JoeDan 9a by Leo Bøe

Leo Bøe, who did three 8c+' and flashed Janus (8c) in 2022, has done JoeDan 9a in Santa Linya. "My first in the grade. Awesome and powerful climbing down low, then endurance to the top! Felt a lot harder than Fabela (8c+) which I also think is hard for the grade. Super happy with this one!!"

Could you tell us more about the ascent?
Last year the goal was sending a 9a, but it didn’t happen as I lacked a lot of endurance. I had to take a large step back and work 8c’s and 8c+’s and regain some more confidence and fitness. And now since I moved to Santa Linya I could relax and not rush for the grade. Instead, I did a lot of 8c-8c+ and took my time finding a project that I was properly psyched on. I started trying Open Your Mind, but this one felt really hard and condition dependent, so I left it for later. Then I tried Fuck The System, but this one was always wet… Some weeks later I saw my friend Pol Ortiz try JoeDan which got me psyched to tag along. The moves in the bouldery section down low felt hard, but they suited my style a lot.

This was an ideal project since I had already done Fabela 8c+ which shares the same bouldery ending. After 4-5 sessions I was able to pass the boulder down low and fell at the crux in Fabela. It felt way harder with pumped forearms from the JoeDan start, but today everything clicked. It felt awesome to clip the chains and it must have been my most emotional moment in climbing and maybe life as well! 🥳😁 I totally fell in love with the place and the lifestyle and I’ll stay in Santa Linya for 3-4 more months or so. Let’s see what else I can do during my time here! 👊