Eva Hammelmüller, who has held the number one spot in the VL ranking game for a year, has kept her momentum rolling over the past two weekends, sending two 8c+’s and two 8c’s. (c) Felix Mast
Love 2.1 (8c+) in Zillertal: ”This is the line of the valley, sooo good!!! Took me two days to send it, simply amazing.”

Reality Check (8c+) in Schleierwasserfall: ”OMG why didn't I climb more at Schleier in the past years? This place is incredibly beautiful, and I can't wait to discover more amazing lines like this one!! You better like 3mm crimps, though... ;)”

Can you tell us more about your first weekend ascents?
This weekend was just incredible! After a few really promising (but unsuccessful) attempts in my project, I managed climb a cool 8b+ at Götterwandl. The next day, we went to Zillertal to try a route I checked out two weeks ago. I not only climbed the 8c part it on my first send go, but as well decided to downclimb the last few quickdraws to try the direct exit. I ‘stole’ the idea from a local climber who sent it in exactly this style nearly two decades ago ;). However, I underestimated how pumpy downclimbing the short but steep roof would be; in addition, you don’t reach the nearly no-hand-rest again that you’d usually have after the first hard part of the 8c+. I honestly didn’t consider actually sending the route in that go, but somehow I managed to stay on the wall! Couldn’t believe it!! Climbing another 8c at Schleierwasserfall the next day was the icing on the cake.

Eva’s send train continued the next weekend in Schleierwasserfall.

Gambit (8c+): ”What a line!!! I love this style of climbing (endurance on pockets in perfect rock - can it get any better?!), and I love this location. Climbing with the waterfall behind your back truly is something special! On my first send go yesterday, I surprisingly made it to the last hard move. However, I didn't figure out a suitable beta and fell 2 more times up there... Finally, I had the foothold dialed, and I sent it today on my warm up go!!! - I guess I was still pumped enough from yesterday :D”

Least Resistance (8c): ”How did that work out?????? Still can't believe that I made it through the crux with completely frozen fingers, some improvisations, and even a footslip. Didn't climb the upper part perfectly, but luckily well enough - thanks Robs for reminding me of the beta up there! Crazy day.”

Can you tell us more about the second weekend’s ascents?
I love the style of climbing at Schleierwasserfall (endurance on pockets in perfect rock - can it get any better?!), and I love the location. Climbing with the waterfall behind your back truly is something special! On my first send go in ‘Gambit’, I surprisingly made it to the last hard move. However, I didn't figure out a suitable beta and fell 2 more times up there... Finally, I had the foothold dialed, and I sent it the day after on my warm up go!!! - I guess I was still pumped enough from the tries the day before :D.

While the send of ‘Gambit‘ felt solid, I had the craziest fight in ‘Resistance’. Not expecting to climb all the way to the top in my second go, I battled completely numb fingers, memory gaps, and waterfall showers. Winning this fight felt surreal!

Alex Ventajas, with some 20 routes 9a and beyond under his belt, has done Trip tik tonik (9a). ”So thrilled to send this super line in just 2 days of attempts! Thanks to Alessio and Claudia for all the betas that helped me achieve it so fast! Totally my style, tricky kneebars and after the blouder a nice endurance run till the anchor!”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I’d been curious about this sector for a few years already. I’d seen lots of videos of “Trip tik tonik” and it always looked so aesthetic. This week I was on holiday in Rodellar, but I felt the need to “change the air” a bit and visit a new place. It seemed like the perfect chance to start heading back toward Italy and make a stop here.

I knew I wanted to try this line, so I focused on it immediately! I only had three climbing days left, so I knew it was going to be a good challenge. Luckily, I met Claudia Ghisolfi and Alessio Voghera there, who had both recently sent the route, and they shared their betas with me. That definitely helped me cut down on the number of attempts!

The route really suits my style: the first part is quite technical, with some knee-bars, and the upper section after the boulder is a masterpiece of endurance. Already on my second go I fell at the crux, which gave me the chance to refine the boulder sequence and consolidate the upper part.

On the second day, I knew that if I could just get through the crux, I’d have a good shot at clipping the chains. I kept falling there, but each time a little bit higher, getting down after every fall to save energy.

I waited for the last light of the day to rest properly and give it one final go: this time I finally stuck the boulder and reached a small saving kneebar! Despite the fatigue of the long day, I suddenly felt full of energy and kept going, enjoying the long ride on the tufas all the way to the top!

I’m super happy to have sent the route in just two days and to have stayed motivated even when the boulder was shutting me down at first. I would have loved to try the original beta from before the key hold broke (it looked so unique!), but the new sequence is still cool!

Janja Garnbret, who flashed Puro Dreaming (9a), last week reports on Instagram. ”Quick work of Rude (8B+)” in Val Daone.

The 26-year-old has dominated the comp scene for ten years and last year she sent Bügeleisen Sit (8C).

Jennifer Wood has completed Pixam (8c) in Kalymnos. This was the fourth 8c since July for the 29-year-old who finished competing in 2023.

Can you tell us more about the send and your kneepad thinking?
I tried Pixam at the end of my last trip in May and surprised myself by actually getting really close. First go this trip I couldn’t believe how much easier the moves felt so confidently set off on Redpoint. Got a bit shut down aha, the humidity was tough and I was faffing with a tricky clip and I was powering out.

A couple of days later and I’d lost my initial optimism but stuck with it, but everything went wrong on the send go aha. I fumbled a clip about 6 times, ripped a massive flapper in my tip but just dug deep on the crux and somehow pulled it off. After a reasonable rest the top wall is an amazing bit of climbing, maybe 8a+ ish so felt great to hold it together :) “

I actually did wear a knee pad in the end! Was a bit stubborn last trip because I don’t like climbing in them, but this season plus time with the experts in Hvar has helped me get to grips with them 😂

How can you best explain your continuous great progress the last few years?
I think the main reason I’ve been able to improve quite a lot this year is just spending sooo much more time on rock ! Comps are not so good for that 😅 I feel like I’ve been learning a lot technically as well as just getting better at projecting tactics. Oh and I have rest days on trips now , annoyingly that helps a lot too 😉

Stephan Vogt, who did Action Directe (9a) in 2017, has completed Nice freshly baked (9a) in Frankenjura. ”Really good upgrade to the already amazing Shangri-La. [Adding a boulder on top of the 8c+]. Deserves a cooler name... One of the more natural hard routes in the Jura! Thought I could do it on my second session but then kept falling 10ish times after the big crux move. Thanks Leona for all the belays and Hans for the picture and the good projecting vibes!” (c) Hans Radetzki

What are your winter plans?
I have a few more projects that I am excited about and that I hope to finish soon. Now that I am a local here I finally have time to do quick sessions in between work.

Jernej Kruder has done the second repeat, after Matty Hong, of Chris Sharma’s Big fish (8c+) in Mallorca. ”Crux starts at about 15m and finishes at 20! 8c+/9a.”.

The 34-year-old is one of the very best multi-discipline climbers out there. In 2018, he captured the Boulder World Cup title, and outdoors he has sent a 9a+ deep-water solo, a 9a+ first ascent, a 9a trad climb, multiple 8C boulders, and multi-pitch routes graded up to 8c. Here is the Slovenian’s full report. (c) Michael Piccolruaz

”After sending Es Pontas (9a+) back in 2016, I set my eyes on Alasha, which at that time was the second hardest psicobloc line in the world. I spent many days and put in a lot of effort, but the route simply wouldn’t let me through. At some point, I gave up. It was a hard decision, but luckily for me, Chris opened another line — Big Fish. It was slightly lower in grade but with the crux nearly 20 meters above the sea. The moves seemed doable, but the place was dark and intimidating.

I returned in 2023 to give it my full effort. After a few days, I got comfortable with the height and even managed to reach the last hard move. Then the weather turned bad, and my head gave in. I left Mallorca empty-handed. Last year, I bought plane tickets again. But just before leaving, I decided to stay home due to poor weather and to prepare better for my upcoming trip to Yosemite.

This year, things were completely different for me. I focused entirely on outdoor climbing. I did some hard multipitch routes and bouldering lines, and I even managed to finish two of my trad projects on the last days of my trips. I was quite happy with my season so far, so the only thing left for the year was to check out Big Fish again. I didn’t have high expectations — I hadn’t trained or climbed hard since my trip to Squamish. Honestly, I just wanted to see if it was worth coming back in December. My first touch after two years felt surprisingly good. I didn’t feel too weak, and I felt very comfortable high above the water. Falling twice from the first hard move on the first day was more of an introduction to falling again than a real attempt to send.

The next day was different. I was there with just two friends — Jairo and Carlos. I felt ready to commit. The sea was calm, and the air was dry. I cruised through the first section. Then time seemed to stop. I was completely in the moment — no sound of my friends cheering, no music from the speaker, no thoughts about the past or the future. Just pure focus on the next move. I climbed through the crux and suddenly found myself standing on top of one of my favorite lines in the world. After the conditions deteriorated, I spent the rest of my trip simply enjoying the island and checking out new projects. On my last day, I sent Face Your Fear (8b) on my second go.”

Janja Garnbret has set a new standard by flashing Puro Dreaming (8c+/9a) in Arco. Amazingly, she just randomly tried it with little beta preparation from Michele Caminati and nothing while she was climbing.

”It was not the best beta for her size and she had to improvise almost everything... Looked more like an onsight than a flash 😅. She just asked for the lower Crux but then she ended up improvising. We didn't give her any beta while climbing. She skipped a big rest on a tufa as well. In the upper Crux she tried a few things and she ended up doing the right thing at the end. She also managed to clip two quickdraws everybody is skipping 😂.”

Photographer Björn Pohl has sent us the full story of the remarkable flash:

After the lows and highs of the Arco Rockmaster competition — a disappointing result in the Duel but a convincing win in the Bouldering KO — it was time for some rock climbing for Janja. The original plan was to head up to Excalibur (9b+), but since conditions weren’t ideal, a Plan B was quickly hatched: “some easy climbing at Terra Promessa.”

Said and done. As soon as Vladek Zumr and I got the message, we headed to the crag. Neither of us had been there before, but it was straightforward enough to find. Or so we thought. We scoped out the crag and figured there were definitely some nice photo opportunities — assuming Janja climbed the right routes. The problem was… she wasn’t there. So we waited. After a while, Vladek got a text: “We couldn’t find it. Going to upper Massone instead.”

Plan C it was. Apparently Terra Promessa wasn’t that easy to find after all. We must have gotten lucky. So, we drove down to Massone, found a parking spot, and walked up to the Il Pueblo sector, where we finally met Janja and Roman. Janja was just about to start warming up on the beautifully named Shaved Beaver, a 7c with a bit of a scary jump start, made famous by a viral video where Julia and Jernej Kruder managed to mess it up royally. Anyway. Janja, of course, didn’t. She cruised to the top effortlessly. Next came Randa (8a+), which she calmly onsighted. Now properly warmed up, it was time for something harder. Nearby, Michele Caminati was working on a steep, striking line. Janja asked him about it, and after a quick chat, learned it was Puro Dreaming, a route graded 9a in the guidebook.

Said and done — again. Janja tied in, and we scrambled to find shooting positions. She climbed smoothly at first, though she hesitated briefly at an undercling sequence about eight meters up. After figuring it out, she continued upward, resting on more or less every single hold. The holds weren’t good, mind you; Janja just made them look that way. It was quite obvious that she by no means had all the beta, or much at all really, so the feeling was that of a semi-onsight, if that’s a thing. I think she was probably on the route for half an hour or so. The route is long and very steep, and near the lip she looked slightly in trouble again — but then she solved the crux and suddenly was through, on easier ground. It started dawning on us: she might actually flash it. Surreal. I desperately tried to find a shooting angle for the final clip, one not blocked by leaves. I wanted that perfect shot of the celebration. Janja approached the chains, pulled up the rope, clipped, turned toward Roman on belay, and said simply: “Ok.”

That was it. No celebration, no scream. Just calm composure. She lowered off, and we all looked at each other, half laughing, half stunned: “What the fuck???” Even Michele was in disbelief. He told Janja that the way she did it — skipping the only good rest — probably made it 9a+. But what about the grade? Was this the first-ever 9a flash by a female climber?

The guidebook said 9a, but after consulting the web, it turned out some sources suggested it had been downgraded to 8c+, because kneepads make the route easier. Janja asked Adam, who made the FA, and he also said he thought it was 8c+ nowadays. However — Janja didn’t use kneepads. Plus, a hold had reportedly broken recently, making the route slightly harder again.

Personally, I think some routes deserve two grades: one for ascents with kneepads, or whichever equipment you want, and one without. Change and Bibliographie are other examples — both first ascended without kneepads, later downgraded after repeats with them. So, in my view, I witnessed the first-ever 9a flash by a woman — even if it might not go down in history as such. Regardless, one thing’s certain: Janja will both flash and onsight 9a soon. And that won’t be her limit — not even close. Redpoints, boulders, and more lie ahead. Interesting times to come!

Lorenzo Bogliacino is peaking by sending Mona lisa integral (9a+) as well as four 9a’s during a two weeks trip to Rodellar. (c) Eduardo Ruano

Can you tell us more about the trip and the hardest sends?
I started dreaming about Mona Lisa Integral — a 60-meter king line on pure roof — along with all the routes in Museo, when I discovered the crag at the beginning of June. I began working on it during the summer holidays, when I climbed La Gioconda (9a), and try Così se Arete (9a) in Piscineta where I always fell in the last 10 meters of its 60-meter length.

Between the end of September and October, I had two weeks of holidays, and a clear project in mind for the trip: Mona Lisa Integral! On the first day, I warmed up on the second part of the route and felt pretty good... so, wanting to take advantage of the good conditions, I decided to give it a go. And totally unexpectedly, on the very first day of the trip and on my first real attempt on the route, I sent it!

Feeling in good shape, I decided to return to Piscineta. After two more days of work, I finally managed to finish Cosi se Arete (9a), an amazing line that crosses the entire overhang of Piscineta. I had started trying it last year, and it had given me a lot of trouble!

I continued climbing in Museo, where I was also able to do Rapahel integral (9a), Persistencia de la gioconda (9a) and El beso de la Gioconda (9a) — all of which share the final endurance section of La Gioconda (9a). I also took the opportunity to climb in other sectors of Rodellar, where I did about 10 routes between 8a and 8b+.