Eneko Carretero flashes White Zombie (8c)

Eneko Carretero, with five 8c’s under his belt, has flashed White Zombie (8c) in Baltzola. The 23-year-old did his first 8c at age 15 and during the last year he has flashed his first 8b+ and onsighted his first 8b as well as redpointed three 8c’.

How did you prepare for the flash?
The day before I saw some videos with different betas and I choose the best betas for me. And before trying the route I saw a guy trying the route so I could see all the right footholds.

Did you get any running beta and were you in control all the way?
No! I asked them please not to tell me anything while I was climbing because otherwise I get nervous hahaha. I was feeling really confident and strong and I controlled the nerves all the way.

Can you tell us more about your climbing background?
From the age of 15 until this last year I put the rock aside a bit. I’ve been competing during all this years.

What was your best comp results?
When I was 16 I finished 2nd in the World Youth championship in Moscow 2018 in bouldering. In senior/open categories I won the Spanish championships in boulder and lead in 2021 and last year again in boulder.

What are the benefits you can take from your comp background?
I think the most notorious is the physical strength. Also the rhythm on the routes. The knowledge about how long time I need to rest before any sections, the speed during the hard cruxs etc. I think that the onsight and flash climbing is stronger coming from comps.

How does a normal climbing week look like?
So I work from monday to wednesday in two gym routesetting, and after work I use to have short training and then I rest one or two days to climb outdoors the weekend.