Angie Scarth-Johnson who just did the FFA of Victimas Perez (9a) in Margalef reports on Insta about chipping on that route as well as on . "The truth is , though never mentioned by anyone before, this has been something that’s been happening for years along the Finestra wall and its top end routes and I’m curious as to why things have never been said before Though I’ve Never had a personal experience with this until now , I have heard of these situtions amongst locals before."

So during the two seasons of projecting it was just lately you found two changes which did not change the difficulty? Then later after your send, during the last few days, some guys have found another changes that make the route easier?
No, the route has not been made easier by any means. Though slight modifications to the holds forced me to re-refine my betas the modifications when I last tried it were very minimal. Though now people are speaking of new changes after I left Margalef.

During the second half of May, we reported about four boulders 8A+ to 8B+ in Magic Wood sent by Michalea Kiersch. Now, 155 cm tall with some 7+ cm apeindex, has done five more 8A to 8 B;

Pura Vida (8A+), Never ending story 1 (8A+), Electroboogie (8A+), Foxy Lady (8A) and One summer in paradise (8B). (c) Nina Williams

Which one did you send the fastest and which one was the most beautiful?
Pura vida was one session. Electroboogie was two sessions to find beta that worked for me and also the most beautiful boulder.

What are your next plans?
One more week here and then back to SLC and maybe some Colorado bouldering!

Just prior to leaving for Europe Michaela did her first 8B/+ and her eighth 8c+. Including also a 9a last fall, she has one of the most impressive female ticklist out there, the last year. Michaela's answer last week about how come she is peaking now is even more applicable.

"I’ve always had a lot of support for my climbing. Community, friends, and family have been the foundation of my climbing for years. I climb my best when I am happy, and I feel that I’m at a time in my life where everything has fallen into place. Finishing graduate school is one of my greatest accomplishments to date. I think it gave me confidence and momentum that has carried into my recent projects. I haven’t changed much of my training routine other than having a little more time than before. I think it can be intimidating to try hard boulders. Maybe the difference is that now I’m up to the challenge and have been putting time into figuring out my limits within bouldering."

Matjaz Zorko has done Klemen Becan's in Osp - Banje in Babna. "Very nice, took me about 20 tries. For me easier than Halupca (9a). I guess climbing on tufas in big caves really suits me. I didn’t spend much time in Osp since I climbed Halupca, also because in spring I wanted to finish multipitch Spomin in Paklenica. I can say that Waterworld is more my style than Halupca because it's more about endurance and not that bouldery." Halupca was his first 9a which the 29-yer-old did in January.

How can you explain being a late bloomer?
In the last few years I managed to organize my life and work so that I can climb more outside. Also I feel the mindset is here and that is the key 😊.

What are your summer plans?
Well now in summer we are planning to go back to Bosnia with my girlfriend. Because there seems to be a lot of potential to develop new climbing areas with hard routes, but lets see what happens in the summer. For sure it will be full of climbing.

A Swedish climber found a good kneebar in the off-width crack Tabu 6c in Bohuslän. The problem was that he got stuck and could not get out. The rescue team had to break the granite by first drilling holes. After six hours he got out from his no-hands rest position and is all good.

Angie Scarth-Johnson, who did her first 8c+ at age 12,has done the first female ascent of Victimas Perez (9a) in Margalef. (c) Jorge Diaz-Rullo

How many sessions did it take and how many times did you fall on the last move?
I didn’t count but I tried it from last season so 2 seasons! I’d say it was around 50 sessions but this season the conditions were so bad that some days I barley climbed. I fell at the top many times hahahah, I lost count, maybe 15.

What was it in the end that made the trick?
I guess just persistence gave me the send.😊 I'm super happy to have achieved the first female ascent. 😊

Did you do any specific physical or replica training?
I was doing replica and endurance training indoors and then I’d also do laps on the last crux when I was projecting it.

The Australian has been a life style globetrotter since age 9 when she did her first 8b. "I started climbing when I was 7 years old, not long after I began climbing outside in the local crags after school with my dad. When I started climbing, competitions weren’t really a massive thing and I wasn't really interested in it anyways. I enjoy the challenges that came with climbing rocks and the process of projecting. When I was 9 years old my parents planned our first overseas family trip to the United States. By this point, I was totally in love with climbing and it was mostly all I thought about. My parents suggested we could maybe stop by and visit some outdoor crags in the states to try out the climbing in another country. This was extremely exciting for me, with Australia being pretty far from the rest of the world, climbing in another country was a big deal."

Allison Vest, who previously in 2022 has done her first 8B+, has sent two 8A's and she is #2 in the female ranking game.

in Joe's Valley (UT); "Took longer than it should have cause I fell on the upper cross a couple times and lost the will to crimp for a second. Climb so nice."

Red Feather in Big Cottonwood Canyon (UT); "Super cool new one up big cottonwood with super unique and finicky edges from Odin. Always psyched to check out new boulders that haven’t had much traffic yet."

Jules Marchaland has done Kick Ass (9a) in Gorges du Loup. Two weeks ago, the 20-year-old did his first 9a.

"Kick Ass is a very bouldery route with just 22 moves on a 70/75° wall! There is a 5-meter approach around 8a, with a small boulder. Then you have nine very hard moves with pinches and small crimps, finishing with a big jump. The route took me just two sessions (5 tries) but I also tried it 2/3 years ago! On the first try of my second session, I fell at the last movement, which was totally unexpected. After that, I knew that I could succeed quickly and I did on the fourth try of the session." (c) Matthieu Marin

What is next?
Kinematix! I fell five moves from the top two days ago.

I often see and hear belayers telling their not so strong partner to unclip quickdraws way too early while top roping. If this is done on a straight-up vertical route this is of course not a problem and the quickdraws could actually be unclipped by the more experienced climber who put up the top rope.

The problem relates to overhanging or diagonal routes and sequences. As soon as the quickdraw has been unclipped, even the slightest tight rope will drag the climber out or sideways from the position the climber has. And as soon as the climber falls, it just might be hard to get back again and there could be an uncomfortable or even dangerous fall to the side.

Personally, once I see my partner trying to unclip, I almost always tell them not to until they have the quick draw by their hip. I almost always top rope and actually the best thing to do, I think, is to unclip the whole quickdraw from the bolt. By doing so you can wait until it is by your thighs, which makes the process much faster than unclipping the rope from the draw once in a hard sequence.