Melina Costanza🦇 has done After Hours (8B) in . (c) Zoe Herwitz

“I was feeling strong coming off of Nationals last month [where she won both Lead and Boulder] and I knew I wanted to try something hard outside.

Right now, there’s a decent chunk of time before US Team Trials in March, so I was able to get outside between training days! I saw a video of a friend who put up the FA of After Hours and knew immediately this was the boulder I wanted to try! I’d never been on something of the grade before, but it went down quickly and I’m motivated to try some harder things in the near future.”

Is it correct that your previous hardest boulder was which you called 7C+? How much do you normally climb outdoors?
That is correct! I have hardly climbed outdoors at all haha. I’m just getting into it! This is the only 8B I’ve ever tried.

I know a lot of people still give Lethal 8A/+ but I did other 7C’s and 7C+’s that trip that felt way harder.

Simon Lorenzi, who made the FA of Soudain seul (9A) in 2021 after some 25 sessions, needed some 20 sessions to send Alphane (9A) last year. "Soudain Seul was harder to send for me. But as you know climbing is a matter of style."

The sending process of Alphane could probably have been quicker as he also had to tackle injury and skin problems as well as bad conditions. After he did it in two parts in August after just five sessions, he got a shoulder injury that made it impossible to fully extend his arm for a month. Then he injured his left index finger meaning that he only focused on the second half while working on it in November. Then in December, he made one more trip and was close to sending but got skin problems.

"It was a roller coaster because I opened my right index finger at my first attempt of the day. I had this problem 10 days ago and didn't find a solution to try with tape. Finally, I put one piece of tape in a strange way and I sent it on my first try with the tape. I went from being depressed about my skin to sending in like 5 min."

Kelly Birch joins the exclusive 8B+ club by repeating Daniel Woods’ Muscle Car (8B+) in Coal Creek.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
At approximately 17 moves long, it links together multiple other hard sections of the whole boulder, ending on a heartbreaking “redpoint crux” of a punchy V11.

I’d done many of the other climbs on this boulder, BUT Muscle Car continued to elude me. Still, I kept returning to the boulder with friends occasionally, trying to keep a relaxed mindset about it. I recently returned to it after a few months away, feeling stronger after a very productive summer alpine season. Finally, after probably at least 25 attempts where I’d fallen at the final crux, I finally stuck it and took it to the top! Incredibly proud of myself for reaching the V14/8b+ milestone.

What is your climbing background?
I’ve been climbing on and off for about 18 years. I was a youth competitor for many years, but took a 5-year hiatus during my late teens and early 20s. During this time, I became passionate about powerlifting and strength training. A few years ago, I returned to climbing with renewed psyche, and have since been focused predominantly on hard bouldering outside. I sent my first V13/8B in 2022, followed by three others this year. Hope there’s more to come for me!

Grimper reports that Charles Albert has made the FA of L'Ombre du Voyageur (9A) at Unknown. In this Instagram video Charles utilizes 360 rotations, feet first climbing, and toe-hooks and knee bars without the aid of shoes or knee pads. Charles says he thinks it is closer to 9A+ in this style, but imagines it is probably 9A otherwise. (c) Arthur Delicque

In 2018, Charles put up No Kpote only as a 9A but later both 8C+ and 8C have been suggested by climbers using climbing shoes. He has now completed roughly ten boulders 8C and harder out of which most are FAs.

Babsi Zangerl did the third repeat of Beth Rodden’s Meltdown (8c+) in Yosemite (CA) last month. Rodden put it up in 2008 and it is considered to be the first 8c+ trad in the world. Carlo Traversi did the first repeat in 2018 and then Babsi's partner Jacopo Larcher sent it last year.

Adam Ondra has done the FA of El Maquinista in Montanejos. ”9a+/b. Amazing longstanding project by Pedro Pons. Tried it once after [he onsighted] El Gran Bellanco (9a), then two days of work. At first I thought it might be even 9b+, but I found better betas and with every try it got easier. Really uncertain with the grade.” (c) Petr Chodura

Three days earlier, he sent La Parada de los Monstruos (9a), second go.”Unfortunately broke a tiny edge under my kneepad and got tangled into the rope while I was holding the swing on my onsight try. Kneepads make the route much easier, definitely easy 9a. Ramon's way with no kneebaring is pretty hard. Kneebaring it without kneepads would be the worst thing ever though.”

Michaela Kiersch has done Coma Sant Pere (8c+) in Margalef. Including her send of Era Vella (9a), she has capped off a solid week of 8b+ to 9a redpoints. “As an American it’s cool because I climbed 14a, 14b, 14c and 14d [every grade of 14 on the YDS scale] in basically a week!” (c) Kevin McNally

So, is it fair to say this has been your most productive week sport climbing? How did this all come together?
Maybe! Rather than focusing on one major project like La Rambla I’m just having fun running around and discovering a new area and not necessarily breaking into a new limit. Would be a shame to only try one thing, so I’m trying everything within a broad grade range :)

Noah Wheeler has completed Defying Gravity (8C) at the South Platte. This was the 21st 8B+ and beyond for the 21-year-old.

”With campus-board beta because my span is slightly too short to keep good tension on the low feet. Amazing how there's so many different ways to do the boulder dependant on one's body type, each providing similar difficulty and top-tier nuanced movement. Proudest send so far.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent and that “campus-board” beta?
Ever since I began going to school at Colorado College 3 years ago, Defying Gravity has assumed this place in my mind as a sort of evasive boogeyman of the South Platte. This is owed both to its closer proximity to the city I live in and in its ambiguously grand difficulty. Despite knowing that the climb fits my style (dynamic upper-body generated throws to edges), I still had this idea that I could not possibly send such a historically elusive climb. Earlier this year, however, I decided I would at least check the climb out as I had been feeling a particular lack of luck in my other projects.

In my first session I was aware of 2 betas for the crux move: a direct throw beta with a low slippery foot and a throw from a heel with a tensiony establishment. I tried both betas for a few minutes, but upon pulling on the start holds without feet, I realized that my box best fit a direct campus throw. The second session consisted of finding a lot of micro-beta for this throw, primarily concerning how I grab the start holds, the direction of the swing, and the orientation of my arm as I hit the hold. Ultimately, however, it largely a matter of brute forcing the same beta and making slight progression in comfortability with the move and the holds that made the difference. I was actually unsure as to whether the move went with a campus throw before I stuck it, as the swing felt near-impossible to keep most tries. Altogether, it feels as though my process on this climb was a good guideline for how I want to approach difficult problems in the future - both in mediation of mindset and in progressive analysis of intricacies and comfortability.

Jon Cardwell, who previously has done four 9a+ graded routes, has made the FA of Wind Up Bird (9b) at The Fortress of Solitude after projecting it for around 50 sessions.

Can you tell us more about the process of completing this route?
I suppose the process began like any other first ascent. It was back in winter 2016, Carlo Traversi and I saw potential for a new line to the left of the famous Flex Luther. We hiked up in epic snow and started the process of bolting the route. Carlo helped me put in the bolts and first belay at about 25 meters – where I finished on Saturday. This alone was the original vision and an incredible climb by itself. After that time, I kept going back to work out the sequences which felt impossible at first because it is so bouldery but as it usually goes I started to figure things out. At one point later that year I was convinced by Steve Hong to keep bolting up the wall because there was so much more rock so I decided to rappel off the top and explore the new terrain, I ended up bolting a mega 80 meter pitch. After I did that I realized that this is something special so that motivated me to keep trying.

The first goal was to send the first pitch, which turned out to be more epic than I expected. I spent around 20-30 days between 2017-2022 working on that pitch which I realized by itself would push me further than any other route I’ve tried before. Finally, this year after a not so great performance in France this spring, I made it a goal to prepare myself in the best possible way to show up at the crag in my best shape. After a long training period over the summer and working on some new projects in New Mexico I felt in the right shape and all I had to do was show up and keep trying. After 10 days I was able to finish it on Saturday! It was a beautiful moment, and probably the most I have ever tried while climbing. I’m still here for a few weeks so while I have the shape and motivation, I will keep working on the extension. When that’s completed I’m almost certain it will be one of the hardest routes in NA.

How hard is the 55m extension?
I’ve done the moves on the 2nd pitch but it wasn’t completely finished. I actually went up yesterday and added a bolt and cleaned a bit more, I’ll get to work on climbing soon!

As for the grade of the first pitch, I know it’s at least 9a+ and possibly 9b, and as you know with first ascents it’s always tough to assign a grade, especially when it’s likely the hardest thing you’ve done. It’s also a much different style than the 9a+ I’ve done before, much more bouldery and intense. About 7c to a good rest, then 7C boulder directly into 8A+/8B boulder, medium rest into 7C+ boulder and then some sketchy 7c+ climbing after. Maybe if more people come try it I can get a better idea? Carlo is probably my best reference on the grade!

Nathan Phillips, who has previously done 13 8B+'s, has done a one session ascent of Juneru (8C) in Albarracín. "Totally surprised to do this one in a session. It was one session but it kinda doesn’t feel like it. Another boulder I did in the UK earlier this year (Bewilderness (8B+)) has basically the exact same crux moves and since I did that I’ve been replica training so I can do the low extension (Trance (8C)).

So trying this, it kinda felt like I’d already been on the boulder before I’d even pulled on. The crux is getting a tiny 3 finger undercut and standing through it to punch out. Then you still have a sketchy mantle to finish which is quite scary at that height. Having perfect conditions helped too."