Vertical-Life
TTT 9a by Théo Blass (12)
Fanatic Climbing has made an interview with his father Vladimir Arnaoudov about the ascent. When Théo was 10 years old he did his first 8c his father explained his son's climbing background to 8a.
"Theo started climbing more regularly when he was 8 (he was climbing before, but quite irregularly). His progression was quite interesting: it took him a few months of projecting to send his first 6b+ (on top rope) and then he progressed from 6b+ to 8b in less than a year and a half. His training is a bit chaotic and highly dependent on motivation, time of the year and availability of other more fun activities (such as mountain biking, skiing or building a shack in the garden). At the beginning of the lockdown he trained a lot at our small home bouldering wall but then he lost motivation and did not train for a month.
From the dad's perspective, there are two key takeaways from the experience of belaying, watching, encouraging, counseling, supporting and occasionally arguing with Theo about beta: (1) adult grades are a bit of a nonsense when it comes to kids - two of the hardest moves on the route for Theo are among the easiest for adults - so not worth getting too excited about grades (especially when you are under 1m40); (2) even if fear, frustration and failure are part of the game, climbing kids of the world, enjoy every moment of climbing, projecting, trying hard, sending and try to have fun, and confidence - the future belongs to you."
Jernej Kruder sends Martin Krpan (9a) sans knee pads
Jernej Kruder, who won the Boulder World Cup in 2018, has done Martin Krpan (9a) in Mišja Peč. “I would like to expose something here: I spent many tries on t…
Welcome to Vertical-Life Web
Six years after partnering with 8a.nu, we’re excited to announce the unification of the 8a.nu website and the Vertical-Life app into a single platform: Vertical…
Will Bosi repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (9A)
William Bosi has made the second ascent of Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Black Velvet Canyon, after projecting it for 12 sessions. This was th…
Trip Tip Tonic (9a) by Maho Normand (17)
Maho Normand 🦐, who last month did his first 9a+, has repeated Cedric Lo Piccolo’s Trip tik tonik (9a) in Gorges du Loup, which was set up as an 8c/+. Do you …
Tanguy Merard, who has already done three 9a+'s in 2023, has started August by sending A muerte bilou (9a) in Verdon. Then he moved to Gorges du Loup where he d…
Trip Tik Tonik 9a by Jules Marchaland
Jules Marchaland, who has done two 8c+ the last three weeks, has done his first 9a, Trip Tik Tonik in Gorges du Loup. "It is for sure the most beautiful route I…
Trip Tip Tonic (9a) by Maho Normand (17)
Maho Normand 🦐, who last month did his first 9a+, has repeated Cedric Lo Piccolo’s Trip tik tonik (9a) in Gorges du Loup, which was set up as an 8c/+. Do you …
Tanguy Merard, who has already done three 9a+'s in 2023, has started August by sending A muerte bilou (9a) in Verdon. Then he moved to Gorges du Loup where he d…
Trip Tik Tonik 9a by Jules Marchaland
Jules Marchaland, who has done two 8c+ the last three weeks, has done his first 9a, Trip Tik Tonik in Gorges du Loup. "It is for sure the most beautiful route I…
Katie Lamb makes history
Katie Lamb has become the first woman to climb 8C+ by completing Box Therapy (8C) in RMNP. Daniel Woods made the FA back in 2018, and only Drew Ruana and Sean B…
Schubert sends Project Big during his 6th Live attempt
"It was dramatic to the very end." On the 8a finish of Project Big in Flatanger, Jakob Schubert explains that a horn broke and he was close to falling. The last three minutes of the video show just how much this climb means to him."This horn could have ended my career... This was the biggest mental …
Will Bosi repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (9A)
William Bosi has made the second ascent of Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Black Velvet Canyon, after projecting it for 12 sessions. This was th…