Andrea Kümin ticks Tuataket (8B)

Andrea Kümin, currently on a year-long road trip, has just sent Tuataket (8B) in Sirevåg. So far on her trip, she’s logged around 20 problems graded 8A or 8A+. Three years ago, she claimed a 3rd place finish in a Boulder World Cup—and this June, she’s set to return to the competition scene for three World Cups.

Can you share more about this ascent and what it means to set a new personal best?
The goal of bouldering 8B (or harder🙃) had been on my mind for a while💭 but I had never actively pursued it. My priority has mostly been climbing as many different lines as possible: Challenges that pushed me, but that I could still send relatively quickly. I‘m really excited that it worked out now during our trip! And since Tuataket went relatively quickly too, I’m curious to find out what else might be possible. But all in good time – I’ll discover it at my own pace😌

There were times in my life when everything revolved around performance. Training, nutrition, sleep, regeneration etc. I tried to optimize everything in order to climb as hard as possible. Tuataket showed me, that this is not the only way to climb at my best. I can climb well without optimizing everything and by taking a more relaxed approach. I can trust my body, trust the process, and still grow stronger🌸

We’ve now been living in the van for over half a year. I was on plastic two or three times and didn’t do any training at all. Just rock climbing. Sometimes two days on, then one day off and sometimes one on one off. @david_firnenburg has always been convinced that climbing outside would make him strong and I‘m happy it works out well for me too on our roadtrip! Our secret? It’s excitement! When we do what truly excites us, we’re able to put in so much more energy. And it‘s double the fun when we share it together!🧗‍♀️ Excited for the journey ahead!🚐👫

How will you prepare for the World Cups being on a roadtrip?
This season, I’m going to approach competitions a bit differently and won’t be preparing specifically on plastic. I want to fully enjoy our road trip and focus on rock climbing without putting pressure on myself when it comes to comps this season. So I’ll approach the competitions with a relaxed mindset and just have fun.

You don’t get out of shape climbing on real rock, and you don’t lose your technique either. During a session on plastic back in January, I noticed that after so many years of competition experience, I don’t lose my feeling for coordination and slab climbing that quickly.

The Swiss Championships take place one week before my first World Cup and will be a good way to get back into competition mode. I’m already qualified for the World Cups based on my 2024 results anyway. And in comps, there are so many factors that come into play — so why not give it a try? I’ll just see how it goes — never try, never know…