Sam Weir, with three 8C+ ascents to his name, has repeated Giuliano Cameroni’s Poison the Well (8C+) in Brione after about 25 sessions. The 34-year-old did his first 8C in 2017 and then sent one every year, more or less, until the last two years, when he has done ten problems graded 8C and harder. He works full-time as a proposal/contract manager in the nuclear field.

”9A personal feeling. 7C+ intro leads to a one move 8B/8B+ to an 8B/+ section similar but harder than Hazel Grace stand style & difficulty. Really height and reach dépendant and it was at my full limit reach. 3 cm margin on the reach… zero margin for error on the move. Insane. Thanks Giul again for this masterpiece!”

Can you tell us more about the process behind the ascent and your thoughts about your peak?
I’m feeling good. Fingers are firing on all cylinders and been having a blast! I started trying this line over a year ago. The crux is this crazy double bump which was at my absolute limit of reach. After 8 sessions I did the move once. I thought if I could do this from the bottom once I could get it done but no!

After a big summer of training and antistyle climbing I came back stronger. This fall the crux went from having done it 3 times ever to doing it from the bottom 3 times in a row. I fell about 15 times even after doing the crux.. what a wild and special one. Personally it felt like I achieved a 9A effort so really curious to see how I get on now that I finished the last 8C+ I really wanted to do.

How did you train this summer and how have you maintained the power during the outdoor season?
Over the summer. I just did a lot of board climbing with my friends on our wall and basic weights. Plus I tried really hard on Clement’s [Lechaptois] boulders at Fionnay which I did not do which are really antistyle for me!

I work full time so I climb outside once a week plus one or two days I took off when the conditions were good! To stay in shape I just keep the hard board climbing. Watch my diet since volume drops a lot and some max effort work.

Austin Purdy, with four 8C+’ under his belt, has during one session made the first ascents Don't Fear The Reaper (8C) and Gojira (8C) in Wild Basin.

Can you tell us more about that double FA special day?
Both Don't Fear The Reaper and Gojira are sit starts to the existing boulders Two Sizes Two Big (8A) and XXL (8A+) in Wild Basin, with both start on the same hold which is well above head height and you nearly have to stack pads to reach it. I did the stand starts for the first time in October and was instantly captivated by the obvious sit start project. I decided to focus on doing Don't Fear the Reaper, which links into Two Sizes Too Big first, since to me it is the king line of the boulder. I made quick progress on the sit, but linking the whole thing turned out to be quite difficult. The sit start revolves around a crimpy and shouldery crux section that is in a very similar style to the crux on Two Sizes Too Big, which tired you out for the stand. That combined with the low percentage nature of the two move crux on Two Sizes made the link very hard to put together and I kept falling on the final low percentage crux bump to a small slot. I also ended up breaking a key hold on the sit start during the process which made the intro boulder feel significantly harder and less consistent and pushed the process on even longer.

Gojira on the other hand is much different. Even though the stand start, XXL, is the same grade as Two Sizes Too Big, it revolves around doing a powerful but consistently difficult crux section and then keeping it together for a 10m 7A+ highball finish. This type of climbing fits my style better and I though would be easier to execute so I would always run a lap or two on XXL at the end of my session so that I was ready to do Gojira once I sent Don't Fear the Reaper.

When the day came and I finally sent Don't Fear the Reaper, I was still feeling quite good and new I had a chance to send both lines in the same session. I took a long rest and gave an attempt, but I ended up missing the hold on the last difficult move of the boulder and fell. This gassed me out quite a bit and I also got a small hole on my finger this go and I thought I had missed my chance, but my partner convinced me to tape my finger and give one more good try. Without her encouragement I may have just given up and come back another day. To my surprise I was able to make through the beginning crux even with my finger taped and after a hard fight found myself carefully working my way up the highball finish with numb fingers to finish the climb!

Allison Vest, with 16 boulders 8B and harder to her name, has completed Mad Circle (8A+) in Price Canyon. ”What an amazing boulder, I have tried this thing off and on since Nov 22 and went from thinking I wouldn't be able to span the normal beta and cooking up my own method to just believing it would go and making it happen. Stoked. What a mega boulder.”

Miles Perry, who last year did the FA of a 9a, has completed Grand Illusion (8C+) in Little Cottonwood.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
This one has always been on my mind but for a long time it felt like it was still out of reach. Then last spring my brother Eli Perry was able to put it down. This got me stoked watching his process on it and the fact that he said I definitely had a shot at doing the climb pushed me to start trying from the ground this season and after about 20 days up there I found myself on top definitely one of the most enjoyable climbs of my life.

Chaehyun Seo has onsighted Humildes pa Casa (8b+) and redpointed La Morenita (8c+) in Oliana. In November, the 22-year-old has sent nine routes 8b+ up to 9a+ and she is number three in the VL ranking game.

Can you tell us more about those ascents?
Humildes was hard because I didn’t have a knee pad! I had a good fight for the last section of the route because I’m not really adapted well for tufas.

For the 8c+, it wasn’t super hard for me at the Marroncita section but the final crux was way too hard. Somehow I managed the move but fell there twice before I finally stuck it!