Iris Bielli has done Il lupo perde il pelo ma non il vizio (8c+) in Sasso Pelo. The 21-year-old Italian is a versatile climber, excelling across disciplines and sending 8b climbs in multi-pitch, trad, and bouldering.

Can you tell us more about doing your first 8c+?
The route features an intense start that culminates with a fourteenth move that I found particularly challenging. This is followed by some tiring moves, a short rest, then a second crux focused on body positioning, and finally some other pumpy moves all the way to the anchor. I tried the route for the first time in November. I managed to solve all the moves already on my first try and, on the fourth day working on it, I climbed the route with just one rest at the fourteenth move, but I had never managed to pass the first crux in continuity. I then decided not to try the route for three weeks due to a pain in my left middle finger. I returned in January with my finger healed and renewed motivation. After a first day to remind my muscles of body positioning, the day of the ascent arrived.

That day, I changed my beta for the first crux and, on the next go, I passed through the fourteenth move for the first time, then crossed the second crux and had a real fight against the pump to climb the last moves to reach the chain. Happy to have kept my cool and not let my emotions get the better of me in the second part of the route. It took seven days to send it.

What is your climbing background?
I started climbing at the age of 14 after practising artistic gymnastics for several years. Initially, I only used to go climbing at the crag and in the gym, but then, after three years, I discovered multi-pitch climbing and became passionate about it. I like visiting new places and experiencing the feeling of freedom and emptiness under my feet while climbing big walls.

Esteban Daligault, with eight 9a’s to his name, has repeated Bon Voyage (9a) in Annot, after some eight sessions. James Pearson put it up in 2023 and it is considered one of the hardest trad routes in the world and Esteban did the fourth repeat after Adam Ondra, Jacopo Larcher and Sebastien Berthe. (c) Henning Wang

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Easily one of the most aesthetic routes I’ve ever climbed. A trad roof, a very natural line, finishing with a traverse — classy from start to finish. I first tried it for a couple of days last spring. Back then, it felt really hard and I thought it would be a long-term project. Then I came back this fall… and things clicked much faster than I expected. I also spend a lot of time alpine climbing, so my main focus had been on alpinism. I was stoked to see that I managed to keep my climbing fitness alongside it. Sometimes everything just comes together at the right moment.

How safe was it, what about the double protection and did you use the fixed slings?
Yeah, it felt pretty safe — the gear is solid. I placed around ten pieces, mostly in the roof where it’s a bit more committing. I placed a 0.3 cam, with a 0.2 below it in case the 0.3 fails. I used them [the fixed slings] during the first tries but not during the send.

Can you tell us more about your most memborable alpine climbing experience this season?
A few weeks before Bon Voyage, I climbed the Directe de l’Amitié on the Grandes Jorasses. Direct de lAmitié on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses is a legendary 1,100 m route, together with Virgile Devin and Simon Martinet. We completed the first fully free ascent, including the long crux pitch previously climbed in aid (up to M9+). For me, it was a very intense and meaningful experience — highly committed climbing, strong teamwork, and a real adventure built on trust and friendship.

Rebecca Stephens, who did her first 8A+ last November, has completed Lady of the Forest (8A+) in Kentmere. (c) Bradley Bushell

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
After summer, I was looking for something relatively local to get stuck into as a bit of a long-term project. Since then I've had 7(?) sessions in that little cave, going through the throes of projecting.

The go felt scrappy, a proper fight, which at the time felt frustrating, anticlimactic, this boulder always felt like you needed to climb it perfectly, all the links were so clean. A battle through saved dry fires and foot slips was not how I'd expected the process to end. On reflection, shows the margin I'd built on the boulder and the try-hard I could conjure up from somewhere. Pretty cool.

What are your 2026 plans?
More volume and a bit of project hunting, but no trips planned. I've had a brief look at Diesel Power (Cromlech, Llanberis Pass), but other than that, nothing outstanding

The international bouldering meeting by La Sportiva will take place from 6 to 9 May 2026 in Val Masino, Valtellina, the cradle of Italian bouldering. Online registration is now open and the new “Give Melloblocco as a gift” initiative is still active.

This year, Melloblocco stretches its arms even wider: Val Masino, Val di Mello and Valle dei Bagni will all be part of the experience. New areas, new boulders, and the long‑awaited return of Bagni di Masino, a name that already stirs memories and anticipation.

“Our philosophy hasn’t changed”, says route setter Matteo De Zaiacomo. “We explore new corners of the valley and bring old classics back to life, always with respect, always with a light touch”. The team is cleaning and restoring boulders of every grade, because Melloblocco belongs to everyone - kids, beginners, seasoned climbers, and those who come to test themselves on the legendary boulders with prize money.

What Melloblocco is

Melloblocco is the world-famous bouldering gathering, welcoming thousands of climbers from more than 80 countries. Over 18 editions, more than 33,000 people have climbed here and among them legends like Chris Sharma, Adam Ondra and Janja Garnbret.

Registration at melloblocco.it is now live. The €25 fee supports the event and includes a bag with the boulder map, partner gadgets and a T‑shirt (2,500 available). They always run out, so early registration is a wise move.

And if you want to share the magic, the “Give Melloblocco as a gift” initiative lets you gift someone the chance to be part of the gathering – just add their name, surname and a heartfelt message.

Sean Bailey reports on Instagram that he has done the first ascent of Duality of Man (9c) in Dry Canyon. ” After four total years and three seasons of climbing, I was able to climb Duality. Dry Canyon did not offer easy tactics. With only an hour or two of shade per day and sporadic weather windows, I had to find a level of patience unlike any other route I’ve climbed. This was by far the longest I’ve spent on a project, the most obsessed I’ve been with a project, and the hardest thing I’ve climbed.” (c) Ben Neilson

The 29-year-old was an active competition climber until 2023 and had his best year in 2021, winning two Lead events and one Boulder event. In 2021, the 163 cm tall climber also repeated Bibliographie (9b+) and, during the last 14 months, he has sent three 9A boulders. In short, Sean boasts one of the strongest sport climbing tick lists in the world. Focusing on just the past five years, he ranks among the very best after Adam Ondra, Jakob Schubert and Alex Megos.

William Bosi made the first ascent of Pôr do Sol (8C+) two weeks ago. ”This boulder has to be one of my top three all-time favourites! Firstly, the boulder looks so big and blank. The fact that there is just the perfect amount of features to make it work is really surprising. Then, the sequence is just insane... lots of unique moves leading to the crazy ‘comp-style’ double clutch crux move.”

Lorenzo Bogliacino, with six 9a+’ under his belt, has during a trip to Santa Linya sent Direct into your Fabelita (9a) and Fabela pa la enmienda (9a). (c) Marta Palou

Can you tell us more about the the trip and the 9a’s?
I usually prefer to use the winter season for training. I’ve always struggled with climbing in winter—way too hot! Jokes aside, I really have a hard time climbing in the sun, and the extreme day-to-day changes in conditions have never made me love this season.

This year, I took advantage of the fact that I worked during the December holidays and therefore had a few days off in January (free time is more important than money!) and decided to challenge myself!

Even though the rock at Santa Linya isn’t among the best around, the routes are really fun and the kind of effort they require is one of my favorites. I obviously jumped straight onto the famous “Fabela pa la enmienda”, and after struggling a bit with the first pitch, I found myself battling through the entire route in a long 1 hour and 15 minute attempt, like I usually do.

Afterwards, I decided to try something shorter, and with a few tricky kneebars I managed to unlock the hard entry of “Direct into your fabelita”, which isn’t exactly my style! Unfortunately, bad weather arrived, the crag truly turned into a waterfall and we weren’t able to finish the final projects we had started. Still, I’m super happy to have climbed routes of this level in this season and right at the beginning of the year!

There will be six Boulder and six Lead World Cups in the 2026 season. As usual, Boulder events will take place mainly in the first half of the year, with Lead competitions following in the autumn. However, unlike previous seasons, the calendar includes one Lead event in the spring and one Boulder competition in the autumn.

1-3/5 Boulder Keqiao - China
8-10/5 Lead Wujiang - China
22-24/5 Boulder Bern - Switzerland
28-31/5 Boulder Madrid - Spain
3-7/6 Boulder & Lead Prague - Czechia
17-21/6 Boulder & Lead Innsbruck - Austria
10-12/7 Lead Chamonix - France
18-25/7 World Youth Championships Arco - Italy
4-5/9 Lead Koper - Slovenia
16-18/10 Boulder Salt Lake City - USA
23-25/10 Lead Santiago - Chile

Stefan Hochbaum, who last year did an 8C+ FA, has opened Mind Flayer (8C) in Scharfenstein.

Can you tell us more about the first ascent?
Two years ago, when I was working on my main project Obsidian (8C+), I checked out the cave after my session. Back then, there was only Zugzwang (7C+) and the lower start of it, called The Cypher (8B+). I wanted to try The Cypher because I needed a break from my main project.

Two sessions later, I was able to send it and noticed that there was another possible line, still undone, going directly through the roof. It shares the first three moves of The Cypher (which are around 8B) but then goes right instead of into the V10 Zugzwang. At that time, I only had Obsidian on my mind, so I never got back to the cave and somehow forgot about this project. Two years later, after sending Obsidian, I remembered there was still a line waiting for a first ascent. So I decided to give this climb a chance. After some intense beta searching, I solved all the moves and started trying it from the ground. Three sessions later, I sent the new project and named it "Mind Flayer."

Overall, it’s a V13 starting sequence into a tricky and hard V12, making it a V15 boulder to me. The first three moves are really powerful with lots of compression. The middle and upper parts focus more on body tension and keeping everything together. You can still fall on the last move to the jug if the heel slips, so it’s quite an interesting boulder.

What is your climbing background and what’s next?
I climb and train 4–5 times a week and have been climbing for 16 years. I started with competitions many years ago but decided that I enjoy rock climbing more, so I shifted my full focus to climbing outdoors. Besides repeating problems, I really enjoy making first ascents and searching for new lines—it’s very inspiring to me.

My next plan is to go back to Ticino in the spring to look for a new project or try some lines I’ve never attempted before.

Sophia Hoermann, who last year sent her first seven 8A’s and two 8A+’, has done A Maze of Death (8A+) in Bishop (CA). The 21-year-old competed actively until two years ago being ”properly burnt out” and has since focused mainly on outdoors.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I grew up climbing at least once a year in Bishop so this place is nostalgically beautiful to me. I didn’t actually hear about A Maze of Death until relatively recently, as I never considered trying anything that hard until the last year or so. I ended up having a pretty quick process on Maze beginning with a solo sesh where I tried out some beta. It felt to me that I just needed a stiffer shoe for the glassy edge feet to help me bring some weight off my hands. Sure enough, I came back the next weekend with new shoes, which helped a lot with the crux moves that were feeling really finicky last sesh.

After doing all the moves in isolation, I took a break in the sun with my friends. When I started trying again, things were feeling off and I was regressing. I sat in front of a fan for a while and decided that I would just put my heart into the next attempt. That go felt much better in every way and I was able to get through my redpoint crux and not struggle too much on the rest. Topped out through a little snow and summited all the way up the spine to get an awesome view of the mountains. Epiced a little postholing through snow on the down climb which made it an overall very special experience. Thank you to James, Jack, and Ryan for all the support and psych!