Leo Bøe 🍄, who in 2023 has sent his first six 9a's, has done Thor's Hammer (9a+) at Flatanger. "Didn’t expect the send at all !! 7th day on, and I was in Flatanger only for a week to work the moves. I tried the route some seasons back and never got past the bouldery start. On my final try today, however, I did the boulder and never fell afterwards… I only went through the upper part once this trip and mixing up betas got me super pumped! I was fighting into the jug before the sloper rail and needed 35 mins to recover… Never have I suffered this much for a send and 1hr30mins after leaving the ground I clipped the chains! Big thanks to my belay bro Arne! 🤜💥🤛"

Can you tell us more about that marathon ascent?
I was tired from climbing many days in a row, but my friend insisted I give it some tries from the ground as good training. I didn’t have a good rest day for a week since I was so psyched to be in the cave. As a result, the climb turned out way longer as I was forced to rest more between each boulder.

I had to fight my way into this last rest. Knowing the final part and how people usually fall there was scary, especially since I only did the sloper rail once on this trip. My beta was all a mess in my head… If you do a wrong shuffle along the slopers you might get too pumped and slide off. This was not an option for me as I was leaving Flatanger [that day]. Therefore I stayed there for 35 minutes to make sure I was as rested as I could be. You get a pretty good kneebar combined with a heel-toe cam, but it’s painful and tough cause the foot is slopey. The left kneebar is not no-hands, but is very useful to recover the right leg. If I was to fall on the last couple of moves after being on the wall for 1hr25 min I would be heartbroken… Luckily I didn’t!

Clément Lechaptois has sent La force tranquille (8C) in Magic Wood, which was the 30-year-old's seventh 8C and harder since 2019.

Can you tell us more about La force?
I tried ‘La force tranquille’ after having done ‘The Understanding’ in 2020. I was close to send it, I fell after the crux move once because my foot popped. The day after there was 1m of snow.

I came back in the spring but the boulder was almost always wet because of the rain every evening, so I moved to other projects.

I just came back 4 days at the beginning of June this season, and I thought it would be too warm but surprisingly, I felt a way better on each move and I did it the second try from the ground. It was a nice & satisfying feeling to feel the progression.

How can you explain your great progress over the last few years?
Hard question this one. I think it comes from different factors. I am passionate about hardcore bouldering and I like to push myself by trying the hardest ones around where I am. Projects too. So I think I got used to trying hard moves/boulders and knowing faster what works for you and what doesn’t. I also like to train when I am at home, and I am lucky never to get injured. I try to be smart when I train. Even if I don’t follow a very scheduled training, I try to keep an eye on where I am not good at to get better.

Tyler Thompson has repeated Joe Kinder's Bone Tomahawk (9a+) in . It was originally put up as a 9a+ but Kinder lowered the grade just three weeks ago as new knee bars have been found and Thompson confirmed the new 9a suggestion. "One of the coolest routes I’ve ever climbed! I remember watching the video of Joe equipping and sending this thing when it came out. Feels surreal to have climbed it myself. I climbed it on my first go of my fourth day trying the route. It’s an amazing and steep route that fits my style surprisingly well."

Heather Weidner, who did her first and only 8c back in 2014, has done I am the Walrus (8b+) in Flatirons. This was the 43-year-old third 8b or harder since she became a mom 18 months ago. (c) James Lucas

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I am extremely grateful to be the mom of Dallas and still be able to get out three days a week to pursue climbing. I love pushing myself in the sport, physically and mentally. It allows me to have balance and come back to our little guy refreshed and ready to be the best mom I can be.

I am the Walrus, 5.14a, is in our backyard in the Flatirons of Boulder, CO. It had the hardest crux I’ve ever done on a route. The crux for most climbers is the upper boulder problem 30 meters up, but for me, about 1/3 of the way up the route there’s a huge move to the tufa from a terrible left-hand pinch that barely goes with my 5’5” (163 cm) height and span. I did a severe dropknee that made the move possible. I started working on this climb last fall for a half-dozen days then spent the past 6 weeks consistently working it. The first time I got through the lower tufa crux from the ground, I was able to keep it together mentally and clip the chains.

Jana Svecova continues her big Terranova (8C+) project by doing the FA of a shorter variant, Nova (8C) in Holstejn.”15th day. Start like Sedni si na kost (8B+) and finish like the second part of Terranova. 2 mover 8B into 8B? And now the whole Terranova, but first some hardcore training! :D."

Solveig Korherr, who did her first 9a in 2021, has sent in . ”A dream route! One of the best feelings how it all came together & every day on this route over the last two and a half weeks felt better and better thanks to refining beta and perseverance. (5 days last & 9 days this year) Thanks John & Lulu for the best time up here!” (c) John Thornton

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I first tried „Jungfraumarathon” (9a) last year for two or three weekends. I was immediately really psyched and felt quite good on it, but I stopped trying it when I injured one of my fingers.

This year, I wanted to eventually come back to it. I was quite nervous before trying it again because I didn’t focus on sport climbing the last half year as I usually do. I was bouldering during the winter, did some trad climbing in between, and mainly did some shorter sport climbing routes in the Basler Jura. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I couldn’t tell if I was in shape.

The first time I got on the route this trip, I was surprisingly shocked at how good all the singles moves felt. I felt much better than last year. From this point on, I was totally committed to the route. I was climbing one day on, one day off, which I have never done before. The style in Gimmelwald is very powerful and demanding. I had to rest a lot which was sometimes quite hard for me mentally. 😄

Over the last two and a half weeks, I optimized my beta, learned the moves a lot better, and gained more endurance. Every day I felt better on it, and I was falling higher and higher. On the day I sent it, everything felt perfect, and I did it on my first try. I’m really happy to see how I’ve improved on this powerful climbing style over the last few years.

What does a normal week look like when it comes to training/climbing for you?
I just worked for one year for my sponsor SCARPA Germany with marketing and planning events. I mainly trained in the gym during the week and climbed outside on the weekends. For now, I‘m taking some time off and I will spend the next few months climbing outside.

Can you tell us more about those summer plans?
I‘m planning to spend two months in France and climb in La Ramirole & probably Pic Saint-Loup as well. I‘m really staring to get into this steep & powerful climbing and I‘m psyched to check out these two places.

Francesco Berardino sent Off the Wagon Sit (8C+) last month and now the video has been released. Here is the 8a article where commented his ascent.

Quentin Guillen has done Condé de choc (9a) in Entraygues, after trying it for three weekends.

Can you tell us more about your send and skipping 8c+?
So this year I trained with the goal to take my ticket for the lead world cup with the French team. It was a long time I didn't compete due to some injuries (2 pulley rupture the last two years). As I totally missed my selective competition, because I was too stressed, I took a 3 weeks break from climbing after this.

When I started climbing again I choose to go outdoors to try a hard route and challenge myself. First I wanted to try La moustache qui fâche (9a+) because it is my climbing style (short endurance on crimps with a lot of overhang). But, when I came to Entraygues it was wet. My friends Justin Dechamps et Adrian Houbron had just sent Condé de choc (9a). This motivated me to try this route.

The two first weekends trying Condé were pretty hard because it was raining all the time so conditions were not good. On the last day of the second climbing trip I fall in last move of the first crux. I knew I should not fall in the second part of the route so it was pretty frustrating. During the third weekend the conditions were really good.

I fell 4 times at the last move of the first crux the first day, in the second day I pass the first crux at my first try of the day but my hand slipped at the end of the route. I was pretty tired and I knew I just had one last good try before coming home, I managed to climb the first crux but It was so hard I almost fall at every move of the first crux but finally I could sent it.

What is your climbing background?
I started climbing at 10-years-old in my little climbing club. I started compete pretty quickly. With some good results I could join the Pôle Espoir Voiron at age 16. I have always been a plastic climber training every time for the competition. Sometimes i go outdoor to do some routes pretty quickly (8b/8b+) but I never try real projects.

The last 3 years were really complicated for me with the covid (no training structure ) and 2 broken pulley in 2021 ans 2022 (3 months off and 6 months of reeducation each time). But now my pulleys are feeling good and I want to try hard at the crags too! I'm so happy with the sent of "Condé" but I know it was just the beginning and I'm sure I can do harder !

Elnaz Rekabi has been competing actively since 2007, and in 2021 she took the bronze in the Combined World Championship. In the last two weeks, she has made her first World Cups appearances (Brixen and Innsbruck) since 2019. (c) Vladek Zumr

How was the Innsbruck Boulder World Cup?
I had 3 Tops and 2 close to the top but because the holds are new for me and I wasn’t sure if that hold was good or not so I just had a little doubt which got me out of semi-final. I became #23. The facilities for training are very important for competitors, the Olympics have made this sport more professional and results are very sensitive and dependent on many different variables that affect our performance.

I felt stronger than before on the wall but I need more competition to find my best mindset and shape again for getting better results. It's too bad that it was the last bouldering World Cup of the season and I don’t have more chances. But it's part of my lifestyle, my way and I’m hopeful for getting more valuable things along the rest of my climbing life.

What are your upcoming competition plans?
I will do the Lead World Cup in Villars and then go back home. Then there is the World Championship, but it's not clear whether I will get a visa or not, because we have a difficult process for getting a visa.

Do you get financial support for travel and stay in Europe?
No, I paid [this trip] myself. Part of that is my savings from the competitions which I won before and part of that is from my working as a coach. I train from 10am to 2pm and then the rest of the day I work as a coach until 10 pm. But, the NOC (National Olympic Committee in Iran) promised to support me after coming back to Iran. All I want is to train and keep my Olympic dream alive.

Drew Ruana reports on Insta that he has had his most productive week ever sending three 8C's, out of which two are FA's, plus two 8B+. In 2019, he was #8 in the World Championships. Since missing the cut to make it to the Olympics, the 23-year-old chemical engineering student has evolved into one of the best boulderers in the world. In total, he has over the last three years done more than 100 boulders 8B+ and harder including nine graded 8C+. Here is an 8a interview - Progress take patience

Can you take us through this record week you had?
Friday - Railway 8C
Saturday - Hummingbird 8C FA
Tuesday - Let the right one in 8B+ (pictured)
Thursday - Aggressive Behavior sit 8B+ Friday - Church channel sit 8C FA
I’ve tried them all a lot and they just clicked, I’ve been feeling really strong lately.

What are your summer plans?
More cleaning up and hard boulders, close to doing all the hard ones, 14 or harder, in Co. even the obscure ones.