Sam Weir completes Hazel Grace Sit 8C (+)

Sam Weir, who previously in 2024 has sent his two first 8C+’, has repeated Giuliano Cameroni’s Hazel Grace Sit 8C (+) in Gottardo / Gotthardpass.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I did the stand to Hazel grace back in 2021 and always wanted to come back to gottardo for the sit! Things lined up this August and I was able to go for some trips in August. There is one really hard move on the sit that took me 3 sessions and over 50 tries to stick it once. Day 5 it all lined up and I was able to top the boulder! The breakdown is about hard 8A+ (one mover) into 8B+. The boulder felt something in that 8C/+ range . Another 5 star bloc from Giul!

What is your next plan?
My plan is to try arrival of the birds from Aiden since I seem to be good at this 20 degree overhang static crimping style! If it’s too hard I’ll try Alphane again 😬

Do you train anything specific going for the hardest boulders or just train by projecting?
I have really changed the last 1,5 years. I used to only project hard boulders. A year ago I decided to start weight lifting and it changed my life. I put on some weight and muscle but no longer hurt my pulleys and feel so much stronger. This combined with hard board climbing is my training 2 times a week then one day a week outside on a project. Since I work full time I’m always training but if I want to send I’ll drop the weights for a few weeks and feel good!

What is your full time work?
I work as a contract manager in the nuclear industry in France.