Jonathan Siegrist has added Midnight Way (9a+) in Squamish to his impressive ticklist. The 39-year-old has climbed 90 routes graded 9a and harder, including ten up to 9b in the last 12 months. Didn’t think that it could get any better than Spirit Quest but this is it! 3rd ascent after Connor and Ben. Amazing crimping / technical testpiece. Unsure on the grade…” (c) Victoria Flanagan

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Midnight Way is an amazing granite testpiece route that was bolted and envisioned by my friend Tom Wright. The first half was FA’d by my good friend Mike Foley and then Connor Herson did the first ascent of the whole line last year. I absolutely loved climbing on this wall in years past so it was high on my list to try and repeat the line when I got back to Squamish. The wall is a bit of a mess with link ups but there’s no denying how amazing the quality is here.

What are the secrets peaking at 39?
I’m not sure I have any secrets! I think the outside world keeps telling me I should feel old but to be honest I just don’t. I have a lot of excellent role models - including my father who is 75 and still climbing strong - that remind me in many ways that age is a state of mind. I do prioritize sleep, I quit drinking, I eat well, and more than anything I just keep pushing as much as my body will allow. I’m hopeful I can keep it up for a good while longer!

Jules Marchaland has flashed Power of Now direct (8C) in Magic Wood, becoming only the second climber after Yannick Flohé to achieve this milestone. The 24-year-old, with ten boulders 8B+ or harder under his belt, eight of them in the past two weeks, has also onsighted two long 8b+ routes and redpointed a 9a during the same period. In total, the successful competition climber has completed more than 20 routes in the 9a to 9b range.

”When I came here, I felt this boulder was made for me. From the start, I had it in my sights, almost like an obsession. After long weeks of waiting for the right conditions, I finally decided to go for the flash. It was intimidating to prepare; no second chance, I had to give everything. I climbed exactly as I wanted to — every move was precise, in a perfect state of flow. When I topped out, I got that unique shiver! I still can’t fully believe it.”

The first ascentionist, Simon Lorenzi, comments; ”It was truly incredible to experience this with my friend and to support him in such a performance. I know him well, I’ve climbed a lot with him, so I wasn’t surprised. I estimated his chances at 70–80%. This is already a world-class achievement, and yet, I know he’s capable of even more.

This achievement carries even greater significance as it is part of a shared adventure: close friends Jules Marchaland and Simon Lorenzi have spent the past several weeks exploring Switzerland’s legendary boulders side by side. Their companionship, built on motivation and mutual support, embodies the essence of the climbing community, where friendship and the exchange of knowledge are key to pushing the boundaries of performance.

Maël Grenier, who last year was eleventh at a Euro Cup, has done Shortcut (9a) in La Balme de Yenne .

Can you tell us more about the ascent and your climbing background?
I am a 21 years old French climber, located in Grenoble. I do mostly competition and I was in the French lead climbing team last year. I’ve done 2 finals in a row at the French championships and wore the French team shirt in Augsburg and Bologna European cups and Briançon World cup last year. I don’t have a large outdoor experience but I did my first 9a last week!

I had a difficult competing season because I failed to take my ticket back in the French lead climbing team. So, it was the perfect opportunity to take a step back and gain some outdoor experience this summer. I climbed a lot between Pic St Loup and La Balme de Yenne, near Grenoble where I live. One of my main objectives was to send « Beyond » 9a+ in Pic St Loup but this route is very hard and challenging for me and the heat wave didn’t help me. So, I decided to return in two of my local projects that I tried for the first time 2 years ago.

The first one is « To do list » 8c+ which begins with a hard boulder to a 20 crimpy moves and power endurance section. It ends with a long 20 meters 7c+ with good holds to the top of the cliff. It was a perfect route to continue to train during the summer period and I did it in 5 sessions this year.

The second one was « Shortcut » 9a, a totally different route which requests a lot of endurance. The route is located in the big cave of la Balme in a crazy 60° overhang with a lot of kneebars. It begins with « Dissidence », an 8c that I already did 3 years ago and continues with an 8b+ with long moves on quite good holds. This one took me 7 sessions in 3 weeks this year. The process was very cool because I had all the moves quickly and got better almost every try. It was still a mental battle because I broke a foothold on the last move of one of my last tries and also because my send go was my last possible try before leaving for holidays.

I’m so glad I climbed my two home projects this summer and sent my first 9a, even if it’s not the hardest. I’m motivated to start training for the next season and maybe to return in « Beyond » in early winter.

Claudia Ghisolfi, who placed sixth at her sole Euro Cup appearance earlier this summer, has climbed La reina de la Piscineta (8c) in Rodellar. The Italian, who previously sent TCT (9a) in 2022, currently holds the #4 spot in the VL/8a ranking game.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I'm in Rodellar with my boyfriend and my friends and my only project was not to have a project. I needed to climb without pressure and I wanted to try something flash or onsight or something with few tries so in the first 3 days of climbing in La Piscineta, I sent three 8B’s "Le blesse bg", ”Pequeña estrella" and "Cada loco con su tema", all on my second go and an 8a onsight "pies nus Dan's la terre sacré".

Yesterday my boyfriend [Alessio Voghera], after sending "la reina de la piscineta", he convinced me to try it too and I did it on my third go with the sun in my face! It's my first 8c in a day!

Pepa Šindel, with previously a dozen routes 9a and beyond to his name, has done the first ascent of Harmatanec (9a) in Harmanec Krpcovo. ” A very interesting, mysterious and hard bouldery route, bolted by Kubo Šuhajda starting with an easy slabby 7- that turns left just before the breathtaking roof above you. This overhang is the hardest part of the route. 9 moves on super small holds including a super big span from a shitty 2 finger pocket.

However, Harmatanec is not only about the difficulty of the crux, but also about the mental block, because the quickdraws cannot be clipped in the entire length of the crux and you are falling into the slab below you. The only place where the quickdraw can be clipped is in the sketchy kneebar upside down where the boulder Is finnished but if you fall while clipping, you are cooked🥀

Fortunately, when I got there, I was in autopilot mode and pulled throught. The kneebar is followed by another few moves of hard climbing and then comes a good rest. After that comes a long endurance 8a+ in which I fought for my life. Although I think it’s soft 9a, but still it could be 9a. In any case it is an amazing route.”

Clément Lechaptois, with a dozen 8C’s and beyond under his belt, has completed Power of now direct (8C) in Magic Wood. The last holds are 150 cm apart, so at 170 cm the French climber really had to stretch for it. (c) Nina Arthaud

Can you tell us more about the ascent, your tactics behind doing the big dyno and your ape index?
I didn’t have any special tactics. My arm span is 181cm. So I am pretty lucky I would say! I just remember that I tried the boulder maybe 4 or 5 years and it seemed too reachy back then. Maybe I just wasn’t strong enough. The boulder is just so nice and pure that I wanted to try once again and see if I could have a chance.

Suprisingly I did all the moves quickly this time. The problem for me was to be fresh enough for the last move coming from the bottom.

Session after session I felt better on the intro. I sent it on my second or 3rd try on session 4.

What are your autumn plans?
Nothing sure yet! Maybe try a bit Solitary daze low, if the conditions are good. But I am thinking about going to Japan. Otherwise Ticino is always a good option! Still undecided :)

Haruki Uemura has completed Pornographie (9a) in Céüse after five days of projecting. The Japanese climber won gold at the Youth World Championships in 2021 and, two years later, reached the finals in Briançon. (c) Sam M.S. - Sichert Media Solutions

What is your climbing background?
I started climbing at age five and begun competing at ten. I’m 21 now so I have been competing for a long time, but starting this year, I’m focusing on rock climbing.

Did you send any other routes during your trip?
Nothing! Pockets are my weakness, so Céüse feels really tough for me.

What is your next plan?
I’m planning to challenge some hard routes on Japanese rock.

Alex Megos, who one month ago placed 17th in the Chamonix WC, has spent the last two weeks in a mostly rainy Flatanger trying Jakob Schubert’s B.I.G. (9c). As a side project, he sent Kangaroo's Limb (9a+) before the weather forecast forced him to move. The 32-year-old has previously sent three 9b+ routes, and with his outstanding onsight ticklist, he is a strong contender, widely regarded as the second-best overall climber in the world after Adam Ondra. The double Olympian has also made around ten podiums in different World Cups and Championships. (c) Mark Postle

Can you tell us more about the trip and the side project ascents?
Yeah it's been tough the last couple of weeks with the weather... I tried Kangaroos briefly last year (for 5min) and didn't want to get into it. This year I thought it's smart to not only try one thing so I opened a couple of side projects. One was Kangaroos Limb, which was nice to try, because it's the only short hard route in the cave 😅😂

So for the last 10 days I tried Kangaroos maybe 3-4 days for a coupe of times in the evening until it happened two days ago.

Where did you move to escape the rain and how long do you plan to stay in Norway?
We are in Trondheim right now. Hell is great!! 😍 I love it there. I don't have an open end trip so I only have about 2 more weeks.

Can you tell us more about the progress on the 9c project?
I could try BIG a few times in the last couple of weeks, but not as much as I would have wanted to. It's an incredible route! Ready good moves and very fun. It's very hard too. It'll need a lot more time and work for me, especially all the kneebar rests 😬