Nuthin But Sunshine 8B by Alex Johnson

Alex Johnson has done in RMNP (CO). Impressively the 33-year-old is peaking having done nine boulders 8A+ and 8B over the last 20 months after having had a five-year break from doing boulder problems of that grade. (c) Allison Vest

"I had a friend recently ask me “you’re on one lately, what’s the secret?” I immediately responded “happiness.” there’s no substitute for real happiness. I’m training, climbing, and spending time with people who push me to be better, try harder, work harder, and be kinder to myself. A lot has changed in my life in the last six months, and all I can say is I’m physically and mentally the best version of me that I’ve ever been. It feels really good."

The 33-year-old first made headlines on 8a in 2008, when we followed up on her victory at the Vail World Cup 2008 in an article. The same year she did her first 8A+ and was also #1 in the 8a ranking game. In 2010, she was overall #4 in the Boulder World Cup including winning one event. She stopped competing in 2015 and took it up again in 2019, trying to qualify for the Olympics.