Cédric Lachat, who earlier this year sent his tenth 9a+ and his first 9b, has repeated Chilam Balam (9a+/9b) in Villanueva del Rosario. The 85m long route was established in 2003 by Bernabé Fernandez as the world's first 9b+, which was controversial and questioned at the time. In 2011, Adam Ondra did the first repeat after trying it just for three days and felt it was a soft 9b.

"I am extremely happy, because for me this route is a myth, like “La Rambla” or “Biography”. And what’s more, it gets me the target I wanted to reach: 50 routes in the 9th degree before turning 40. Phew, just in time! The only annoying thing is that at almost 40, when you do a big day of climbing you need 3 to rest!" More quotes on Fanatic Climbing.

Cédric won 17 medals in a storied World Cup career. In 2007, he took the bronze at the World Championship in both Lead and Boulder.

Connor Herson has repeated Beth Rodden's 8c+ trad testpiece, Meltdown, in Yosemite (CA). It is considered the first 8c+ trad climb in the world and was put up in 2008. Caro Traversi did the first repeat in 2018, which was followed by Jacopo Larcher and Barbara Zangerl. (c) Ian Dzilenski.

Nice work! Can you tell us more about Meltdown?
In short, I’ve been trying it almost every weekend in between schoolwork since the start of October. It took me a while to figure out the boulder, but once I did progress came quickly… until it didn’t and I started making reverse progress. Then, during the school break for Thanksgiving, it felt so much better, and it came together! Meltdown is such a specific style, I don’t even know how I’d train for it. It just seemed like overall strength/fitness was beneficial.

How did you clean the protection after each fall?
After falling, I’d either hang then climb to the top or down-aid to clean my gear. I had a lot of different belayers all fall, but my sister Kara belayed me for the send. (For most of my weekends working the route, I would drive up with her, climb a route on Saturday, then project Meltdown on Sunday). The day I sent was actually 4th day on - the previous day we’d climbed Wayward Son (7b+), the day before that I tried Meltdown, and the day before that we climbed Scarface (7b+). I onsighted both Wayward Son and Scarface!

Campbell Harrison and Oceania Mackenzie, both from Australia, won the Boulder & Lead Olympic Oceania qualifier in Melbourne. Harrison has competed actively in the World Cup since 2017 and three times he has made it to the semifinal in Lead. Mackenzie was #7 in the Boulder World Cup in 2023 as well as in the World Championship. © Victor Hall/IFSC

Mackenzie said: “I’m super excited to go to Paris. I had a great time competing here at home with all my family around, so I’m feeling pretty good right now. There are two things I am looking forward to at the Games. Watching other sports is one because we didn’t get the chance to do that at the last Olympics, and secondly preparing properly. Because of the lockdowns my preparations last time around were not very enjoyable and not what I had wanted. A crowd as well is definitely going to bring up the vibes.”

Harrison commented:“I’ve never experienced emotions like this at an event before. It really is all or nothing and I finished the first Boulder and was almost already in tears and had to use all the experience I had to pull myself back in for Boulder two. Boulder three I felt was an opportunity for me to gain some points as it was really my style, but it just did not click, I think the pressure of the moment started to weigh on me. But after that I had a much clearer mind and approach, and the Lead route was everything I hoped it would be.”

Dan Mirsky, who last week sent Flex Luthor (9a+), has repeated Joel Kinder's Diarrhea Mouth (9a) in . (c) Kim Lee Tuxhorn

"And on the next climbing day after sending Flex Luthor... I guess I can't say I am in a dry spell anymore, So psyched!!!! This one definitely put up a fight. To start, it's definitely not my strongest style. D.Mouth is all about a super aggressive roof boulder straight out the back of the skull cave. The feet are bad, the moves are wide and the tension needed is serious. I got close last year but also got beat up from trying. Then winter hit early, heavy and often. The route got wet and stayed wet till October of this year!! I am proud of myself for continuing to show up and try through the wetness, the hold breaking, all the splits and cuts and flappers. I probably fell on the same move more than 20 times from the ground. I knew I was close and capable but felt like I was losing ground in my belief in myself to just show up and execute. It never ceases to amaze me how much a little momentum and confidence can change everything. It felt like a completely different route today. I still had to try like hell and scream it out on the jump to the lip!!"

"Not exactly sure how to explain the recent success. Honestly, I have felt like I have been making really good and steady progress as I have learned how to train better and smarter which has been key as I have been getting older. Unfortunately, those gains haven't translated to hard sends for a little while for a variety of reasons, some within my control, like choosing to climb on routes that don't suit my best style, climbing too much and getting tired or damaging skin; and some outside of my control, like weather, conditions, wet holds, breaking holds. Regardless, the result was a loss of confidence and some significant self doubt. When I sent Flex it felt like a huge weight lifted mentally and I immediately felt more confident and more like myself while climbing. That was huge in my send of D. Mouth which had been really testing me mentally and is quite physically demanding as well."

Can you elaborate on ”better and smarter” training?
I think I have just been doing better about being intentional with my training and keeping in mind that I can't necessarily do the volume I once could but also recognizing that I don't need to. Instead of trying to do all the things all the time, I have been doing a really good dedicated block of training in the summer when it's hot and climbing isn't great. In the season, I mostly focus on showing up fresh and psyched to my project and doing a minimum amount of maintenance work in the weight gym to keep things feeling "topped off" and to stay feeling healthy and balanced to avoid injury. In a normal week this looks like 3 to 4 days of outside climbing and one to two focussed gym sessions. Now that it's starting to be winter more consistently here in Colorado I will switch to doing another block of training before re-focussing on my next outside goals.

James Webb has done the second ascent of Carlo Traversi's Equanimity (8C) at Kirkwood, calling it. "Potentially a contender for the hardest technical boulder in the world?"

"This is an extremely impressive first ascent in my opinion and really just leads me to the most important thing I’ve learned in this process. I have become a much better scaler. Not just stronger. But better. And having turned 36 years young last week that is a huge success in my brain and the way I see my future climbing. I do train of course here and there but my main focus the last many years has been on being a better more well rounded climber." (c) Patinaeater More comments at Webb's Instagram.

Natalie Bärtschi, who few months ago retired from the competition scene, has sent Unendliche Geschichte 1 (8A+) in Magic Wood. This was the first 8A+ for the 29-year-old after previously having done a couple of 8A's. © David Tomlinson

”I remember my first time coming to Magic Wood over 10 years ago and watching some friends try this iconic line. About 5 years ago I finally decided to give it a try myself and managed to do the moves surprisingly quickly. Unfortunately, progress was far from linear and at some point I was forced to take a break due to some recurring tendinitis. This year I came back with a stronger body and a fresh mind and finally made it happen! This represents a huge milestone in my climbing and I‘m very happy with the progress I‘ve made over the last couple of years.

After retiring from competitions this summer I felt a bit of a void but luckily my love for climbing came back very soon. It‘s refreshing to have my own agenda for 2024 and although I‘m very psyched on bouldering right now, I‘d love to get back into sport climbing and I also really enjoyed my first time DWS this last September in Mallorca. I have one last exam in April to finish my postgraduate training as a chiropractor and after that I‘m planning to take some time off to travel and climb but I haven’t made any specific plans yet.”

Dan Mirsky has done Flex Luthor (9a+) at The Fortress of Solitude, logging it as a 9a. A couple of guys have actually suggested an upgrade to 9b of the route. The 41-year-old did his first, out of four, 9a in 2018.

"Classic day at the Fortress with Waltus Burger. It was cold, hot, rain, sun, clouds, wind and at some point, the condies got pretty damn good; luckily it was my turn and I had that good floaty feeling. Overall, I put in a season of effort last Nov/Dec battling wet holds, epic snows and massive icicles on the route. This year I got 6 sessions in before yesterday, each one making some amount of meaningful progress. I have been feeling really down about my climbing for a while, so in addition to being psyched to send this amazing and historic route, it felt extra good to remind myself that I still know how to clip chains.

As for the Grade... I figured out and used a different method in the crux from the other recent ascents. I think it was likely a hybrid of Tommy's OG beta and Matty's new school beta. I am pretty ok at kneebarring on Western Slope Limestone and I definitely made use of that skill (the left calf pump was real). Is my way easier? Does it change the grade to 9A or 9A/+? I honestly don’t know and you can’t take a slash grade on 8A. I’ll take the low the grade to keep the conversation going but I want a "/" because I’m over 40 and walking up that hill isn't easy either."

Your premium source when it comes to route setting, gym management and the world of indoor climbing is back for the sixth year in a row! Researched by experts, written for enthusiasts.

Inside this issue:

Creating SPACE in Wartime Ukraine –The story of a gym network that remains open to climbing during the war

Prehab for routesetters –Professional advice from climbing specialist physios and doctors

Gym Spotlight –Gaswerk, an in-depth look at how a DIY gym grew to become one of the world's largest and then sprouted new locations.

Progress in Padding – The past, present and future of that cushion we often take for granted

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If you're attending the Vertical Pro this week, in Germany, swing by Vertical-Life's booth, Hall A7 #100, and treat yourself to a copy. If you're not attending, don't panic, you can order a copy here: here!

Jorge Diaz-Rullo sends Ciudad de dios (9a) and spend his day #131 on his big project in Margalef, besides training hard.

Pietro Vidi, who has sent seven boulders 8B+ to 8C this autumn, has repeated Shawn Raboutou’s Roadkill (8C) in Valle Bavona. In the 8a ranking game, the 20-year-old Italian is #4.

"It was quite an unexpected one! I would have never thought to be able to do the first kneebar and for two days I couldn’t do the move. On the third day I randomly stuck the move thanks to Dave's [Graham] precious tips, and I fell on the easy part not being able to keep my mind together. I came back the day after, stuck the move first try and didn’t let go on the high exit! For sure, it is one of the most beautiful lines in Bavona, even though it all revolves around the first move."