Celine Mehouas, who last autumn did her first 8c, has redpointed Mind Control (8c) in Oliana. (c) Pinopictures

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The Oliana cliff is a personal favorite of mine because I love the long and physical style of the routes there. Having done Fish Eye last year, this time I really want to try Mind Control! This beautiful route is a classic of the cliff, and after visiting it, you quickly understand why there’s always a queue at the base.

It takes me two days to get into the rhythm, then I start falling at the top crux because I’m trying a different method than other climbers. Well, after two falls at this move, I decide to do it like everyone else, and I must admit—it’s easier. On the last day before the rain, the conditions are wet and cold. It’s not really what I prefer, but the motivation is stronger.

Second attempt of the day, after falling at the same spot again. I tell myself this is the last try—I need to shorten the suffering of Caroline Minvielle, who is kindly belaying me despite the cold.

After a little scare near the bottom, where it was borderline, I reach the final crux. I’m feeling good, and it seems possible. I don’t really know how, because this move has always felt so random. I wait, refocus, and grip the holds tighter all the way to the top. The energy from the attempt makes me feel super solid, and I clip the anchor just as the first drops of rain hit my face. Perfect timing! The next day, the rain made the end of the route impossible. 😉

Ben Blackmore, with ten 8B+’ under his belt, has repeated Daniel Woods’ classical 65 degrees roof Paint it Black (8C) in RMNP (CO). ” Oh my god still can’t believe this 🤯🤯! What a surreal moment topping this thing out into the snow after god knows how many days of effort. A lot has changed since I started trying this and the last few months of school related chaos have certainly been the least I’ve gone rock climbing, so this one is extra special ❤️‍🔥. Can’t wait to see what’s next- onwards!! 🚀”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Paint it Black is an absolute dream problem for me and it feels so surreal to have it done after so many days of effort! I'm in school for my doctorate in Physical Therapy right now, so it's been especially hard to get out to try the last couple months and really had to make the sessions count when I could. Ultimately it came down to eating fewer nerds gummy clusters I think and playing more pickle ball during the week when I couldn't climb for the coordination!

Either way, I've probably watched the video of Daniel getting the FA 50 times since I was a kid, and spent so many hours trying over the past few seasons so this one really means a lot. Can't wait to see what's next!

How many sessions did it take and what made the trick in the end?
Ultimately too many sessions to count almost! Probably 7-8 in 2023, 10-15 in 2024 and then 1 in 2025. In the end I just needed to try really hard and maybe listen to bit of chief keef on the hike in!

Stefan Hochbaum has done the FA of Obsidian (8C+) in Scharfenstein. (c) Jörn Störtebekker

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
Kai Theune (afriend of mine and the guy who developed nearly the whole area) showed me this 12 years old project 3 years ago. After I finished all the problems at this area I started working on this thing. It is a hard 8A+ into Diffuse Reflection (8B+) with no rest.

It’s a 12 moves boulder. After you climb the six 8A+ moves you are pretty tired and still have to climb the hard part (8b+) which made the boulder super hard to send for me. I tried this boulder over 3 years and nearly 55 sessions. It’s pretty hard to get decent conditions. Most of the time the ground is wet and it condensates to the rock. So you have most of the time high moisture in the air. There is never sun so once the ground is wet you need a longer dry period to climb on that thing.

The boulder has lots of small crimps so you need good conditions. Its a fingery, endurance and powerful boulder with 2 hard crux moves which are at the end of the boulder. I set a replica in my homegym and trained some days on it.

But the holds were much better than on the rock so I switched to board climbing and finger training on hangbards.

Karoline Sinnhuber has during the last month sent Prospettiva Nevski (8c), Dedi fredi (8b+) and Terra Piatta (8b+) in Arco. The Austrian is a former competition boulderer who has done nine 8B’s. After dealing with golfer's elbow twice last year, she shifted her focus to routes, successfully sending her first four 8c climbs. (c) Mathias Gschwendtner

Can you tell us more about these ascents?
I spent pretty much all weekends last month in Arco and enjoyed the italian life in best conditions 😍 My ‚sendtrain‘ at Pizarra started when sending my - let‘s call it long-term-project - ‚Terra Piatta‘. Actually I didn‘t plan to climb on this weekend because I felt sick. When I realized, that it‘s quite fresh in the shade, I had no other choice than to climb and give it some tries.

The next weekend I checked out ‚Dedi Fredi‘, which has quite a different style compared to ‚Terra Piatta‘. Bigger holds, bigger moves and much sharper rock. Somehow I managed to find a tiny-move-beta for the upper crux which worked out quite well for me :)

As a logical consequence the next route had to be ‚Prospettiva Nevski‘, which shares the first crux with ‚Dedi Fredi‘ but then traverses to the left. The traverse and the whole end turned out to be super tense and with no real resting positions (for me).

The first day it felt quite impossible to climb it with my non existing endurance, but on the 2nd day I got faster in the movements, found some micro shakes and some new micro betas. YAY 🙌🏻

Mariana Queiroz Prado, who sent her first two 8A’s last year, has completed Kalunga (7C+) in Cocalzinho.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and your climbing background?
Climbing Kalunga was a dream I’ve held onto for years. This boulder demands a lot finger strength, body tension, precise footwork, and technique all while navigating small, challenging holds on an overhanging wall. I’ve been climbing for 8 years, with the last 7 dedicated almost entirely to outdoor bouldering. I typically climb at least 4 days a week on real rock, and on the other days, I either rest or focus on training finger strength. Kalunga became a long term project for me, something I envisioned since I was climbing V7. It wasn’t until last year that I felt truly ready to tackle it. Countless attempts later, I finally succeeded, and the feeling of topping out was pure happiness. It’s a milestone that only three Brazilian women have achieved, and I’m incredibly proud to be one of them.

Sebastien Bouin reports on Instagram that he has done the FA of El Gran Cabrón (9b), bolted by David Gambus, in the Shegeng Cave.

“It’s an incredible experience to find such a project and challenge myself in a setting like this. China leaves no one indifferent—I feel like this trip is opening my mind in so many ways. The distance, the unfamiliar culture, and this new way of life disorient me as much as they fascinate me.”

In total, the 31-year-old had previously done twelve 9b’s, out of which seven are FA’s. Additionally, Seb has a further seven 9b+ ascents to his name, as well as the FA of the world's second 9c route, DNA. In other words, the French has an almost equally impressive red point ticklist as Adam Ondra.

Guillaume Mignard has completed The Big Island (8C) in Fontainebleau after projecting it for 15 sessions.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The first session I understood most of the moves, that I worked on the next sessions. Each separate move felt pretty easy but putting them together was difficult It took me a lot of work to make it work from the start.

What is your climbing background?
I started climbing about 10 year ago and discovered outdoors 3 or 4 years ago. Been climbing almost only outdoor since then and training/spraywall when its raining 🤷 I'm a routesetter and have always lived and climbed aroud Fontainebleau.

Alberto Gines López, the Olympic gold medal winner in Tokyo, has made the third ascent of Ramon Julian Puigblanque’s El disbarat (8c+) in Montserrat. It was out put up in 2000 and Adam Ondra did the first and last repeat in 2008.

“For many years I've been climbing in El totxo, David was always telling me stories about this route. Few weeks ago my brother Lluc asked me to try together the route to figure out the moves, two sessions after it came down. It's maybe time to check the king line from Montserrat.”