Leo Bøe Change (9b+) interview

Leo Bøe repeated Adam Ondra’s Change (9b+) last week, after a solid 45-minute fight. The Norwegian Lead Champion six times in the last seven years has made rapid progress since sending his first 9a in 2023 and last September, he completed Change P1 (9a+) as his first 9a+. ”My heart goes out to Johanna Jupin for the countless belays and hours of believing in me when I doubted myself. None of this would have happened without you 🤍🫀. (c) Doug McConnell

How was your first experience with Change and how many sessions have you put in, in total? Any special training indoors?
The moves suited me so well in the first pitch and it seemed I dicovered a new beta that nobody else has been doing. It involves grabbing the arete to your right and it gives you a strong compression to release the kneebar in the crux. Back then the season was ending and I wasn’t really expecting to climb any more routes.

I have lost count of the amount of session, but in total I spent around 2,5 months on the route alone. I didn’t do any specific training for the route, I just went straight to trying it over and over.

What was it in the end that made the trick?
The trick to sending was a combination of many things, but having the right mindset was crucial. I got to a point where I was tired mentally after so many days on the route. It was even hard to walk up to the cave, but a change of mindset helped alot. I started focusing on the battle and not the result. I decided to be happy with my performance as long as I tried my hardest. I was able to just focus on the moves and trying hard and it got me all the way to the top.

How much differ the beta compared to Ondra’s original beta?
The beta I used, and perhaps everyone else have used since Adams ascent is very different. He didn’t use kneepads and almost didn’t place any kneebars at all. The first boulderproblem has a right kneebar that takes alot of load of your upper body, but the hard part comes when you have to release the kneebar. He graded the boulder 8B+ and nowadays it’s more around 8A+. I believe the 2nd pitch had some improvements with kneepads, but not as major as the start.

How do you mentally prepare for an attempt and what goes through your mind up there in up-side-down land?
It’s a tough route mentally cause you have many good rests where you get the time to think alot. You start thinking about how you’re feeling compared to previous tries, and how the conditions are feeling, etc. I just tried my best to shut negative thoughts out and boost my confidence by giving myself positive affirmations. It was also very boosting metnally to have someone I trusted, consistently belay and cheer for me throughout. I can’t thank my girlfriend Johanna enough for the support and it was an incredible feeling to reach the top as a team. I am proud of my climbing and also very relieved to have done Change before the season ended!