Gabriel Kern, who last month won the Swedish Lead Championship, has done Inshallah (8c+) in Kalymnos, Insta video.

”Inshallah, in my opinion the absolute king line! Featuring a middle-finger-undercling-mono-lockoff, sketchy heel-hooks, mega cut-loosing, and a brutal ending! The route is around 15 meters of pure hard bouldering with no rests. As of now it has five ascents on 8a.nu but, the more accurate number is probably around 10-15.

If anyone is visiting Kalymnos I would highly recommend going to north cape and trying it! There are some draws on it already that you can use if you just want to feel the holds!

My first few tries on the route was in November 2022 but that was cut short since there came a swarm of hornets making the route unclimbable. I came back in Easter 2023 hungry, made progress, but still got shut down. Fast forward to summer 2023, everything was greasy and humid, but that didn't stop my projecting, I perfected every sequence and after a falling on the last hold a few tries in a row I managed to send it. It was either send it or take down the draws.”

Marco Müller, who previously has done eight 9a's, has sent in .

"The route is a linkup between 'Alpenbitter' and 'Renardo Rules', which creates a traverse with a new crux. I think it took me 2 sessions to do all the moves. The crux is going from a tricky heelhook to a bad 2-finger pocket to another pocket. It is super body tension and body position dependent. (I also couldn't do the original kneebar beta, as my torso is a tiny bit too short.) I then started trying from the ground and could almost always reach the traverse. But the key was to get there fresh in order to get into the right body positions. After multiple sessions, I finally stuck the last crux move and kept it together to the end."

Marine Thevenet, who has completed over 90 boulders 8A and harder, has done Steppenwolf (8B) in Magic Wood. The former lawyer has just started her own business as a sports manager to help climbers and outdoor athletes to find sponsors. (c) Clement Lechaptois

”I tried Steppenwolf 2 sessions 2 years ago. At that time, I did some promising attempts :) This year I was really psyched to come back to Magic Wood to finish it since we didn't have the chance to climb in MW last year. I was curious to see if I had made some progress or not!

The first session this year was disastrous! I had a finger injury in April and I was not able to crimp at 100% with my right hand, but I naively believed that maybe I could compensate with something else 🤷‍♀️ Magic Wood quickly reminded me how strong in crimps you should be to send boulders haha! But being less in shape allowed me to find an easier beta for the end than the one I did some years ago. So I came back home with frustration and motivation to come back stronger with a totally fixed finger 😈 We came back for a short trip of 4 days in mid-July and, this time, I was able to climb at my best :)”

Austin Hoyt, who previously has sent six 8B+, has done Monkey Wedding (8C) in Rocklands.

”All in all Monkey Wedding took me about eight days to piece together on this a little more than a month long trip. I tried it the second day I climbed in Rocklands for the first time, I quickly unlocked all but two moves in a short session. The second day on it was the same situation just working through moves again, finally on the third session I found a sequence that worked for me did all the moves! I ended up going with the original beta that Fred, Paul, and Daniel all do with a little extra small left hand to slide into. On session four and five I managed to fall on the last move four times! Slowly it became more of a mental battle. Come session eight, my last fresh day trying the boulder and I managed to send it! Couldn’t have done it without Bryce Viola!”

What is your climbing background?
I began climbing about 11 years ago at High Exposure Climbing in Northvale New Jersey, and I still climb there today! Ever since starting I’ve been obsessed and likely climb five days a week. Training mostly focuses on board climbing, weight lifting, and a lot of projecting! Luckily I’m here in Africa with long time friend and training partner Adam Shahar, he’s insanely strong and going to rack up an insane tick list himself! We’ve pushed each other since day one, without the very friendly competition I don’t know if either of us would ever be where we are now.

Minyoung Lee, who last year did his first 9a+, has repeated Adam Ondra's Jungle Boogie (9a+) in Céüse. In 2021, Lee was #12 in a Boulder WC but now his focus is rock climbing. (c) Marco Bergonzi

Can you tell us more about Jungle Boogie?
To explain my story. In 2019 when I first visited Céüse, I could have opted for Biographie but as a kid, I watched videos of my idol Sachi Amma doing Jungle Boogie and I fell in love the first time I tried the route. On that first trip, I fell in the last crux section, below the two-finger pocket. The second trip was last year in April. I was finally able to come back after the covid was over and I was full of confidence to send it. I could feel my growth compared to the first visit. However, past the crux, going for the jug, my foot slipped and I fell. It was very disappointing, but I was happy to think that I’d make it through the remaining climbing days. But the weather didn’t help, it rained, and then it snowed. In the end, it failed and it was mentally very difficult.

I finally came back this year feeling stronger physically. What I felt at the beginning was amazing I was shaking my hands as I climbed and chalked it up. Because it was so intense I had to push it. My fitness was more prepared than ever when I challenged this route. Even so, the situation of failure made my mind hard and made me extremely sensitive. I couldn’t help but think of the short schedule of time and money to come here from Korea. By the time halfway through the schedule, I was tired, so I took a break for two days to recover and remind myself of my skin and finally made it. It was a really tough fight and made me grow up in every way. I will do more fun and wonderful things in the future. Thank you Dad for being with me on this journey and thank you again for your attention to my success🙌

How long have you been climbing?
I'm 23years old. I started climbing in 2008. When I was a young kid I started climbing with my dad. I participated in competitions and later in international competitions until recently. Lately, I‘ve been wanting to focus more on rock climbing.