Victor Guillermin, who won the bronze at the Euro Youth Championship last month, has done Condé de choc (9a) in Entraygues. This was the seventh logged ascent in the 8a database since June. "Really cool and bouldery route 🔥🔥 with three big jumps... I was too weak to do the jump at the beginning during the send so I took the crimp🤫"

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I first tried this route this summer and did 2 goes to touch the holds... but it was really hot and I couldn't solve the first part of the route (8A+ crimpy boulder problem). Two weeks ago, I returned to Entraygues, and I managed to find a beta for the first part, and a beta for the second part (8b+ route). This weekend, I felt ready to send the route, but I couldn't pass the first part on Saturday, I was always falling on the last move, a big jump to a crimp (the picture). Then on Sunday, I decided to change my beta to not fall at this move again. Tanguy [Merard] told me to take a small crimp instead of doing the jump: physically it's a bit harder but it's less aleatory. Then I put in a try with this new method, and I was able to pass the boulder problem for the first time! Resting in between the two parts, I knew that I had to climb perfectly not to fall... luckily, I made no mistakes in this second part (with two other jumps) and I was able to send Condé de Choc, one of the coolest 9a I've ever climbed! A perfect day! I just want to say good luck to Tanguy and Lilian who are both working hard routes in Entraygues... be strong dudes!

Andrea Chelleris, who during the last two years has done five 9a's, has sent Sanjski par extension (9a) in Mišja Peč. "The route is so short and bouldery, I tried it after sending Martin krpan for some days last year from November to December but I needed more power to send it. I returned this year and sent it with no such good conditions."

What is your next plan?
I haven't decided yet. Maybe some onsight climbing.

We have recently implemented several new features and improvements, with a focus on aligning the website and the app. We have made it much easier to see the Vertical-Life app topos when coming from 8a, and implemented several smaller improvements, among them a new date format.

1 - 5000 topos just one click away
Over 5000 crags around the globe are covered in the Vertical-Life app, offering topos, access information, detailed crag descriptions, and offline functionality. They are marked by a colored pin. Via the 'Topos' button on the crag page, we added a link straight into the app to all of these crags. With the app, subscribers can easily navigate to the crag parking, check out the topos, and more.

>>> Use the code "Topo" to get three months of the Outdoor subscription for just one euro! Redeem it here.

2 - New Date Format and other improvements
• Changed date format to "11 Oct 2023" (from "10/11/2023").
• You can now click on the followers counts of other profiles to find others you might want to follow
• Improved 8a search with synonyms (e.g., "Carnage sit" finds "Carnage assis").
• Fixed search bug hiding non-ranking users.
• Enhanced the add ascent form, fixing issues with certain names.

3 - Vertical-Life App updates
• Aris Theodoropoulos' and Katie Rousso's updates for Kalymnos and app-only crags are all available in the app
• First crags of the new Schweiz Extrem West by Filidor published, more to come.
• South Tyrol guidebook available in print and app, covering 105 crags, including 11 new ones.

Up next is a big release in which we will synchronise all Vertical-Life and 8a ascents, routes, and logbooks, as well as the look of the app and website.

Anak Verhoeven reports on Instagram that she has completed Cosi se Arete (9a) in . She wound up doing the route two times in one day, finishing off her second redpoint of it by headlamp. In total, the former very successful competition climber has done a dozen routes 9a and harder. More info to come!

"So, I waited until it was completely dark and, in the meantime, I attached my headlamp to my tanktop with a string I had found in my backpack (see last photo). This way it couldn’t drop down in the water and I could also place it back on my head with one hand (I made sure I practiced that first 😄) in case I knocked it off my head. Then I started climbing with a big black void underneath and a circle of light around my head. When looking down I saw the small speck of light from my headlamp reflected in the river. It felt great! I was a little more tired than during the daylight send and I could feel the humidity of the evening. The wall was full of little spiders that had come out at night. I had to move slightly more slowly to see all the holds and be precise, but I just kept going and going and going… 
I passed the first crux, and the second one. I was sure now that I could do it, but the endurance moves at the end are relentless. A few more movements to go… and I clipped the anchor a second time in the same day! Well, that hadn’t quite been the initial plan when I arrived at the crag that day. But what an amazing, impromptu experience... And that crazy idea I had to climb a 50-meter 9a in the dark actually turned out to be possible. 😆"

How did you prepare for the trip?
I prepared for this trip by training in the gym (climbing lead routes) and at home (power/strength training). I was home for about 3,5 months with an ankle injury. So, I first climbed on one leg for a bit, then I could carefully use both feet again without placing left heel hooks and finally, I was able to climb in a normal way again.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I worked the moves of the route for 4 or 5 sessions, before doing a first unplanned attempt on a day I had initially wanted to just make some bigger links. I climbed well and fell high up in the last crux due to an issue with a tickmark (and also a horizontally hanging quickdraw karabiner that stuck right into my eye at the hardest move of the route 😅). 2 days later I sent the route in my second redpoint attempt. And a few hours later I sent it again, but in the dark with a headlamp.

"Angelino Zeller is a three-time world champion in climbing. He is paralyzed from the waist down due to a paragliding accident. Angelino has always been active and has also worked professionally as an industrial climber. However, when he returned to indoor climbing during rehab after his accident, a spark ignited. He began to train regularly and to master climbing without using his legs. When climbing, he works solely with his upper body strength to gain momentum to perform the next one-arm pull-up through targeted swinging, a true tour de force. The Sarree2000 route in the Aosta Valley is his next project. Italian professional climber Stefano Ghisolfi climbed this 8a+ route back in 2015 without using his feet, simply to prove that it can be done.

Drew Ruana did the first repeat of Daniel Woods' The Ice Knife (sit-start) (8C+) last year.

Molly Thompson-Smith flashed Verna (8A) and sent three more 8A's last month, which we followed with an interview.

Zach Galla has sent Sound of Violence (8C) in Left Fork. ”I’ve tried sound of violence on and off ever since I was able to climb the right exit, Pegasus (8C), about 2 years ago. I was always under the impression that Sound was the easier way out the roof but it gave me a good bit more trouble.

What did you mean on Instagram reporting the ascent saying, “Kicked off my training deload/soul climbing”?
I’ve recently been on a heavy comp training grind in preparation for the pan american championship coming up later this month and decided to lower my training volume and enjoy some rock climbing for a week before locking myself back in the gym. The body and mind are now reset and I’m stoked for the Pan ams!

In 2020, Zach was runner-up in Pan-Am Championship after Colin Duffy, where he was beaten by one try to the zone on one boulder. The winner of the Panamerican Championship 2023 will get an Olympic ticket to Paris.

Theo Blass has made the first repeat of Seb Bouin’s La Folle Histoire Immonde 8c+/9a in Thaurac. The wonderkid did his first 8c at age 10 and over a year ago he sent Trip tik tonik (9a). Photo (c) Laurent Dormont

”The route is a real gem - a long steep route on tufas, crimps and slopers with beautiful and powerful moves - it has many hard sections with more or less good rests between. It is located in Thaurac, one of the mostly old school areas around Montpellier (think desperate run-out 7As on tiny crimps and shallow pockets with polished foodholds).

It has many hard sections separated by more or less good rests and a final bouldery crux on bad crimps. I first tried the route a couple of years ago when I was 11. I was making good progress at the time but a low percentage move in the middle (which is really hard when you are short) frustrated me and I gave the route and myself a break. I did not try it for a couple of years and then got back on it a month ago. It was still very hot in the area so I only had the time to do a couple of tries per session. I quickly realised that, being stronger and taller than 2 years ago meant that the route was much more fun to try - I did all the moves and sections easily and after 2-3 sessions was ready to give it a red point try.

The mental battle took another 2-3 sessions (I was so anxious before the final crux that I was feeling nauseous and did not even want to fight). I guess I needed some time to readjust to the pressure of trying long hard sport routes (I was mainly bouldering or doing easier routes during the summer). On the day of the send, I was feeling weightless. I understand exactly what people mean by "flow" or being in the zone. I was climbing with my body in the sun and the rock still in the shade. Such an amazing feeling.

It is great fun to try an old project when you are older and your body has changed. Sometimes I think that moves that I did as a child may feel harder if I try them as I grow up (as the holds will be smaller and I will be heavier). But the reality is that with more reach, power and experience almost all the routes now feel much easier (probably except for tiny pockets, but I never really liked climbing on pockets - its boring).”

Janja Garnbret reports on Instagram that she on her first day, "From the beach straight to Magic Wood", sent Sofa Surfer (8A+), Foxy Lady (8A), Octopussy (8A) and Jack's broken heart (8A+). The latter she flashed and then then just the other day she made "quick work" of Massive Attack (8A+). We also have been informed that she has done New base line (8B+), which she has yet to report.

Since Janja took home the Olympic Gold in Tokyo she has done 20 IFSC competitions, out of which she has won 17 and been runner-up three times. The 24-year-old won her first world championship in 2016 and in total, she has won eight more. On rock, the Slovenian has done two 9a's, onsighted four 8c's and bouldered 8B+.