Kacper Heretyk, with two 9a’s under his belt, has completed Joe-cita (9a) in Oliana.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I’m very satisfied. Joe Cita is a beautiful combination that has everything I love about climbing — sustained climbing (50 m), the crux right at the very end, and a slightly overhanging character. I managed to lead it faster than any other route I’ve climbed at this grade. It took me six attempts to send it (not counting the fact that I already knew the other lines).

The inaugural Pro Climbing League Championship in London featured a new head-to-head format. Oriane Bertone and Max Milne claimed the first PCL titles. (c) Stefan Voitl

In the women’s final, Bertone delivered directly against Janja Garnbret, flashing the problem with two dynamic foot-cut moves. Garnbret reached hold two before falling. “It’s so great overall, everything was so fun,” said the 20-year-old Bertone. “It’s a new format, it’s very interesting.” Annie Sanders rounded out the podium in third. Bertone, currently the world’s top-ranked female boulderer, now adds the title to her 11 World Cup podiums.

On the men’s side, Scotland’s Milne secured victory reaching one hold further at 4+ minutes. Known as a creative showman and dark horse, the 25-year-old used a bold double hand jam through the crux as time expired, reaching hold five, hands left bloody. Colin Duffy finishing second, while Tomoa Narasaki took third. Prize money awarded £10,000, £5,000, and £2,500 to the top three in each category. The event featured eight men and eight women, including also Erin McNeice, Anon Matsufuji, Camilla Moroni, Jenny Buckley, Lucia Dorffel, Toby Roberts, Mejdi Schalck, Yannick Flohé, Mickael Mawem, and Darius Rapa.

The PCL format pits two climbers side by side on identical boulders. Winners advance across qualifying, semifinal, and final rounds, with four-plus minutes per problem.

Beckett Hsin, who sent his first 8C in 2023, has repeated Nathaniel Coleman’s No One Mourns the Wicked (9A) in South Platte. The spectacular line adds an 8B sit start to Defying Gravity (8C) which the 158 cm tall and 16-year-old sent last October in just one session. (c) Bryce Bozovich

”Back in 2022 | set the myself the goal of climbing my first v12 with the hopes of doing it before my 13th birthday. I had been climbing for around 6 years, but until that point had never bouldered outside much. The idea of outdoor bouldering was something that always got me psyched, but it was new to me and I had no clue what I was capable of. I thought that goal would be a cool way to test what my limit was on rock. That same summer I ended up sending what, at the time, I called my first v14. After that summer, I started joking about how it would cool to continue bouldering my age as I got older.

Each season I got more psyched and my love for climbing grew. Subsequently the limit of what I was possible expanded as well, and I started to internalize that goal even more.

NOMTW challenged me in ways no other boulder has. After completing Defying Gravity I was relatively confident about my chances with the low. But, after session 2 l realized how much of a battle it would be be. I don't talk about if often, but I have Lyme disease. While it's generally nothing more than an inconvenience. At times, it can become an issue within my climbing. This was one of those cases. Issues with my Lyme stacked on top of several other uncontrollable factors, specifically conditions caused my sessions to be very inconsistent. Some days I'd feel good and could stick the crux move 80% of the time (in iso). Other days I'd barely generate enough to touch the hold

In the end, it all came down to patience. I knew it was possible, and I knew it was only a matter of finding the right day. But, I also had to accept the fact that I might not send, and learn to be okay with that. I feel like In the past I've always sent boulders by forcing the moves into submission, but this felt like the complete opposite. I had to submit myself to the boulder. However, last week my day finally came. On the hike in my body felt good, my mind felt clear, and the conditions were perfect. Everything was aligned and I knew I was ready.

When grading boulders I generally try to be as honest with myself as possible, basing grades off my personal experiences. I personally don't feel like I have enough experience with boulders at this difficultly to give an honest opinion on the grade. However, regardless if this thing truly is v17 or not, it does feel like a satisfying resolve to the goal that I've worked for the past several years.

I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to share this experience with so many amazing people. Thanks you to everyone who's supported me over these past few years. I'm beyond psyched to continue pushing the my limits, and I'm psyched to see what's next for me and my climbing!”

Eva Hammelmüller, who the last four months has done seven routes 8c+ or 9a, has repeated Erwan Legrand’s Sans Complexe (9a) in Aix-en-Provence. ”J’ai pas les mots. [I have no words] When I first tried this route three days ago, the roof was wet, and I was scared of pulling hard on monos. However, I quickly got more and more confident on one-finger-underclings, and I had a really promising go yesterday! Today, with almost comletely dry holds, I sent the whole thing!! I agree with Erwan and Antoine regarding the grade - crazy hard 8c+ or soft 9a.” (c) Felix Mast

The 25-year-old Austrian has also the last week done José pine le gardien (8c), Pâques Express (8c) and during a night session Perplexe (8b+) to avoid the 20+ degree heat wave in southern France. “I checked out this cool route in the sun and, despite the heat, really enjoyed doing the moves. Not expecting anything, I went for a headlamp-sendgo in the evening, managed to climb quite well despite the headlamp (with which I usually struggle a lot) and sent the route! What a nice ending to a day that started with 3 bleeding fingers :D”

How can you best explain your great progress lately?
I think my decision to stop competing and focus on rock climbing lifted so much pressure from my shoulders and gave me more freedom to adapt my training to my needs. Plus, I can now invest all my time into getting physically stronger and preparing for my rock climbing projects. Physically, I feel maybe in the best shape of my life, and I hope I can realise that in further projects.

Antoine Maire, who last year sent his first six 9a’s, has started out 2026 by sending Le playboy rôde sans complexe (9a+) and Beginning Of The Strongness (9a) in Aix-en-Provence. This week the 29-year-old sent Era Vella (9a) in Margalef.

”This line is so spicy, like my progression which is in the ascendent phase. I arrive on stage, brilliant performance, I shine in public, dominant aura. I follow in private with the brother, mentally I almost cracked after three falls under the relay but the secret is to never give up. I'm coming back from Spain with the trailer filled with a beautiful cross, as I promised my brother!”

Michaela Kiersch has visited Oukaimeden in Morocco together with Ashima Shiraishi with a focus on exploring and putting up first ascents. The Doctor in Hand Therapy has built an extraordinary résumé: 20 routes graded 8c+ to 9a+ and some 20 boulders 8B to 8C. Remarkably, almost all of the 31-year-old climber’s hardest ascents have come within the last five years.

Can you tell us more about the trip and the most memborable ascents?
I spent 10 days in Morocco with my friend Ashima. She had a project from a previous trip and I was motivated to put up some first ascents. I ended up adding a lower start to her project, an existing 8A+, and calling it Taradine (8B), which translates to “girls.” It was fitting because we got the first and second ascents. I also added 4 highballs to the area — Atlas 8A, a stand alone beautiful orange and black line; and then 3 lines to a different boulder Aphrodite 7A, Artemis 7B, and Athena 7C. The Atlas Mountains were named for the titan who held up the sky, and I decided to honor a few of my favorite goddesses as well.

Bill Ramsey, who did Nice is Nice (8c) at age 62, has sent Ghost Meat (8b+) in Mount Potosi. The 65-year-old began climbing in the mid-1970s with Alan Watts at Smith Rock. He later shifted his focus to academics, earning a PhD in philosophy, before returning to climbing in the early 1990s. (c) James Lucas

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
The name of the climb is Ghost Meat, put up by Andy Raether a little over ten years ago. Consensus is 8b+ after some hold breakage. It's a fairly short, steep and powerful climb up at the Clear Light Cave on Mt. Potosi that I had been trying since last September. It actually is not a very good climb for a senior citizen because it is bouldery with a powerful crux, but there are some other things about it that were attractive, like its convenience (the cliff is only about an hour and half from my house, including the hike).

There is a crux about 2/3rds up where you have to catch an undercling, and I came off that one move for nearly 3 months. I had tried this climb briefly a few years ago but could never do this crux so I gave up. But at the end of last summer I did a lot of weight lifting and training specifically for this climb, built a small replica of the crux in my garage, and went to work. As with the last 8b+ I did, I would train some in the morning before getting on the climb because I wanted to stay fit throughout the projecting process, and that paid off.

This year, as sort of an act of defiance for turning 65, I didn’t want to simply do a hard climb (for an old man), but to actually be a semi-respectable weekend warrior. So my goal was to do two 8b+’s and two 8b’s and various other routes in the 8a range. I’m now making good progress on my second 8b so that goal is about to be accomplished. I can’t express how grateful I am to be still playing this game and still having so much fun doing it after 50 years climbing. It helps that there’s a really great group of top level and psyched climbers living in Vegas right now, and they constantly inspire and provide support and motivation!

How does a normal climbing week look like?
A normal climbing week I usually get out two or three times. I have become the department chair so I need to spend more time on campus doing administrative work as well as teach, but my schedule is somewhat flexible and I try to get out during the week at least once, sometimes twice. Because of my age I find if I go hard, I need at least 2 rest days. Going hard means getting up at around 5, warming up and max-hang fingerboarding and stuff for 2 or 3 hours, going to the cliff and trying the project 3 or 4 times, and then maybe doing some Kilter Boarding in the evening. It varies.

Laura Rogora, the Vertical-Life climber of 2025, repeated Adam Ondra’s Niobe (9a) last week in just four tries. ”I had watched Adam’s video, but not to checked the betas. Basically, before starting I only knew that after the first chain there was a palm-move boulder.”

World Climbing: ”The decision, that has been communicated to all World Climbing National Federations, lifts the suspension placed on the Russian (CFR) and Belarusian Federations (BACF), while maintaining the following provisions:

1. To allow the participation of athletes and team officials with Russian and Belarusian passports in international competitions under the Neutral Athletes Policy in place.
2. To not allow the organisation of international events in Russia and Belarus until further notice.”

Paul-Martin Luc has done the first ascent of öga för öga (8C) at Hultastenen. The project took shape during the summer of 2023 and developed into a multi-year endeavor marked by progress, setbacks, and ultimately full payoff. Along the way, he first completed Luftig kö till nålens öga (8B+) as well as the sit start den nattliga havsfärden (8B+), before shifting his entire focus to the full low start from Tvekampen (8A) into Nålens Öga—a long, steep, and highly physical line where power, body tension, and heel hooks are central.

In spring 2024, the project gained extra momentum when Adam Ondra visited the area. After a joint breakdown of the moves, Ondra flashed Luftig Kö Till Nålens Öga, one of the most talked-about flashes ever done in Sweden, and at the same time provided valuable context regarding the difficulty of the sector. That same day, several local climbers achieved personal bests, but for the project’s main protagonist the session ended with a hamstring injury that required a long rehabilitation and put the project on hold for more than a year.

After returning, the attempts continued methodically until the entire line finally went down. As for the grade, Öga för Öga is assessed as 8C. If Den Nattliga Havsfärden is considered 8B+, the link sits in the upper end of 8C; but if it is instead a solid 8C, the full line could be perceived as a soft 8C+. Regardless of the exact grade, the ascent is seen as the culmination of an unusually long and emotionally charged journey—where the end result carries more weight than the number.