Alex Garriga has done two 9a's in Cuenca, the FA of El intento deseado and Leire. In the 8a ranking game, the 20-year-old is #5. (c) Alfonso Martínez "El intento deseado is a combination between El intento and La deseada, 70 moves of endurance. Leire was a mental Battle. I fell too many times in the top if the route.

Lorenzo Bogliacino skips 8c+ and does his first 9a, La Terza Eta in Camaiore., after 12 days of projecting. "I started climbing again in May after a five months break since I found a new job. Most of the summer I climbed in my home crag (Pian Bernardo) and started to feel in shape again. After quickly repeating some hard lines in a new crag bolted by Matteo Gambaro called CPR, I decided to try something harder to test myself. Surprisingly I did all the moves of la Terza Età on my first day on it. Then I started a ten days siege that ended with me clipping the most dreamed chain of my life. It is not the first time I stop climbing for 4/6 months but when I started again in may I was really motivated and climbed as much as I possibly could. I am working shifts so I am able to climb outdoor or train on the campus board also during the week. Even if it is a bit tiring I think it paid off! It requires some patience since often I am not able to climb with my friends during the weekend. My feeling was that the 8c I did a couple of months ago could deserve a + but not being sure I did not propose an upgrade... in any case, it was a good step towards my first 9a. Also, I think that the route suits my strengths very well. It is fingery and resistant and requires a good dose of fighting.

Davide Picco has done Under Vibes 9a (+) in Arco and the day after he did L'Ultima Reini 8c+. (c) Luca Rigo "Long story short: My girlfriend is trying a project in that crag so I needed to find something for myself to optimize time. Having clipped the chain of every logical line I started connecting the routes that I loved the most. The route puts together the first crux of Underground with Reini's vibes (all of it). It is a tiring mix of power and endurance with more than a hundred moves."

Alessandro Larcher, who just turned 20, skips 8c+ and does his first 9a, Thunder Ribes in Arco. (c) Giampaolo Calzà "I wanted to try a hard route near my home and Thunder Ribes seemed the right one. I gave it two tries in June but it was too hot so I decided to leave it for Sendtember or Rocktober. Yesterday after 14 tries in total I was able to clip the chain! Incredible emotions and happiness were condensed in a big scream that summed up my first 6 years of climbing!"

Isabelle Faus reports on Insta that Dave Graham has done Daniel Woods' Hypnotized Minds in RMNP after projecting it for eight years. It was originally suggested as 8C but later Woods said that it should be upgraded to better reflect the difficulties in comparison to standard 8C's. Graham has been one of the leading climbers for the last twenty years and it is great to see him taking down his nemesis and still progress being almost 38 years old.

Reme Arenas, who did her first 8b+ this spring, has done her first 8c, Florida in Rodellar. (c) Javi Pec "I decided to try this route because aesthetically it is very striking, and it was a challenge for me, why not try? It has been a long process since I have combined it with work and with poor conditions. I already thought that I would have to leave it for next season, it happened. Very happy about that, but especially for all the valuable lessons on the road and the people I've had nearby. Now to enjoy the easier climbing... until new challenges appear.

Shawn Raboutou, who previously has done two 8C+', reports on Insta that he has done the second repeat of Nalle Hukkataival's Livin' Large in Rocklands, calling it 8C+. Nalle did the FA of the eight-meter highball, with the crux in the end, in 2009 saying it was his hardest ever, graded it 8C, having projected it for 12 days. Four years ago, Jimmy Webb did the first repeat and confirming 8C after worked it for more than ten days, also saying it was his hardest ever by far. It should be mentioned that both Nalle and Jimmy are known for their hard gradings and also that back then we had some boulder grade devaluation so Shawn just might be spot on.