Maya Ene, 13, sends Southern Smoke (8c+)

Maya Ene, who did her first 8b+ at age 11, has sent Southern Smoke (8c+) in the Red River Gorge (KY), video on her Insta. Earlier this spring she did, and flashed Serenity Now (7C+) in Red Rock (NV). (c) Francois Lebeau

Her family owns a small climbing gym in New Jersey, and her father Ionel (48), who finished his World Cup career in 1999 by being #19 in Speed and #43 in Lead in the World Championship, reports to 8a.

"Having fun at Red River Gorge: While Maya climbs a lot indoors at various gyms, her big passion is outdoor sport climbing. She trains every other day; there is no particular routine that she follows other than alternating bouldering and lead. My wife and I are both long-time climbers, so we are the coaches as well as the teachers (she is homeschooled) and parents. Sometimes this can be a little bit overwhelming for her (hearing the same two voices over and over) so she really enjoys any other company as well. Maya loves climbing with other people no matter their age, to encourage them and help them figure out beta.

In February this year, we spent about 10 days in Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas. Bouldering in Red Rock definitely helped her with the finger strength that she needed for all the sends in Red River Gorge. We often have trips to the Gorge where we meet other families whose children are also passionate about climbing.

Maya worked on "Southern Smoke" for about 3 days and on one of her send goes she fell right before the chains. Surprisingly, that motivated her even more and the next day she was set on doing it and not using any knee bars. The same day her good friend Logan Zhang (12) sent Zookeeper (8b+) on his second go and the day prior he sent Omaha Beach (8b+). We also witnessed Gaeun Kwon (9) from Korea crushing Ultra-Perm (8b). The bond between the kids is just precious.

After belaying Maya on "Southern Smoke" I got motivated to send the route next to it: 50 words for pump (8c) which I sent a week after Maya's send. Overall, it's been an amazing trip and a very strong spring!"