Two 8A+' by Alma Bestvater in Rocklands

Alma Bestvater, who was #10 in the Boulder WC in 2018, has had a productive three week trip to Rocklands where she has done seven boulders 8A and harder including Tea With Elmarie (8A+) and Fragile Steps (8A+). (c) Anja Steinhauser

Can you tell us more about your trip to Rocklands?
When I went to the Rocklands, I didn’t know how hard I could climb. In 2022 I had two shoulder surgeries, the last one less than a year ago, and I climbed my last 8A about two years ago. So the expectations were rather low and the focus more on having a good time and climbing a lot of cool boulders regardless of the grades. That I was able to check off so many 8A’s in the end surprised me. Especially because I was able to climb each of the boulders within one session, except for „A Tea with Elmarie“ which I was able to climb in a second session on the last day of the trip. I also tried a few 8B/8B+ boulders but quickly realized that I am still too weak to climb them quickly and therefore decided to do a lot of boulders rather than projecting only a few the whole trip. I will probably remember „Pendragon“ the most because it was my first 8A after the two surgeries and definitely "A Tea with Elmarie“ because that was my biggest fight this trip.

What's on your radar now?
I will try to qualify for competitions again next year, but we will see how well that works out. Staying healthy is my priority for now and giving 100% again in dynamic competition bouldering definitely needs a bit more time.