Camilla Moroni, who previously the last five weeks has done four 8A+, has sent Heritage (8B+) in Valle Bavona, calling it 8B. Video on her Insta. “I'm really happy to have finished my main winter projects with Heritage, my best achievement on rock so far. It took me three sessions this season and one the last year”.

The last week, the silver medalist in the World Championship in 2021, did Kings of Sonlerto 8A+ (B) in Valle Bavona and Second Life (8A+) in Chironico. "Finally the temperatures have dropped and there are good conditions to try hard stuff. I have tried King of Sonlerto two weeks ago and it seemed really hard, but two days ago whit the right conditions it felt much easier than the previous session. Regarding Second Life I think it is absolutely a soft 8A+."

So what is next? The winter season has just started?
I don't have other projects because now I start training for the next season. Probably I will climb on rock a few more weekends.

Ryuichi Murai, who previously has done three 8C+ FAs, has made the second ascent of Shinichiro Nomura’s Gakido (8C+) in Chigobutai. Two weeks ago, he did one more second ascent of a Nomura FA, Loca (8C) in Shiobara. (c) Momoka Oda

"The other day, I succeeded in one of my main objectives for this season. This line is an old project completed by Nomsin in March of this year and consists of only 4 moves. Moreover, the actual difficulty is concentrated in the second move (aiming for the next hold while fully locking the body in an unstable state).

This day was the third day of trying, and the temperature was cooler than when I tried for two days the last year, so the conditions were perfect. Thanks to that, I was able to grab the pinch hold in a hard direction in a stable state, and I continued to make a lot of close tries. After several adjustments to the trajectory of the move, I finally succeeded in the second move and was able to send it. As for the grade, it's difficult to evaluate because it's very short, but I feel it's easier than the V16s I've climbed so far."

Could you say something about the potential low start?
The low-start project joins Gakido after four crimpy moves like 8B (V13). The most difficult part was reaching the start position of Gakido, and unfortunately, I couldn't do it on this day. Connecting from below will increase the difficulty of Gakido greatly.

Théo Blass (12) has onsighted Bords de lèvres (8a+) in . What’s interesting is that the 147 cm tall climber did not know the grade of the climb and placed all quickdraws. The 12-year-old thought it was 8a+ and the next day they found out that it was actually 8b in the topo. Two months ago, he became the youngest climber ever to have done a 9a. (c) Laurent Dormont


We asked his father Vlad to give some comments about the onsight and about how Théo trains.

”The onsight took about 10 minutes. Theo later joked that onsighting is so much less work than working on a hard red point. The route is a crimpy power endurance line with no rest in the hard section and no going back if you start a sequence wrong.

Theo's training is not particularly structured - during school holidays he does not train and only climbs outside. During school time he trains a couple of times a week (once at our small basement wall and once with his club - generally 1 to 2 hours per session) and he climbs outside on weekends (rarely more than 4-5 routes per session). Before competitions he trains a bit more specifically on our Flathold volumes - we try to simulate comp style problems on our tiny home "comp" wall in the garden.

Theo is currently trying to climb as many routes in the 8th grade as possible, looking to do them quickly and to vary the styles - he tries to do an 8th on each outdoor climbing day (within the limits of what is available at our local crags and nearby as we don't like travelling too far). The idea is to improve his risk-taking (not literally - his personality is quite risk-averse), quick decision making and flow, and to have more fun (not always easy when you are working on a longer term project). He also tries to do more onsights but the onsighting opportunities in our local area are a bit limited (the routes are often quite "sequency" and run-out).“

Solveig Korherr, who last year did her first 9a, has done Solitary Man (8c) in Frankenjura. “Power-endurance testpiece. Sick move to the mono! Good day outside with Romy, Jon & Floyd today. 6 tries.” (c) Jon Shen

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Clément Lechaptois, who previously has done six 8C's, has done Fuck the system (8C+) in Fionnay. "Old vision from Dave, FA by Shawn. Amazing problem, crazy holds set & movements. Every minute trying that boulder was fun! (c) Robin Janvier

How many sessions did it take to set a PB and what about replica?
I probably tried between 15 and 20 days but some of them when the boulder was partially wet or in bad conditions. I started to try when Shawn (Raboutou FA) was projecting then continued to end of fall 21. Came back some days in spring but it was wet most of the time. This fall I came back and progressed day by day as the conditions improved and I get stronger after practicing the moves & sequences. That was an amazing process !!

I didn't try on a replica. It is relatively close to home (~2h drive) so I was able to try for real pretty easily. But I trained my body tension & power quite specifically on steep boards & on my SmartBoard to get ready at fall temps.

Last week the 29-year-old did The Kingdom (8C), calling it 8B+. ”I tried it a couple of quick sessions two years ago. First day this year.” Fanatic Climbing has made an interview.

The hot and sunny weather continued on the second day of the Leonidio Climbing Festival and 54 cars were parked by Sabaton, one of the few crags with shade the whole day. Alternatively, you could make an afternoon session in Montañejos Climbing Garden with a 1-minute approach, and be the only car at the parking. Aire Parani won the Vertical-Life climbing marathon by doing 15 routes in sector Theos.

In the evening, Anak Verhoeven and Nils Favre had a presentation, followed by an outdoor party with a lot of dancing. Anak has won several World Cups and done 16 routes 8c+/9a and harder, although having focused only on rock climbing for two years! (Interview with the “competitive” outdoor climber who has not booked her flight back yet, soon to be presented.)

Nils, on the other side, was a “lifestyle” climber as a youngster until some friends discovered his talent and he went from 6c to 8b in a couple of months. Later he got the silver in the Swiss Championship in his very first comp and started doing WC’s at age 23. Now, seven years later he is one of the oldest competitors and last year he got the silver in a Euro Cup. Even so, his ticklist outdoors is even more impressive and he does all disciplines.

On the last day it was raining in the morning and Aris T and Claude I moved their bolting workshop indoors and 50 climbers showed up for their more than two-hour presentation. Asking how much more potential there is to be found, they said more routes in the shade will be opened and also very close to the sea in Kyparissi.

Aris: “However, there are enough routes and our focus is to increase the quality and safety by cleaning and rebolting bad bolts, etc. Just send me a message about what needs to be fixed :)”

Enrique Beltrán Blasco, who did his first 8b just three years ago, has done the FA of A star is born (9a) in Foz de Zafrané.

”The first time that I tried the route was in april after the send of Supernowa (9a). A star is born is totally my style: campus, dynamik and powerfull but the heat came in summer and I left it. In september there are a lot of motivation in this sector because Daniel Fuertes did his project Excelsior (9a+) and I did good links but I needed to wait for good conditions for the send.”

What is the background of the name?
Dani got the news that he was going to be a father, for the second time, the day that he finished bolting the line.

Jonathan Siegrist has repeated Tommy Caldwell’s testpiece from 2003, Flex Luthor (9a+) in The Fortress of Solitude. Last year, it got its first two repeats and 9b was suggested.

”Very cool to revisit this crag after 12 years! TC is forever a massive inspiration for me - I didn't realize how important it would feel to climb on this route. Went fully A Muerte after getting through the bottom crux for the first time. On the grade, for me personally, the route does not compare to the 9b I have done or tried - that being said it is still one of the hardest in Colorado for sure.”

The 37-year-old is having his best year ever having done eleven routes 9a to 9b and in total, he has now done 68 such graded climbs. On that 9a list, he is #7 in the All-Time High list and in the 8a ranking game, he is #2 after Adam Ondra.

Andrea Chelleris has done in Arco. Last year, at age 12, he did Puro Dreaming (8c+/9a) and this year he needed eight more days to do the full link-up. In 2021, he also onsighted his first 8a+.

What is next?
I want to onsight an 8b and to find a new project in Arco.

Have you been close to an 8b OS?
Yes, two times, but I no longer had the opportunity to climb onsight because I started skiing and I preferred to send the routes that I tried in September.

How long do you travel for skiing and climbing and which sport do you like the most?
Ski from 2.5 to 5 hours, depending on the glacier. I climb in Arco and sometimes in Misja pec so from 2 hours to 5 hours. I like both and for now, I practice them alternatively so I can prepare for competitions. This summer I was able to climb a lot because the glaciers were closed due to lack of snow and maybe I feel less fit in skiing.

How much do you normally climb/ski nowadays and during the winter?
I ski every weekend and I climb the other days of the week. During the winter, I only ski but this year I'm doing online schooling so maybe I have time to climb.