Mikel Linacisoro onsights 8c and does 9a

Mikel Linacisoro, who earlier this year did his first 9a+, has onsighted Rollito Sharma Ext.1 (8c) and redpointed Ciudad de dios (9a) in Santa Linya. The 25-year-old made his first headlines when, at age 12, he onsighted 8a+’ and sent 8c’s. Three years later, he did his first 9a. During the same period, he won the Spanish Championships in skiing and climbing several times.

Later, he focused almost exclusively on climbing competitions and got a bronze at the Youth World Championships, and his best World Cup finish was 17th. For the past year and a half, he has been back outdoors, having sent five 9a and harder routes, while also winning the Spanish Cup.

Can you tell us more about those ascents?
I’m really happy to have climbed these two incredible lines, especially to have onsighted Rollito Sharma Ext. It had been one of my lifetime goals to onsight an 8c one day! Hahaha. It was amazing. I climbed without pressure, feeling smooth and fully motivated to send — which is the most important thing when climbing onsight.

On top of that, it was the perfect way to finish the weekend by quickly sending another 9th-grade route, Ciudad de Dios, in just a few attempts. Honestly, over the last few months I’ve been enjoying climbing on rock so much with my friends. That’s my motivation to keep training and improving day by day.

What was the reason for just sending a few hard routes per year until 2024?
Hahaha, I’m a doctor now. I have been studiing so hard my last 6 years, and between comps and studies, bad weather usually on the basque country... I didn’t have so much time to enjoy rocks! 🙈😂

Are you working full time as a Doctor now?
Not now! Im studying to make an exam in January. It’s like an opposition. I want to be Traumatologist and try to treat all the injured climbers 💪🏼🤣

What are your summer competition plan?
I’m doing Prague, Innsbruck, Chamonix.. and maybe some more after summer.