Leo Bøe completes Estado Critico (9a)

Leo Bøe, who did three 8c+'s last month in Oliana, has sent Estado critico (9a) in Siurana. (c) Esteban Lahoz

"In 2019 I saw my friend, Lucas Marques, climb Estado Critico as his first 9a. He motivated me to try the moves, but at that time they felt hard and impossible to link. I’ve wanted to revisit the route through the years to check in on my progress and now I finally had the chance. This time, the moves felt far within reach and already on day two I was falling at the end. The final move was the redpoint crux for me and I fell there in the following sessions. The ending is super techy and you’re going from thumb press to thumb press while sitting on a heel. It was incredibly rewarding to finally latch the final pocket/jug and send the route that gave me so much trouble five years ago! Perhaps soft for the grade, but harder than all the 8c+’s I’ve done."

How long have you stayed in the area and what is next on your agenda?
Next, I will sample the moves in La Rambla. My dream for this year is to find a 9a+ project that gets me psyched to fight hard. I have been here for two months and I’ll be staying 2-3 months longer in Spain! Let’s see what comes next!