Sera Gearhart sends Evil Backwards (8B)

Sera Gearhart has logged her first 8B, Evil Backwards in Mt Evans. "I thought I'd do this boulder quickly because everyone told me I was doing the hard part. Turns out, that just wasn't the crux for me! Hardest move on this boulder was the cross in the "v9" outro. I'm really proud for seeing it through when it got epic. Shout-out to Tay for being the kindest and most supportive when I was really down on myself. On to the next."

Last week, 8a reported that she had given Carnage (8B) a personal 8A+ grade. Up until 2022, she had only done three 8A's, but over the last 18 months she's done 21 boulders 8A to 8B.

How would you explain your great gains over the last 1.5 years?
I really changed my approach to climbing about 2 years ago! Taylor [McNeill] was a huge influence. I started focusing more on specific goals rather than climbing as much as I could. I stopped training and rested way more and really started to focus on my mentality and tactics. I started climbing almost exclusively outside. I'm excited to take what I have learned and try adding a bit more strength and training back into my approach this summer, maybe it will lead to more of a level up!