Martina Demmel, who started climbing only in 2017, has done Heim nach Afrika (9a) in Kochel. It is a link-up that first Pirmin Bertle reported the FA, calling it 9a/+. Later it was discovered that Philipp Hrozek had done it more than ten years ago, but never reported it, thinking it was 8c+/9a. In two interesting and very much read-worthy long Insta posts the 21-year-old says that the link-up has been her priority for two years. (c) Felix Bub

"The whole period, I've surprisingly never felt unpatient with myself as it probably was one of the first routes which was in the range of "finding out if it's possible at all & not when"...🙃 totally enjoyed this luckily steady process what makes me curious for more of this soon😁❤️‍🔥!! Falling more in love with this 🧩-solving game by finding all those game-changing bodypositions, chalk-up points, releasing the tension moments and simply remembering it all (what's been more difficult than expected...🤪).

I've to admit that I was quite surprised/sad about how many people were only focused on asking me about my opinion on the grade instead of congratulating or being interested in the story/feelings behind at all...🥺 maybe it's normal but I've never noticed it in such an obvious extent🤷‍♀️."

In 2021, Martina became the first-ever female to have won the 8a annual onsight ranking game. In total, she onsighted 18 routes 8a+ and harder in 2021. If we start from 7c and harder she did a stunning 138 onsights the last year. Amazingly, she did her first 7c onsight when she had only climbed for 1.5 years.

Adam Ondra has onsighted (calling it 8b+) and in Osp - Banje in Babna. "Yees, very proud to onsight it. Possibly not the hardest 9a especially with kneepads, but not a very obvious one to onsight. Super happy."

In total, the 29-year-old has now logged 193 onsights 8b+ and harder but this would have been well over 200 without all of his downgrades. A possible contender for being the runner-up in this onsight list could be Piotr Schab who has onsighted eleven 8c's and 20 8b+'s. The picture is from Adam's Insta with now close to 900 000 followers.

Alberto Gotta has done Hakuna Matata (9a) in Il Cubo, after projecting it for six sessions. Up until 2021, the 30-year-old had done three 8c+ and in 2022, he has already done six 8c+'s and three 9a's. "I'm very Happy about this one. It felt very hard during the first tries but try after try I figured out every move and finally, during the last possible run of the season, everything was perfect and I found myself on the top. One of my proudest achievements so far for sure." (c) Valerio Zenerino

What do you think has been the key to your recent progress?
I think that last year I understood how I personally could train as effectively as possible. Then during this season, I spent more time rock climbing so I had the opportunity to transform all the competition training into rock climbing achievements.

Can you tell us more about your training?
Understanding that I'm basically a weak climber (endurance is more my thing), I focused more on strength-oriented training, keeping the intensity as high as possible. Working all day, I don't have a lot of time for the sessions so this kind of training suits quite well with the available amount of time.

Rollin Grimmett has done Life of Villains (9a). The 30-year-old has only been climbing consistently for eight years and has mainly been climbing outdoors. "Wow, feels like a dream. I worked on basically only this route all of last winter, almost every weekend driving down from SLC. Lost count of how many attempts, but probably close to 80 tries over the past 2 years. So incredibly psyched."

Can you tell us more about your climbing background and the ascent?
I fell in love with the movement and problem solving nature of climbing, and from the beginning, I could tell I was naturally proficient. Efficient movement and even the subtle adjustments needed, all came intuitively. But I wasn't immediately very strong. When I first started climbing, I never imagined I'd send 8a, let alone 9a. I was barely climbing 7a outside. But I consistently improved because I was excited to try harder than what I thought I was capable of. I always wanted to be better, and I surrounded myself with friends who would push me. Each year since my first 8a I would project outside of my comfort zone, and each year I would send a new grade, culminating in my send of 9a with 'Life of Villains' last week. Consistently, I would devote whatever time and effort was required.

The key in sport climbing for me is to be as efficient as possible. I don't usually do much traditional training in the gym, I prefer to just climb. So often in the gym in between new sets, I would "train" by repeating hard boulders I had done before. I feel like that's a great way to learn efficiency in movement. I guess I've been pretty fortunate to avoid most injuries or issues that some climbers might experience when ramping up training too fast.

I first tried 'Life of Villains' (LoV) halfway through the Winter of 2020/21. It was my first full season in the Hurricave, and I had sent Peregrination and 86'd. I was feeling quite fit and was inspired by watching Dru Mack and others try LoV. All the moves on the route felt hard, but I could tell the route suited my style. It was crimpy and required excellent power endurance, my specialty. But I knew it was well above my ability at the time. I would fall over and over in the middle crux, and only once made it through before I fell shortly after.

A year later I returned for the winter 2021/22 season. LoV was my singular goal every weekend for almost 5 months. I was stronger this time but needed better endurance. I was steadily improving, falling higher and higher, even once on the last move. But I made a crucial mistake. I limited myself to only giving redpoint attempts. I started losing power, and began falling back at the earlier crux. By the time I course-corrected, the season came to a close, and it was too warm. Since then, this year has been one of immense growth for me. I chose climbing goals that would challenge me, I focused on routes that would train my power through the summer. I sent Supertweak (first American 8c) with pretty hot conditions in July, and also spent way more time bouldering in the gym to train. When I returned this season, LoV felt like an old friend. Like as if it hadn't been 7.5 months since my last try. But this time I felt way more solid. Everything felt smooth, exactly how you want it to feel. And 2 sessions in I was already falling near the end of the redpoint crux. Last weekend I fell twice in a row one move away from the jug at the lip, and I was pretty confident it would happen soon. I took two rest days (crucial for me on this route), returned Wednesday and immediately sent. I executed everything perfectly, it was so flowy it felt like I was on autopilot.

Sol Sa signs up to 8a by logging in Siurana. "It’s really big moves for me…, it’s like a boulder that was fun, fun."

The Korean has been a very active international competition climber since 2009. In 2018, she got the Combined silver World Championship. In 2020, she did This year, she participated in seven Boulder or Lead World Cups, and her worst result was #33. As a boulderer, she has done three 8A+, out of which in just six minutes in 2020.


What are your next plans?
I have two plans. My first goal is to win a prize in the Asian Games. However, it is possible to be selected as one of the top two athletes in the Korean national competition early next year. If I can’t be selected another goal of mine is to send an 8B+ boulder and an 8c+ route in 2023.

And if you will be selected?
I want to make it to the bouldering World Cup finals. I want to achieve good results in the 2023 Asian Games as well. When I compete in a competition as a national team, I cannot decide on my own when to go outdoors climbing. After the season is over, I plan to go bouldering to Bishop or Rocklands if I can.

Nico Pelorson has done the FA of Le Braille (9a) in La carriere. Although, it is located only a five min walk from the city centre of Grenoble, the route bolted Mathieu Cortès has been a project for 15 years.

Nico has also done the first repeat of Blaoum 8c (9a) in Baderne, which Pierre Duroché put up in 2007 as a 9a. The 25-year-old, who is very known for his hard personal downgradings, calls it 8c.

In the last two weeks, he has also done Forgotten Gem (8C) in Chironico, calling it 8B+, as well as Big Paw (8B+) and the FA of Les petites prises de la bastille (8B+).

Gio Placci, who did his first 9a+ three weeks ago, has done Trofeo dell'Adriatico (9a+) in Arco, after projecting it for only six days. "What a line !!!! With the kneebar it’s consistently easier, 9a+ low ends IMO. Gabri (Moroni) who made the FA did it without the kneebar rest and so the route was definitely way harder maybe 9a+\b."

What are your winter plans?
I’m training now for the season 2023 but I still have a ten days trip to Spain over the new year, where I would like to climb First Ley (9a+).

Anak Verhoeven is historically speaking one of the best female Lead competition climbers. She made finals in the WC 36 times in a row. In total, she made the podium 19 times, but in 2019 she stopped competing due to injuries. In the second half of 2021, she fully recovered but decided to focus only on rock climbing. During her comp years, she did a dozen routes 8c+ to 9a+, and over the last 16 months, she has done another eight routes 9a to 9a+. Her trainer has always been her father, who started climbing at age 31, and he is also the climber who she looks up to the most. Her mother was her coach at comps and most of Anak's trips have been done together with her family. They live in the northern part of Belgium almost one-hour drive from the same gym she has been training in since she was a child. Almost all of her training has been done by routinely repeating the hardest routes in that gym.

8a had the chance to talk with her after at the Leonidio Climbing Festival, where she made a guest appearance as one of the festival's headlining athletes.  

We've heard your dad is one of the climbers you look up to the most?
He can lovingly belay me for hours and without being able to train, he can still do 7c’s, although he's in his 60'ties. He has a very nice technique and I learn from him. But more importantly, I look up to him for the way he lives his life and I respect and love him for being my father and taking that role so seriously.

Have you thought about moving to a place where you can be closer to good rock climbing?
I am in the transition to becoming a full-time rock climber and at the moment I enjoy going on trips for some weeks. But sooner or later I will probably move outside of Belgium.

We heard you've been bolting new routes?
After the festival, I had the opportunity to bolt a 7c-route which I named Máthema. It was an amazing experience to learn new skills and open a line on Leonidio’s beautiful rock! I might bolt more in the near future because I enjoy it a lot.

What drives you to climb?
I like the challenges that come with climbing hard routes on rock and, I also like pushing myself. When I start projecting a route, the first question is always whether or not I will be able to do all the moves. That’s not easy to find out. I am not as strong as male climbers and usually shorter, so finding the solution to a certain sequence can be tough, especially when trying to do the first female ascent of a route. But at the same time, these uncertainties make the process interesting.

What are your thoughts on on-sighting?
I like on-sight climbing and I’ve on-sighted routes up to 8b+. But so far, my focus has always been on projecting routes during my climbing trips and not on on-sighting.

Have you thought about turning your attention towards a 9b+ redpoint?
That definitely sounds interesting. So far, I feel like I haven’t had that opportunity yet. Next year I would like to go to Flatanger for the first time.

Do you have the same competitiveness outdoors that you had in comps?
I surely still have the same mentality and seriousness as when I was competing, for example in the way I approach training and tackle my projects. But climbing outdoors is of course not a fight between climbers, but a very personal thing – a pushing of your own limits and a constant learning process.



What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses ?
My hips work best doing knee drops and I am not so good in frog position moves. Slopers and pinches are my favorite kinds of holds, but monos are absolutely not. During my competition years I trained a lot of endurance, so 50+ meter routes without big rests are my cup of tea. I have also always liked climbing on steep terrain and roofs, so I’m naturally drawn to these long, overhanging climbs. But I can appreciate more vertical climbing as well and I enjoy both powerful and delicate moves.