Maya Ene, 13, and Anastasia Sanders, 16, have done Lucifer (8c+) in Red River Gorge (KY). Maya is the defending US Youth National Champion and Anastasia was #8 in the B & L World Championship in 2023. Maya’s father John, 49, who finished his World Cup career in 1999 by being #19 in Speed and #43 in Lead in the World Championship, has sent his first 8c+, Southern Smoke.

Maya: “Over the Thanksgiving week, I spent couple of wonderful days climbing with my friends. This was a great opportunity for me to try Lucifer (8c+) with Annie Sanders and Natalia Grossman. We all worked so hard on the route despite the numbness in our fingers due to the low temperatures. Sadly, at the end of the week my family had to go back home but later decided to return once the weather was warmer and more stable. Almost a week later, I got the exciting news that Annie Sanders sent Lucifer. I was so ready to go back and the weather was slowly showing signs of improvement.

Monday, December 4th I am back on Lucifer working it with Natalia – none of us sent. Tuesday (40 degrees) – Natalia sends (big applauses to her, especially because her fingers were frozen for the entire climb). Friday, our last day at Red, had the perfect conditions (60 degrees).

I warmed up a little on the hangboard and went for the send. I felt so solid on it, controlling all the moves, and before I know it, I am clipping the chains. SUPER EXCITED!!!! But wait a second.. the day is not yet over. Now, my father, John Ene, wants to take advantage of this gorgeous day (and possibly catch up to me😊). So, we run to his project, Southern Smoke (8c+) which he has been working on for the last couple of weeks. He is able to execute all the moves so precisely, so efficiently, so confidently and there he is clipping the chains. Double HURRAY!!! Now we can return home…. and start talking about our next projects.

Karoline Sinnhuber has repeated Hungry Hungry Hippos (8A+) and For the Children (8A+) in Unknown Crag. In total, the 28-year-old former competitive climber has done 54 boulders 8A+ or 8B. (c) Leonard Moser

What's Hungry Hippos like?
The boulder consists of a 7C stand start which climbs super nicely, and the 8A+ sit. The sit adds 3 interesting moves into the standstart. Interesting, because it‘s super dependent on your body position and how you grab the shouldery hold with your left hand. For me personally it was super hard to find my beta for these moves… also I‘m super bad on underclings - which makes me even more proud I managed to do it :)

Mary Eden and Mari Salvesen have sent the 50 m roof crack Black Mamba in Canyonlands, which starts with almost 40 m of bouldering, inside an old mining tunnel with a head torch. It was established by Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker as an 8c in 2019, however, Salvesen, who only placed four pieces, feels 8b+ is a more accurate grade after having sent in just over five sessions. Salvesen's previous personal best was an 8b FA trad route back in Norway.

Eden: "It’s such a unique style, I’d like to climb a couple more before I’d feel comfortable down grading something Tom and Pete did. I’d say on the grade, I’ve never climbed that level before and don’t feel super comfortable having an opinion. I know it’s miles harder (to me) than Necronomicon. Mari’s super power is doing things fast, mine is just doing things. She is particularly good at crack bouldering. I think Black Mamba played into her strengths really really well. I think that’s why she’s self doubting. I’m more realistic after watching good climbers flail on it 😂.” (c) Spencer McKay

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Salvesen: It’s 50 meters with three thin/finger cruxes and an invert to arm/bar offwidth finish. It takes a full set of skills in order to put together. It took me two weeks to clean the route, work the boulder problems, stop thrashing around on the offwidth, and put it all together. I sent it on November 7th and was super happy seeing Mari get stoked on it. The crack is normally extremely dirty and I was hoping she’d take advantage of all my scrubbing.

The morning I sent The Black Mamba was super magical. Waking up at sunrise, I witnessed a herd of bighorn sheep frolicking around our camp. After a light warm-up I joked around with friends before the climb. Throughout the climb, my mantra was “climb smart” - conserving energy for the demanding finish. Climbing the Mamba that morning felt like pure fun, without my usual ‘try-hard’ mindset. Instead I embraced the flow state, feeling like I was playing the entire time.

I think that’s the awesome thing about Black Mamba. It’s a mixed route. Boulder problem to trad line. It’s so much fun to climb the boulder problem and then to tie in for the offwidth feels crazy. It took me two weeks to send it. I had trained specifically for it beforehand with lattice though.

Instagram Reel from Mari, who comments about the grade. “ I’ve never tried an 8c, so I wouldn’t know. But taking into consideration the effort, sessions, my current fitness, difficulty of the cruxes and rests in between, it does not add up to be the hardest grade I have ever climbed. Although comparing it to similar climbs in the area, like the Crackhouse (8a), an 8b+ seems fair in comparison. Which would still be the hardest grade I’ve climbed. I think the main thing that makes or breaks on this climb is if you are able to rest in good jams, because then you can recover in between harder sections and the length of the climb (which is what stands out here) does not actually add that much to the difficulty.”

Can you tell us more about your final 20 minute fight, sending it?
The send felt pretty solid the whole way, but not fully without some exciting moments. My taped crack glove was disintegrating, so i had to bite off as much of it as I could in the middle of the route. And I hadnt worked the Angry Pirate Finish since I did it, so i wasnt sure how that would feel after so many meters of climbing and without a taped hand. To my pleasant surprise it felt so much better than last time Id done it, my chickenwings were in there so deep that i didnt feel like i could fall out at any point. Pete with a supportive belay. It felt good.

Natalia Grossman, who will be competing in the Paris Olympics, reports on Instagram that she has done Southern Smoke (8c+) and Lucifer (8c+) in Red River Gorge (KY), after just three climbing days. "Although the weather was not ideal, we made the most of it, and by the end, I had learned how to climb with numb fingers."

What is coming up next?
I am currently just spending time with family and taking a break from training. A few weeks/months of no training and just climbing with friends for fun. I started doing this 3 years ago after my first IFSC season.

Natalia is mostly regarded as excelling at bouldering, has over the last three years won the World Cup and in 2021, she became the World Champion. Outdoors, she has sent well over 20 boulders 8A+ and beyond.

Jesse Grupper reports on Instagram that he has repeated Jonathan Siegrist's Full Metal Brisket (9a+) in New River Gorge (WV). The redpoint took five sessions and after day four Grupper felt he needed to take a step back, so he took a quick trip to Red River Gorge where he flashed Pure Imagination (8c+) and onsighted Thanatopsis 8b+ (c).

"That night I felt frustrated. I felt the weight of months of high performance comp climbing weighing on me. I had convinced myself that I was here to perform and send. I was honestly a bit over it. I was supposed to be outdoors doing the thing I loved, but that love felt fake. I wanted to leave. That night I decided to do just that." (c) Karen Lane

What do you do for mental training and can you elaborate a bit on that feeling of ”fake love” that you mentioned?
I do yoga, and meditate when I have the time. Rock climbings been my bread and butter in the sport, but taking a pause from it for the comp scene left me feeling a little lost in it, and coming back to it it was hard to find that same enjoyment that I knew I had towards it, that wasn't overly influenced by my feelings from the comp season.

What are your winter plans?
I'm planning on focusing on building a base for the upcoming WC season/Olympics.

Jonathan Siegrist has done the FA of The Creeping Unknown (9a) in La Madres. "It's a stunning panel of rock with such improbable movement on it! I climbed it to the half way mark earlier this year for around 8c/+ but really I wanted to come back to clean the finish as it makes the most sense as a full line. I'm so stoked on how it turned out and it was such a great feeling to get it finished before I finally go into some more focused training for winter."

Can you say something about your Euro trip where we can see you have logged five onsights 8b or 8b+?
Before I got back to Vegas 2 weeks ago I was climbing in St Leger. It was a complete joy to discover this area for the first time with good friends. I had some daily onsighting goals which was very different for me and so fun! I think I learned a few things about pacing and planning.

What are your plans and goals for 2024?
Too many goals honestly! Some around here in Vegas, some in France, some in Wyoming. Maybe the most exciting one is to try and finish a mega project of mine at the Fins. Time to start training! I was there already to try it three times. I have been a bit afraid of it, to be honest, but for me, it is the hardest and best line I have ever bolted so I want to try and make it a priority.

How long and steep is it?
40 meters. Maybe overhanging by 5 degrees.

Most of us would have probably guessed you were into steeper terrain?
I like it all! I used to be obsessed with technical climbing and was bad at steep stuff and caves. Back when I bolted this project! But since, and over the last few years I was mostly climbing steeper stuff and trying to improve there. Now time to go back to the tiny holds...

Jorge Diaz-Rullo has been one of the very best climbers in the world for the last five years. Here are some laboratory tests that try to explain his strengths.

Since this morning, 13. Dec 2023, at 9 AM CET, we're doing a 24-hour test phase for our latest feature: one source for all ascents and content in Vertical-Life and 8a, with fully synced logbooks, route lists and ascent feeds, as well as seamless syncing between 8a and the Vertical-Life App.

What's New? If you're a Vertical-Life app user logging outdoor ascents, your 8a logbook will now capture all ascents, regardless of where you recorded them. For those with ascents from both the app and website, a new 'include duplicates' checkbox is available at the top of your logbook for easy identification and management. This feature, combined with alphabetic sorting, allows you to edit or delete any duplicate entries, ensuring a tidy and accurate logbook. Don't worry, we have not deleted any ascents. What isn't synced: past rankings, the gallery images, and the followings. This will follow soon. If you are not using the app yet, the main difference will be more ascents overall on the website. All other improvements will come with the redesigned web version that we are launching beginning of next year.

Your Feedback Matters! Encountering issues? Whether it's duplicate ascents, missing entries, broken link or any other glitches, we want to hear from you. Shoot an email to our product manager, Simon ([email protected]) with a screenshot, a link to the page, and a brief description of the issue. Your input is invaluable, and we'll be gathering feedback for the next 24 hours before reverting to our previous system for tweaks and fixes.

Thank you so much for your help!

Stefano Carnati has sent Sanjski par extension (9a) in Osp/Misja Pec. This was the 24th ascent of a 9a route and beyond including Erebor (9b) which the 25-year-old sent this spring.

Can you tell us more about Sansjki Par and Misja Pec?
As I moved to Slovenia for my studies, Misja Pec is one of the closest winter crags. I climbed there a few times 12 years ago and it was definitely good to come back! This past weekend I had the opportunity to attempt “Sanjski pas extension” with some strong friends. I spent three days in a row on the route, and finally, despite the tiredness, on my 10th try I was able to climb through the middle crux and continue till the top!

Kerry Scott and Maya Madere have done Trebuchet (8c) in New River Gorge (WV). Previously, they have both done several boulders 8A to 8A+, but this was their first 8c route. (c) Karen Lane

Kerry: "I essentially learned how to climb at the New, and it was really awesome to return and put down my hardest sport send to date. My hot take is that the New is the best rock climbing in the world. It has such a hard and unique style that definitely takes some adapting. It was really sick to see Maya adapt to the style quickly and crush too!

Or maybe the New is the most underrated? Haha, I don’t claim to have much worldly experience, but the New is just SO good. I have been to Ceuse though, and I think the New is better 👀 😅"

Can you tell us more about your ascents?
Kerry: It ended up taking me 5 sessions, and I think it took Maya 4. We both had very promising sessions on it early on, but struggled a bit with skin and balancing our energy with different projects we were trying.

Maya: It was really cool to try Trebuchet with Kerry because we climbed it so differently. Although we shared and debated beta extensively, we ended up using completely different beta for almost every section. We also had totally different cruxes; the roof boulder was by far the hardest part for me while Kerry could consistently climb through it from the ground and made it look chill every time. I love climbing with Kerry in part because our styles are so different and I learn so much every time we climb together! It’s awesome to have a partner who complements and challenges my skill set so well.

This was also my first trip to the New, and it was super fun and challenging to start learning the NRG style. The movement there is really unique and the long, but bouldery, routes demand a balance of fitness and power. We stayed there for almost 3 weeks and there’s still a long list of routes I can’t wait to go back for.