Eva Hammelmüller does the 8c+’ La Morenita and Joe Blau

Eva Hammelmüller, who last week sent both 9a and 8c+, has done another two 8c+’ in Oliana. The 24-year-old Austrian is the new #1 in the VL ranking game. (c) Felix Mast

La Morenita (8c+) - ” Really psyched about this line! It’s all about not getting pumped in Morrancita and having enough energy left to do a hard foot swap followed by a shoulder move. Mentally not easy, as you get a lot of time (40m to be more precise :D) to think about the crux. Soft for the grade.


Joe Blau (8c+) ”This route is SO GOOD. The lower part is a nice power endurance bloc, and the upper part is all about hanging on to amazing pockets in the beautiful gray streak. Climbed it after the rain and the last slab was a bit wet, which really strained my nerves... So happy I managed to keep it together!! 2 sessions.”

The latter one she did on her eigth straight climbing day in a row, when she also sent Crimptonite (8b+) on her first try.

How does it feel to be in the best shape of your life?
Climbing is just so much fun right now! We meet so many nice people, have a great time at the crag, and I really enjoy every single route. As the time window in which you can do good attempts is pretty short right now (especially on sunny days), I can’t climb many routes per day; however, the positive thing about this is that I don’t destroy myself completely, so I feel well rested the next day. Every time I go to bed, I am already looking forward to the next day of climbing! Unfortunately, our trip is about to end, but I am also very psyched for training sessions in the gym again!!