On the 9th of November 2022 the regional council in Karlsruhe, Germany announced that the crag ‘Badener Wand’ at the ‘Battertfels’ close to Baden-Baden will be closed completely for climbing starting from January 1st, 2023.

The crags around the ‘Battertfels’ are one of the most important crags in Baden-Württemberg and have a climbing history of more than 130 years. The main face has more than 60 routes and is exceptionally tall for this region. This allows the locals to climb more alpine style multi pitches, without travelling to the Alps. In view of the current climate crisis, this is an important aspect to consider.

The DAV (German Alpine Association) developed together with local volunteers a concept to balance the needs of the climbers and the protection of the breeding grounds of the peregrine falcon. In the past, the solution was a temporary closure of the wall in spring and summer and the possibility to climb in fall. This concept was even verified by a ornithological report commissioned by the local authorities. Yet, the local authorities did not agree on any compromise with the local climbers!

A petition was started to save the Badener Wand for the next generation of climbers, while giving the falcon a quiet place to breed. The suggested compromise in the petition is a seasonal closure during breeding periods (spring and summer) and open for climbing in fall and winter. Please help and sign it and join the demonstration on 27th of November in Baden Baden.

Sera Gearhardt has done in Fontainebleau, which is 8B in the topo. “Last day best day for me! Screaming, shaking, crying, etc. Consensus that I've heard is 8A+ and that seems right to me. Beyond psyched rn :')”

During three weeks in Fontainebleau, the 25-year-old, who previously has done three 8A+ In 2022, also sent Conviction (8A) and .

Can you tell us more about your latest 8A+ ascent?
Psyched to have had luck with the weather to finish this one off! Our last few days in font were projected to have 100% chance of rain all day, so I'd written off being able to do this one this trip. Luckily, that was not the case and we were able to sneak in a last day best day session! I put a lot of pressure on myself when I realized that I'd have a chance to try again. For a few hours I wasn't climbing well because of my expectations, but once I let go of the outcome it went much more easily :)

Niki Rusev, who did his first two 9a's in 2020, has done Falshiv geroy (9a) in . Last year, the 16-year-old won both the World and the Euro Championships in Boulder. Impressively, he also won one Euro Youth Cup in Speed.

”Can not describe how happy I am about this one😌. Back in 2020 @fazabrushes bolted a new line in the crag and it seemed to be a hard one💪. We did all the moves but for me, it was crazy to connect all the parts together 😲. The bad thing is that the route gets wet easily so we couldn’t improve more💦😩. Last month Ivailo fazata did FA 🫡. (Surprisingly fast he got back in shape after being a Bg national team coach the whole comp season).

For me it took me a month and a half to send Falshiv geroy (translated - Fake hero)👀. Every next try was better than the other until I stuck on the last hard move of the route, maybe because I underestimated it. I did try a lot of things like doing leg days in the fitness🦵(to rest more with my knees) or just training endurance in the gym but the final conclusion is I got better when I was on the route🤝. After another fail, I decided to change my beta by skipping one move and making a bigger jump and it helped🤔🤠🔥. I don’t know when but we have to go back to try the second part of Falshiv geroy. It continues directly through the roof of the cave and finishes on top of it🤯.

Matt Fultz, who previously has done five 8C+’, has done Moonlight Sonata (8C+) in Gallery. Taylor McNeill made the FA last year and there is a sit start project. (c) Insta

Could you say something about the ascent?
Moonlight Sonata is a very unique boulder FA’d by Taylor McNeil last year. On my first day, I did each individual move very quickly, flashing all but one of the moves. I expected it would be a fast send for me, but that ended up not being the case. The big surprise was that all the hand moves weren’t too bad, but the foot moves and transitions posed some serious problems. In the end, it took about 12 sessions in all. Half of those last Spring and the other half this Fall.

Are you doing any supplementary training?
I train flexibility through strength training. Squats, deadlifts, overhead press, and bench press are my main staples.

Michele Reusa has done Noia (8c+) in Andonno. "Noia is the first 8c+ in Italy, freed by Severino Scassa in 1993. The route is made up of the first part of an 8b+ (Noi) plus a traverse and the last part of 8b (Cobra). I did it after some five sessions plus attempts also on Noi."

Michele's younger brother Matteo and their father Iuri both climbed 8c+ last year at age 13 and 47 respectively. "This year was a year full of competitions and we did not climb so much outdoors. Matteo did one 8c. My father injured his knee this January and hasn't climbed that much afterward."

The Climbing for a Reason organization led by Chilean climber Lucho Birkner and documentary filmmaker Mateo Barrenengoa has managed to conclude a new project in Musoma, Tanzania. As usual, the organization, which chooses an annual international destination, this time traveled to the African country, together with the climber and volunteer Javiera Ayala, to work directly with the Jipe Moyo Center Orphanage, which is located just steps from thousands of rocks of granite never climbed before and that houses more than 60 children of different ages who, for different reasons, were left homeless at an early age.

The idea of CFR is clear, to turn local people into climbers of their own rocks and give them the opportunity to appreciate and take advantage of the environment in which they live. Thus, for two and a half months the organization managed to:

- The construction of an artificial wall for the orphanage.
- Bouldering, sport climbing and yoga workshops (every day during that period).

-Donation of the necessary material for these activities.
- Opening of 15 sports climbing routes (grades between 6a+ and 8c, spare grades)
- Opening of more than 200 boulders of different difficulties. (V1 up to hard projects)
- Donation of 60 bed mattresses and 60 sets of sheets thanks to donations from the international climbing community.
-Allow self-sufficient climbers to climb their own rocks.
- Train two children to carry out climbing workshops on the artificial wall (children who remain with a paid job)
- Creation of a network for volunteers who want to climb and teach at the Orphanage.

"As an organization we are really happy with the result in Musoma, the children are really fanatic, they are climbing to a very high level and are able to visualize and continue opening their own lines. It has been beautiful to see how they have embraced climbing and climbing has embraced them. In addition to seeing it as an economic opportunity for tourism, they clearly see it as an opportunity for healthy living and in connection with their environment, which is very important to us."

Jipe Moyo Center is an orphanage in Musoma, Tanzania that from now on houses the first community of climbers in the country and offers a destination to arrive in this paradise that will undoubtedly give much to talk about in the future, as the potential is infinite and the quality of the unmatched rock. The children of the orphanage and the center itself will be happy to receive climbers who want to volunteer to teach more to the children and those who want to continue developing the area. It should be noted that the place is a dream because in addition to having very good temperatures, it has the famous Lake Victoria at its feet, it is quite cheap and it is very close to the Serengeti National Park, so on rest days, you have to entertain you enough. Climbing for a Reason will be in charge of clarifying any questions and logistical help so that you arrive at your destination without problems, so you can write directly to the IG @climbingforareason.

Practical information:
To get there you must travel to Dar es Salam and take a 20-hour bus or a 2-hour plane to Mwanza. There is also an airport in MUSOMA, so you could go direct. If you arrive in Mwanza, the bus to MUSOMA takes approximately 3 hours. You can also rent a car in Mwanza that will come in quite handy to go from climbing area to area, because although you can stay alone in one and it would be enough, it is full of different sectors that are far from each other. Already in Musoma, you have many accommodation options but we recommend you contact the Orphanage beforehand and offer your support, because if you come for them, the support they will give you will be priceless.

Gonzalo Larrocha has repeated Ali Hulk sit start extension total (9a+) in , giving it a personal 9a+ grade. "I use two kneepads, and that's why I think it is easier than the version that Andrada made. There is also a new hold on the last part of the boulder where you can cross instead of taking three small holds. Please add thanks to Dave, Alizee, Pol, Andrada, Silvia and Blakpad. Without them, none of this would be possible."

The hybrid route starts with a boulder that Gonzalo was trying for five days. The day before the send he did, Ali Hulk Extension Total (9a+), which is the standing start. Gonzalo has previously sugggested some personal downgrades of other hard core routes. The 38-year-old also spent a lot of time shovelling dirt to raise the soil (40+ cm) so that the falls would be better. In total, this was the tenth sit start ascent, including Dani Andrada's, a bit shorter, FA, meaning it is the most repeated 9b in the world.

Eric Jerome, who previously has done seven 8B+', has done the third ascent of James Webb’s The Multiverse 8C. It was put up in 2014 as an 8B+ but later 8C has been suggested by the two repeaters as well as others who have tried it. "8 days this season and one terrible solo sesh a few years ago. So insanely scrumptious this one!!!"

Could you say something about your ascent?
I first tried Multiverse in Oct. 2020 but at the time I couldn’t convince anyone to go with me, and I didn’t have enough pads to climb on it safely. Additionally, there are tons of options for beta, so it’s really helpful to have people to work with. This year Taylor McNeill was finally finished his Joe’s project and was motivated for Multiverse. He started trying it the previous spring. I was pretty exhausted after having spent a few weeks finishing a project of mine in the Tetons, but I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to try with him. We stayed in an Airbnb nearby for a week and had 3/4 sessions that week.

Taylor sent it and I made some good links. I took a couple of weeks to train in the gym and recover from the Tetons and returned with Isabel Faus for another few days of attempts and got two big overlaps. We thought the season was over and it would be too cold for the long problem, but we miraculously got one more day of great weather. I drove out to meet Daniel Woods, Isabel Faus, Arjan De Kock, and Davin Bagdonas who had found the boulder. Fortunately, I was able to take it down that day before the winter weather rolled in.

Daniel Woods reports on Insta that he did the fourth ascents also confirming the upgrade.

Nolwen Berthier has made the third female onsight, after Katie Brown and Sasha Digulian, of Omaha Beach (8b+) in Red River Gorge (KY). "With feet everywhere and thousands of crimps, I have to admit that the climbing in RRG suits me well. The Motherload sector and its “Madness Cave” is one of the longest and steepest in the valley, which reminded me of my beginnings in climbing and the hours of training spent in the 45° overhang of M’Roc (a gym in France). On my first visit, I did my first 8a+ on sight: “The Madness”! And its left neighbour “Omaha Beach” was calling me." (c) Pete Whittaker

Full interview on Fanatic Climbing.