Alizee Blass has sent Periodismo (8b) in Villanueva del Rosario. She did her first 8a at age 9, on the same day as her brother, Theo, sent a 9a being 12 years old. Her father Vlad Arn reports.

”Alizee chose to try Periodismo on the advice of Spanish climbing legend Andrea Cartas whom we met at the crag. The route was well suited to shorter climbers. Progress was quick and she needed 4 sessions to send it. The route was originally graded 8b/8b+ but is now considered an 8b because of new crux beta. On the next day Alizee did an 8a+ at the same crag after two tries. She has a couple of harder projects at our home crag and is looking forward to the cooler winter conditions to give them a serious push. She also enjoys competitions although she prefers climbing on real rock.”

Patrick Vonbrül has, after some 15 sessions, repeated Fred Nicole’s Le boa (8C) in Ziegelbrücke. ”The boulder took me two years to climb. It is very difficult to find the best time to climb it as it is wet most of the time. The best time is autumn or spring and the last days were very good, no rain and little bit cold 😊 I am super happy to have climbed this one.”

What is next?
I will be a father soon 😊 and I hope for good times this winter in Tessin where there are a lot of projects waiting for me.

The Vertical-Life Gran Canaria App features over 1,200 climbing routes across various crags scattered around the island. With winter temperatures rarely falling below 18°C, high-quality basalt rock, well-maintained bolts, and crags that are mostly easy to access, Gran Canaria is an ideal winter climbing destination. The island also offers more than 500 bouldering problems and ample opportunities for exploration on rest days.

Given these advantages, it’s surprising that Gran Canaria isn’t a more popular climbing spot, with under 13,000 recorded ascents in the Vertical-Life database. This may be due to the lack of an international climbing festival or the limited number of challenging routes that attract media attention, as most routes are graded between 6a and 7a. Additionally, the crags are somewhat remote, often requiring a 45-minute drive, and there’s no centralized climbing hub with lodging etc.

Andrea Chelleris has done the 40 meter long Mandanga total (9a) in Villanueva del Rosario. The 15-year-old has the last month onsighted three 8b’s and repointed three 8c+’ and he is #1 in the VL monthly world ranking game.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The plan was to do Mangarbo (9a) but when I got to the last part my kneepad were sliding off😅 so I decided to go on Mandanga. The last part is easier for me. On Mangarbo I already fell three times on the last tufa very close to the jug.

What is your next plan?
I want to send mangarbo and onsight an 8b+.

Caroline Ciavaldini, who last year did her first 8b+ trad, has done the third female ascent of Greenspit (8b) in Valle del Orco. Between 2002 and 2011, Caro competed in 66 Lead World Cups, finishing in the Top 12 in 58 of them.

"At the end of September I started trying Greenspit again, after a couple of earlier sessions in May of this year, when I actually tore my hamstring trying the route. Coming back this Autumn was almost like starting again, as I’d forgotten most of my beta. This was my fourth session back on the route this season and it was the same game as every time, I didn’t think I was going to do it today. I felt under pressure, I felt grumpy, I warmed-up and it didn’t feel great. I didn’t think I was ready. I realised I had to change my mindset and just enjoy the climbing and appreciate I had James and the kids there with me.

On my first go, I managed to make a new high point before falling. I’ve never had two good tries in one day before on Greenspit, so I wasn’t that optimistic about my second go. It’s my first real route of this type and it was so nice to feel almost like a beginner again. I loved the process of trying to improve on these jams and I used visualisation a lot for this route, especially for the first section (up to the rest), which should actually be relatively straightforward but which I found particularly hard. I really had to take it move by move, only focussing on the current jam and not thinking beyond that. Not even really thinking about doing the whole route, but just getting through the next move.

On my second go of the day, I made it through the first section, to the rest. Something I’d never done twice in one day before now. At the rest, I was able to clear my mind, I knew the second section like the back of my hand, as I’d spent many recent nights visualising how I’d climb it. So, I just let my body do what it knew how to do. I still had the main cruxes ahead of me but I just went at it with nothing really in my mind and the next thing I know I’ve arrived at the rest after the last crux. Just a couple of movements left do do and I didn’t want to fluff it. Now I started to feel a bit of pressure. I had made a choice to protect myself with just a single ‘friend’ for this last section, which I’d placed rather hurridly. Images of this piece ripping and me taking a ground-fall infront of my young kids flashed through my mind momentarily. I managed to block it out and make those last few moves. I’d done it! Overall, it’s been a really cool journey. The process of building my ‘crack-machine’ (with the help of my neighbours), training on it, perfecting my technique and working through the pain barrier to learn something new and climb this iconic route, with my whole family watching, has been pretty amazing!"

Babsi Zangerl, who one year ago did Meltdown (8c+) trad, has sent Magic Line (8c+) also in Yosemite (CA). Including a couple of 8c’s on gear she has one of the most impressive trad tick lists out there.

The 36-year-old made her first 8a/VL headline sending an 8A+ Boulder in 2005. During a couple of years she was one of the leading female boulderers but due to a back problem she had to stop and started focusing more on rope climbing. With achievements that include 9a routes, 8c+ trad, 8c multipitches, and 8b+ big walls, she is the world’s top female climber in multipitch disciplines, matched by only a few male climbers. (c) Jacopo Larcher

”This one means a lot to me. What a stunning line! I’ve never climbed something this insecure before. Firstly, it took me a while to find out the perfect beta for all the hard sequences and my initial goal was simply to link everything together on toprope, which is a still a world away from getting to the next level where you place the gear on lead. The gear makes everything a lot more uncomfortable and the placements are all very small and fiddly. On this route, it felt like I could potentially fall at any given moment.

Hard, stiff shoes felt great on the lower crux but then totally useless for the upper one. After 3 days on the climb my shoes were too soft and the crux then felt impossible. From my La Sportiva Katana laces back and forth to Skwamas and the other way around, it took a while to find the best formula.

Last Autumn, Magic Line already felt possible, after Lara Neumeier and I spent some days on it. I had climbed the whole thing on top-rope and made a couple of lead tries but just couldn’t get past the crux on lead. Then a key moment came during that process when a foothold on the top crux broke, followed by a really crucial foothold in the lower crux. After this, I really wasn’t sure if it was still possible for me, or if I had enough power to move through that lower section in a different way. There was still something left to stand on but it was probably only half of what had already been a very tiny foothold, previously.

With just 2 days left of that trip, I wasn’t able to find the right solution to send the route. Despite this set- back, motivation was still high and I was excited to return again this year. Jacopo was psyched to try Magic line as well, we had a great reason to come back.

This year, I had no expectations at all because I was really not sure how it would feel, with that broken foothold. I had to change my beta to get over the crux sequence but, after some days on top-rope again, I started to make lead attempts. The crux shut me down multiple times on that first lead day. After a rest day, I came back, warmed up and somehow managed to stick the crux move. The middle part of the line which is actually the easiest, felt so hard and pumpy that I was surprised after every move that I was still on the wall. I reached the final no-hand rest for the very first time on lead. I was so nervous because I know everyone who climbed Magic line fell up there at least once and, at the same time, the huge runout from the last cam placement to the anchors added an additonal layer of tension to the final section. It was really stressful. I didn’t want to fail up there. I told myself it can’t get any more exciting than this, so I should enjoy that moment and try not to freak out. I knew I was lucky to have made it this far and had to simply take it move-by-move and try not to think about anything else. A few moments later I had a big jug in my hands. All I had to do now was to follow those big holds to the final anchor. Pulling through those last easy moves I could finally relax and appreciate what I’d just done and why I love climbing so much! You never now what’s possible until you try…very hard.”

Karoline Sinnhuber has completed Libre Original (8B) in Felbertal. The Austrian has previously sent 55 boulders 8A+ or 8B, and this was her first climb of that grade in 2024. (c) Dietmar Sinnhuber

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the reason why this is your first hard boulder in 2024?
Well, at the beginning of the year I had twice a golfer ellbow and therefore I concentrated more on doing routes. [She has done her first three 8C’s.] Also I don‘t like the warm temps, which were brutal this year. So I‘m super happy that it finally cooled down and I can crimp hard again ;)

The original start of Libre is all about getting your ass off the ground with these 2 little nasty undercling crimps. I am really bad at underclings, which made me even more surprised, that I could lift my ass off the ground quite well and stick the first move pretty fast. Afterwards you‘re in the standstart of Libre and you just have to keep it together 😉

Solomon Kemball, who previously has logged three 8C’s and one 8C+, has completed Foundations Edge (8C) in Fionnay. “Boxed out my mind, quickest I have done 8C but had to fight.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the number of sessions needed?
It took me four sessions over the last week. The boulder is a Dave Graham masterpiece with lots of nuisances and tricks. It has an easy intro into 6 hard moves the first few seemingly powerful but very body position dependent. Into some feet above your head action where you are trying to take as much weight off the fingers with your legs as possible. Finishing with a high juggy top out that gets the forearms well and truly pumped. I worked the top from stacked pads going from the crimp rail to the jug as a warm up and topping it out once before the send go on the day to make sure I knew what to do.

Eva Hammelmüller, who last week sent Hades (9a), has done Paint it black (8c+) in Zillertal. ”Wow, what a beautiful line! Perfect rock quality, amazing place, nice moves! Never sent an 8c+ in a day, so maybe on the softer side or more like 8c? Either way, great climb and thanks for the psyche boys🥹”

Two days later she onsighted Zaachling (8b) in Obere Nasenwand. “HOW?? 6th day of climbing, I only planned to do it as a warm-up, as the first part is relatively easy. However, I just continued climbing and sent the route!! my forearms were on fire afterwards :D.” (c) Felix Mast

How does it feel to be in the best shape of your life?
Feels pretty amazing🤯🤪 Honestly, I can’t quite believe how well everything works out right now. I think I manage to climb without pressure and expectations, which allows me to fight hard on every route and give my very best. I am just incredibly psyched for rock climbing at the moment, and I look forward to trying new projects!

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