Maho Normand, who did his first 8c+ at age 14, has during the last month done Bronx (8c+) and XXL (8c+) as well as six 8c's. Prior to that, the 16-year-old and 160 cm tall had not done anything harder than 8b during he last eight months. (c) Lactic Photography

How can you explain being back in peak performance the last month?
During the last two years, I have often injured myself (in my knees and hands) because of the diet in high school and the change in my body. So the motivation and the desire were at their lowest. After a recovery on the cliff in St-Léger a little over a month ago I re-chained an 8b, "Much suspend my flight", and after several discussions with friends related to food and management with high school, I re-motivated myself to start training well and eating well! And I immediately saw the change, and the crosses followed one another more quickly than expected!!

So it's been about two months since I regulated my diet and stopped eating in high school and it made me lose weight. In a few weeks, I lost five kilos, and I immediately felt it in my climbing!

How much do you train nowadays and what is your next plan?
I'm working Sachidananda 9a+ that a friend (Victor Guillermin) recently chained. I train at least ten hours a week without counting the days on the cliffs. I climb at least 4 to 5 times a week.

Allison Vest has, in just one session, done Dark Matter (8A+) in . "Amazing boulder. Twisty and pockety, just the way I like to climb. So many different betas on this thing too, and all hard. The move to the mono stack packs a punch just when you think you’re all done!" (c) Palmer Larsen

How was it possible to take it down in just one session?
Tried it on a rope a bit and then took a while to decide which beta I liked.

Allison has been an active competition climber since age ten and she has just focused on outdoors for a couple of years. In the female 8a ranking game, she is #2. Interesting is that she has also done two 8B's in single sessions and two months ago she did her first 8B+, which also was the first 8B+ she ever had tried.

Nolwen Berthier, who previously has done two 8c+', reports on Insta that she has done Supercrackinette 9a+ in St Léger. (c) Antonin Rhodes

Previously, only eight females have done 9a+ or harder. Nolwen stopped competing in 2019 after having been Top-30 in the World Cup 15 times, mainly in Lead.

"Over the last few months, I’ve devoted a lot of energy trying to align all the parameters necessary for the send (shape, weather conditions, motivation, etc.) This weekend, the stars aligned in my favour. For the first time, I succeeded in the first crux which was really hard for me… and I didn’t fall at the top! Ideal scenario, I dreamed of it, but the probability of making it real was very limited. I still can’t believe it!"

How many sessions are we talking and what about special or replica training?
I made 20 sessions over the 5 past months + I tried a lot last year from january to june. For the specific training, I made the choice to train mostly in the route rather than do some replica for exemple.

Michaela Kiersch reports on Insta that she has done Apex Predator 8c+ in Poptire. "It’s a hard resistance climb without many rests and the crux goes right up to the anchors so the send is really rewarding :) It was my goal to do this route this spring and I’ve been training my endurance for a few months while also trying to send my boulder projects. I haven’t tried a hard sport route since Dreamcatcher (9a), so it felt good to get back into shape." (c) James Lucas

Last year, the doctorate in hand therapy did her first 9a and last month she did an 8B/+ boulder. Previously, she has done more than a handful 8A+ boulders as well as eight 8c+ routes. Next up is the oral defence for her doctorate, followed by a trip to Europe for the Petzl Roc Trip and three weeks in Switzerland.

What are the autumn plans? Full-time climber or starting to work?
I'm not sure yet! I'm getting married in September :) That's exciting! The rest will follow

Mie Kastet has done the FA of When the levee breaks (8A+) in Perleveggen. The 37-year-old did her first 8A+ two years ago and checking her trend diagram, it is clear that the Norwegian is having her best year ever.

"The process... Well, I thought it looked cool and had an idea that it was climbable. So I cleaned it with a bit of help from my partner, Knut. Then started trying it in the spring of last year. Had to put it on hold due to warm temps in summer and a lot of wet weather in the autumn. Was bummed then, because progress was really good and I felt close to sending. Put the winter months to good use with some specific training (body tension, fingers and biceps😅) with help from Oli at Lattice training. Came back this spring and made a new high point on the first session, and became really psyched! It still took me a few more sessions, limited to a hand full of tries per session as the moves are super demanding and very specific. Also realised I needed more time to recover between each session. Not complete rest, just climbing on something else. I guess that actually helped get the ball rolling. 😂

As for the grade... We all know it matters 😅. I have suggested 8A+, based on the effort it took me, the beta I found, and other boulders of similar difficulty I have tried. Other people may have a different opinion, and that's fair! I am buzzing with excitement and pride because I found the line, cleaned it, tried it and eventually climbed it after a few ups and downs. So the the grade becomes less important to me.

How can you explain that you are peaking at age 37?
I hope I have not peaked yet! Still got things to do. 😉Jokes aside, I think there are many components here. One, I'm still psyched! Second, I have the freedom to make training a priority. Third, I am fighting less with myself now than what I used to do. Working on my own mind, and learning to enjoy the ride more than the send has been liberating, and it is much easier to access full power.

Victor Guillermin reports on Insta that he has done the third ascent of Gerome Pouvreau's Sachidananda 9a+ in Orgon from 2009, which was bolted in 1990 by Jérome Rochelle. The 16-year-old has previously done one 9a, Estado Critico. In 2019 he did five IFSC Youth Cups and his best result was #18. In 2020, he was #2 in his only Euro Youth Cup and last weekend he won a French Youth Cup. "It was incredible to be back in lead mode comp, and winning this french cup in Marseille gave me a lot of confidence for outdoor projects!🤣"

What has been the secret to your success and progress over the last few years?
The thing that has changed since 2019 is the frequency and the seriousness of training. I think the progress is quite easy to explain: it is just a lot of serious training. Because I'm in a normal high school, and I don't have so much time to train, so when I train, I train hard to complete my dreams ; ) It was incredible to be back in lead mode comp, and win this french cup in Marseille gave me a lot of confidence for outdoor projects!🤣

What are your comp dreams for 2022?
It would be awesome to make podiums in European Youth Cup, to be able to qualify for European Championship and even World Championships... where a podium would be a dream...

Jana Švecová, back in business after almost one year with injuries and rehabilitation, has done Prehistorik (8B+) in Labské Údolí. Part of her recovery was a trip in January to establish new boulders in the United Arab Emirates, UAE video and Cleavage Canyon video.

"I get the recommendation for this boulder from strong gal Lucie Hrozová as she said it could be potentially climbable for shorter climbers. The boulder was FAed by Martin Stránik and even though he is incredibly strong he commented that the boulder is good training for biceps so I won't lie. After the first session, I spent two weeks training the power in my biceps to have at least a chance of doing all the moves. This time (2nd visit) we had six days of holiday so I decided to climb one day on one day off. Interestingly enough, I was improving every day, until the last session I was able to send it. I wouldn't say that it wasn't my style at all, as I am more like a powerful climber and shorter boulders suit me better but this was kind of a challenge, so that was even more fun to try hard on it. Somehow it worked and I send it with help of Martin Švec who always cleans the boulder for me, turns on the fan, makes marks on the holds so I know where to go, helps me with micro betas and much more… As I said teamwork make the dream work :D

I have to say that it is so refreshing to be able to climb on my limit again after last year full of disappointment, from almost sending 8B+ to pushing in sessions and training way too much and injuring my shoulder and two fingers, resulting in struggling with one or another for about six months. Yay so happy to be back and already looking for new challenges. :)"

Alex Megos reports on Insta that he has done Chris Sharma's Samfaina in Margalef. Sharma called it 9a as also first repeater Ramon Julian Puigblanque did. Megos comments, "Last year @jorge.diazrullo repeated it and suggested an upgrade to 9a+. I'm with Jorge on that one. Definitely felt harder than the 9a's here." In total, the German has now done close to 100 routes 9a and harder and it is only Adam Ondra that has done more. (c) S. Tymchenko

What are your 2022 plans?
My plans for 2022 are trying to combine a few comps and some outdoor climbing. I'll do a few of the bouldering world cups and also a few of the lead world cups, but not the full season.

Last week, Megos competed in the Bouldering World Cup in Meiringen and was #16 after being #5 in the qualification. After he raised issue with there being photos of the boulder problems in isolation, consensus was reached among competitors and officials and no further photos were displayed.