 in the Boulder World Champions in 2021, has made the first repeat of Sachi Amma’s Soulmate (9b). The 24-year-old Korean did his first 9a+ one year ago and last summer he did his second.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Ever since I was young I have had respect to Sachi. When he sent Soul Mate I was interested so I contacted him and visited first time this crag. I really like this place and it took me a 3days to send it.

The first day I felt that’s a really hard route but I solved each move but I didn’t link the crux part and the not either on the second day. On the third day it just happened during the first attempt of the day. Suddenly everything became possible and it was a magical moment. I still can’t believe it.

I think 9b is a possible grade because I’ve done similar styles before, Furia de Jabali 9a+, so it was easy to compare. The main crux part have a similar grade I think both will be around v14 [8B+] but the other part of Soul mate is harder than Furia so I think it has a 9b potential.

Maya Ene, 13, and Anastasia Sanders, 16, have done Lucifer (8c+) in Red River Gorge (KY). Maya is the defending US Youth National Champion and Anastasia was #8 in the B & L World Championship in 2023. Maya’s father John, 49, who finished his World Cup career in 1999 by being #19 in Speed and #43 in Lead in the World Championship, has sent his first 8c+, Southern Smoke.

Maya: “Over the Thanksgiving week, I spent couple of wonderful days climbing with my friends. This was a great opportunity for me to try Lucifer (8c+) with Annie Sanders and Natalia Grossman. We all worked so hard on the route despite the numbness in our fingers due to the low temperatures. Sadly, at the end of the week my family had to go back home but later decided to return once the weather was warmer and more stable. Almost a week later, I got the exciting news that Annie Sanders sent Lucifer. I was so ready to go back and the weather was slowly showing signs of improvement.

Monday, December 4th I am back on Lucifer working it with Natalia – none of us sent. Tuesday (40 degrees) – Natalia sends (big applauses to her, especially because her fingers were frozen for the entire climb). Friday, our last day at Red, had the perfect conditions (60 degrees).

I warmed up a little on the hangboard and went for the send. I felt so solid on it, controlling all the moves, and before I know it, I am clipping the chains. SUPER EXCITED!!!! But wait a second.. the day is not yet over. Now, my father, John Ene, wants to take advantage of this gorgeous day (and possibly catch up to me😊). So, we run to his project, Southern Smoke (8c+) which he has been working on for the last couple of weeks. He is able to execute all the moves so precisely, so efficiently, so confidently and there he is clipping the chains. Double HURRAY!!! Now we can return home…. and start talking about our next projects.

Karoline Sinnhuber has repeated Hungry Hungry Hippos (8A+) and For the Children (8A+) in Unknown Crag. In total, the 28-year-old former competitive climber has done 54 boulders 8A+ or 8B. (c) Leonard Moser

What's Hungry Hippos like?
The boulder consists of a 7C stand start which climbs super nicely, and the 8A+ sit. The sit adds 3 interesting moves into the standstart. Interesting, because it‘s super dependent on your body position and how you grab the shouldery hold with your left hand. For me personally it was super hard to find my beta for these moves… also I‘m super bad on underclings - which makes me even more proud I managed to do it :)

Mary Eden and Mari Salvesen have sent the 50 m roof crack Black Mamba in Canyonlands, which starts with almost 40 m of bouldering, inside an old mining tunnel with a head torch. It was established by Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker as an 8c in 2019, however, Salvesen, who only placed four pieces, feels 8b+ is a more accurate grade after having sent in just over five sessions. Salvesen's previous personal best was an 8b FA trad route back in Norway.

Eden: "It’s such a unique style, I’d like to climb a couple more before I’d feel comfortable down grading something Tom and Pete did. I’d say on the grade, I’ve never climbed that level before and don’t feel super comfortable having an opinion. I know it’s miles harder (to me) than Necronomicon. Mari’s super power is doing things fast, mine is just doing things. She is particularly good at crack bouldering. I think Black Mamba played into her strengths really really well. I think that’s why she’s self doubting. I’m more realistic after watching good climbers flail on it 😂.” (c) Spencer McKay

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Salvesen: It’s 50 meters with three thin/finger cruxes and an invert to arm/bar offwidth finish. It takes a full set of skills in order to put together. It took me two weeks to clean the route, work the boulder problems, stop thrashing around on the offwidth, and put it all together. I sent it on November 7th and was super happy seeing Mari get stoked on it. The crack is normally extremely dirty and I was hoping she’d take advantage of all my scrubbing.

The morning I sent The Black Mamba was super magical. Waking up at sunrise, I witnessed a herd of bighorn sheep frolicking around our camp. After a light warm-up I joked around with friends before the climb. Throughout the climb, my mantra was “climb smart” - conserving energy for the demanding finish. Climbing the Mamba that morning felt like pure fun, without my usual ‘try-hard’ mindset. Instead I embraced the flow state, feeling like I was playing the entire time.

I think that’s the awesome thing about Black Mamba. It’s a mixed route. Boulder problem to trad line. It’s so much fun to climb the boulder problem and then to tie in for the offwidth feels crazy. It took me two weeks to send it. I had trained specifically for it beforehand with lattice though.

Instagram Reel from Mari, who comments about the grade. “ I’ve never tried an 8c, so I wouldn’t know. But taking into consideration the effort, sessions, my current fitness, difficulty of the cruxes and rests in between, it does not add up to be the hardest grade I have ever climbed. Although comparing it to similar climbs in the area, like the Crackhouse (8a), an 8b+ seems fair in comparison. Which would still be the hardest grade I’ve climbed. I think the main thing that makes or breaks on this climb is if you are able to rest in good jams, because then you can recover in between harder sections and the length of the climb (which is what stands out here) does not actually add that much to the difficulty.”

Can you tell us more about your final 20 minute fight, sending it?
The send felt pretty solid the whole way, but not fully without some exciting moments. My taped crack glove was disintegrating, so i had to bite off as much of it as I could in the middle of the route. And I hadnt worked the Angry Pirate Finish since I did it, so i wasnt sure how that would feel after so many meters of climbing and without a taped hand. To my pleasant surprise it felt so much better than last time Id done it, my chickenwings were in there so deep that i didnt feel like i could fall out at any point. Pete with a supportive belay. It felt good.