Allison Vest, with 15 boulders 8B and beyond under her belt, has done Booka Booka Booka (8B) in Moe's Valley (UT) after working it for 7 sessions. (c) Bruce Wilson/Three Peaks Films

How come it is over one year since you sent anything hard?
I have been dealing with a pretty complicated hand injury since September 2023. It was dequervains Tenosinovitis but the current theory is that it was related to nerve issues in my neck. It took almost 10 months to figure out exactly what was going on and was getting worse while we figured it out. I finally got on the right track in July 2024. But had to climb only jugs for about a month and a half. So I’ve been working my way back up.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I was super excited to send Booka, it marks the start of me trying to climb on bigger spanned boulders. Excited to try more. It took a long time to learn how to go big on the crux move.

I’ve been climbing in Moe’s since I moved to the US, and with it under threat of being destroyed and developed, I’ve felt like the time is now to send the climbs I’ve always wanted to try. And Booka was #1 on the list!

Claudia Ghisolfi, who did a 9a in 2022, has during the last week sent Suka (8b+) in Albenga and Semplicemente mia 2.0 (8c) in Novalesa.

Can you tell us more about those two 8C’s?
"Suka" was 8b+ really hard and it didn't have many repetitions. For this reason in the new guidebook it is 8c. It's a tricky 8c, without the right beta is not so easy.

"Semplicemente mia 2.0" is a route near my home town, if you are small there is an hard move at the beginning of the route, for this reason I first sent "Le clochard 2.0" that is an 8b+ that share the last part with the 8c. After sending it I tried and tried that hard move of the 8c and when I finally did the move I sent the route!

Katie Malinowski, with seven 8A boulders under her belt, has done Power Slave (8A+) in Gateway Canyon.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
So psyched to have done my first v12! This culminates just under one year of work over seven sessions. Living and working as a routesetter and coach for touchstone 600 miles away from this boulder made this one difficult to project for various reasons. I fell going to the jug on my third session and it has been a mental battle to finish it off since. The morning of the send I realized I left my climbing bag at home and had to scramble to buy new shoes. I did the boulder 3rd go of the day in brand new Scarpa Drago LVs. This is the longest I’ve ever worked on a boulder, and I’m looking forward to trying even bigger projects.

Prudence Morgan-Wood has done Mind Control (8c) in Oliana. The 30-year-old has been on a roadrip in Spain since April and last month she sent her first 8c.

Can you tell us more about the process behind sending your second 8c?
I tried the route for the first time in April this year but left without sending it. Now, on our way back from the south of Spain for Christmas my partner and I decided to spend a week at Oliana and try Mind Control again. In April we both got close to the send but I had absolutely no strategy and got very frustrated. This time around the whole experience was so much better. I have been working with a mind control counsellor and she has helped me with my mental approach to projecting and it is working fantastically well.

My recent send of my first 8c in Sella gave me an extra boost of confidence and having the moves on Mind Control more or less fresh from trying it in April meant that I was quickly able to feel comfortable on the route. It was also useful to share beta with David my partner. I decided to focus on doing certain links on the route, especially the top section, and low pointed the route as much as I could. The day before I sent I knew I was close but got really nervous and fell at the start of the top crux. David and I decided to get up early the next day and have one last go before heading to my parents for Christmas. There was a bit of wind and the rock still felt cool from the night before but conditions weren’t perfect and that helped me feel relaxed and not pressured to send. When I got to the top crux I felt determined and the links and low points that I had done previously gave me the confidence I needed and took me to the chains!

So so happy to send this route and to enjoy projecting it! I still prefer onsighting and sending routes in few tries but thanks to Mind Control Counselling I can now say that I’m also learning to enjoy projecting as well!

Simon Raffeiner has sent Omen Nomen (9a) in Arco after working it for some 50 sessions. (c) Hanna Raffeiner

Can you tell us more about doing your first 9a and what is next?
I started trying the route in the winter of 2022/2023. At the beginning it took me quite a while to find good solutions that suited me for all the 3 boulder problems. Then, in spring 2023, I came very close to sending the route. Due to the increasingly high temperatures, it still didn't work out. I always had difficulty getting up the last slab, because I most of the times slipped on the slopy holds. I never tried the route in the winter 2023/2024 as the conditions were always rather poor. And now in fall 2024 I attempted the route again and after 1-2 months I finally made it up.

I'm very happy about my first 9a, especially because it's a real 9a. What I've learned is that you must never give up, no matter how many times you have to face defeat. In the end, the route was a real battle against the conditions and myself. So I'm all the happier to have made it finally.

Now I'm going to climb a few easier routes again, concentrate on the home projects and then attempt the next 9a or maybe 9a+ later.

Leo Cea, with two 9a’s under his belt, has done the FA of Acordeon Session (8c/+) in Villa Cerro Castillo, after a total of nine sessions during two trips. Leo’s uncle Javier has helped us out with some comments. (c) Diego Saez

“Leo traveled to the Aysén region in Chile last January to explore climbing areas around Coyhaique and Villa Cerro Castillo. During that trip, he encountered “Acordeón Session,” which became his main project. Due to limited time, he was only able to dedicate three sessions to it.

He fell in love with Patagonia and wanted to return to Villa Cerro Castillo to enjoy the area and give more attempts to this unsent route located in the “La Chabela” climbing area.

Thanks to the support of The North Face Chile, he was able to travel south and spend six sessions working on the route. On Wednesday, December 18th, during a windy and cold evening, accompanied by his good friends Gael, Itzel, [and his uncle Javier], he finally sent it, proposing a grade of 8c/+.”

Nick Bradley, who sent his third and last 8C almost three years ago, has ticked Railway (8C) in Wild Basin. The 27-year-old is working full time as a software engineer.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Railway looks like a pretty simple crimp line, and for the most part it is, but what I really enjoyed about it is how surprisingly technical it is. A lot of the difficulty comes down to how well you’re keeping tension through your feet. That combination of crimps and tension fits me pretty well, so I was able to do all the moves pretty quickly on my first session, but it’s one of those climbs where every move adds a lot. The first move is definitely the most difficult, but it makes the “easier” moves feel way harder. By the time I had finally done it I’d probably fallen at the last move around 15-20 times. Huge props to Aidan for adding this gem to an already stacked zone.

How come it is almost three years since you sent anything harder than 8B?
I’ve been preoccupied with finding a career that fits me and the lifestyle that I want. I’m in a much better place now and headed in the right direction, but for a while I felt like I had to choose between performing at a high level and having a stable career. Climbing Railway helped reassure me that I’m on the right path, and that I can do both.

What have you studied and what is your job now?
So I spent 6 years of school studying finance. I never really loved it but wanted to be successful so I spent a lot of time setting myself up for a good career in it. I got a 4-yr degree, passed the CFA exams, and landed a job as an investment analyst. I hated it. In school I liked doing math and figuring out difficult problems, but in practice I just did not at all enjoy finance. At that job I automated some stuff in Python which kicked off my switch to software engineering. I got another 4-yr degree in that and am working as a software engineer now, and I absolutely love it. It’s a bit cliche for a climber, but if the shoe fits!

For how long time have you had a full time job?
I’ve worked 40hr weeks since I was 18 but they were part-time jobs like working at a restaurant or routesetting/coaching at a gym. But 2-3 years at a “corporate” full-time desk job.

So full time also when you were studying?
Yeah, in college I’d work “doubles” at the restaurant Friday-Sunday and get close to 40hrs. Once I graduated and was working on the CFA exams I’d just study after work. When I went back to school to switch careers, it was online so I had the flexibility to study whenever I had time.