Luke Gerhardt, who did his first 8A only 18 months ago, has sent Pegasus (8C) in Left Fork.

Can you tell us more about sending your first 8C?
Yeah so I put around 6 sessions on the boulder last spring but wasnt able to stick the crux move very consistent and usually only got 5-10 tries on the crux hold before getting a blister because of how bad it was on the skin. I had a lot of frustrating sessions where I felt like I couldn’t do it.

Once the season ended I trained all summer until the weather was good again and finally tried the boulder again and had a pretty good session where I reworked all the moves and they felt a lot easier. Second session back and 2nd try from bottom I fell on the last move because my foot popped and I knew I could send that day. Next try I managed to send. Definitely the hardest boulder I’ve done and the most I’ve had to push myself mentally and physically to send a boulder.

William Bosi, who last week did his fourth 9A, has flashed Dune (8B) in Stařechovícký Lom. The 25-year-old is the new #1 in the VL yearly ranking game but he needs two more 8C+ to overtake Daniel Woods in the All Time Ranking.

”Super fun but savage crimp line, 1st repeat and 1st repeat since break. Felt really hard so I think 8B+ is fair but hopefully more people will try it soon :)”

Austin Purdy, with seven 8C's under his belt, has done the FA of Sword Of Damocles (8C+) in Mt Blue Sky. "Finally! Probably the most days I've put into a boulder and unless I missed some key beta, likely the hardest thing I've ever done. The process on this one was very stressful with the imminent road closure for the next two years hanging over everything. Luckily I was able to extend the season with some e-bike tactics and get it done before the snow came and shut everything down for good."

How many sessions were needed and how many of those did you come alone?
I'm not sure exactly how many sessions the boulder took as I began to lost count at some point but it was around 15. One of my friends was working an 8B nearby when I was first trying to project so he came out for some sessions, but once the road closed at the start of September there was no one who wanted to bike the 10+ miles in with me so all sessions we solo after that.

Finuco Martinez, CEO of B3 Sportainment, reports from the Speed 4 lanes test event that took place in Madrid ten days ago. Next year it will be officially used at the World games of Chengyu in China.

”The IFSC Madrid 4 Speed project began in Sofia, Bulgaria, during a conversation at Walltopia WICS between Alessandro Di Cato, IFSC event manager, and myself. Alessandro mentioned the need for a 4-speed line test, like the one done in Barcelona for the Paris Olympics. While originally set for a gym in Torino, I suggested moving it to Madrid for a street event with a World Cup-like format. A year of effort later, it became a reality with a 4-line wall in central Madrid Rio, five minutes from Plaza de España.

The custom-built structure stood 22 meters high, 12 meters wide, 9 meters deep, and weighed 48 tons. It featured official 2023 speed holds on a Walltopia wall previously used in Budapest. Organized by IFSC and FEDME, promoted by Madrid’s City Council, and produced by B3 Sportainment in partnership with Gym Sputnik Climbing, the event debuted new Deproon timers for the 4-lane relay format and Vertical Life’s scoring system.

The response exceeded expectations, with 15 countries, including Paris Olympic medalists, confirming attendance—many choosing Madrid over the Asian Championship. A National Open speed event on Friday allowed young climbers to compete alongside their idols.

All agreed this format is the future of televised climbing, with potential to become as iconic as the 100 meters in athletics. The atmosphere was electric, with athletes, coaches, and officials recognizing the birth of something significant in Madrid—"From Madrid to Heaven." Special thanks go to IFSC, FEDME, all participating federations, and Madrid for their support.”

Jo Nesbø, a global bestselling crime writer, who has sold 80+ million books in 50+ languages, has sent Helios (8a) in Kalymnos. At age 17, Jo made his first appearance in the Premier Soccer League in Norway but an injury stopped his professional dreams. He has a Master's in Economics and worked as a stockbroker prior to becoming a writer. He is also a singer, songwriter and musician. In 2013, he wrote a long novel as his 8a comment after flashing a 6a+ in Kalymnos.

Can you tell us more about your climbing background and sending your second 8a at age 64?
I started climbing for real when I was 50 and for me that was like going back to being a kid again, going to the playground with other kids. Being no more than a moderately talented climber, progress came slowly but steadily. Still, just before turning 60 I decided to train to climb an 8a in two years and write about the process, the process being the focus, not so much the eventual achievement which seemed like a long shot at the time. And sure enough, after two years, I still hadn’t done my 8a. But I so much enjoyed the struggle, the fight, the hope, the failing and then failing better, that I kept on going, and after three years I sent my 8a, Elephant at Ton Sai, Thailand. In an interview for one of my novels I was asked about my climbing and what now, after the 8a. I answered that now I was ready for my descend; to get fat, older, top rope easy stuff while bragging about my one big send.

But it turned out I was wrong; I wasn’t quite ready. When interviewing Lynn Hill for my book I had asked her why she decided on trying to be the first person to freeclimb The Nose, which she famously did in 1993. One reason she gave was that she had just quit competition climbing while still being arguably the best female climber in the world. “So what to do with all this fitness?” she asked me rhetorically. I asked myself the same question and I turned my attention to a classic 8a close to the apartment I had bought at Kalymnos. Like Elephant, Helios is steep and short, 15 meters. But while Elephant is all about two consecutive moves at the crux, Helios is about power endurance. I could quite quickly do all the moves but putting them together proved tough and required a different training from Elephant, more endurance and less training for a specific move. To me diversity in training is important, because at age 64 if you’re injured, you are pretty much sure to carry that injury to your grave. So when at Kalymnos I went to Helios only once or twice a week and in between did easier, more vertical climbing and general physical training and stretching.

At the day of the send, I did something I usually don’t do, I told Hanna who belayed me, that’s this attempt would be my best chance this year since we had a window with good conditions and my chronic bad finger was quite well. I decided to experiment with putting that pressure on myself because I’ve always been curious about our mental reactions to certain situations, that was actually what drew me into climbing; how would I react given my own fear of heights which is well above average. I also gave myself a piece of advice while strapping on the gear for my first go of the day: if some minor details ruin the perfect go that you’ve envisioned - which it probably will - don’t let that get to you, just keep going. I have no idea in what way – if any - the pressure experiment influenced the climbing, but the piece of advice did for sure. Because of worn out Velcro, my kneepad almost came off after a few moves and while re-attaching it I almost missed a clip. Also, I couldn’t see the holds that well and realized I had on not my normal glasses but reading glasses! Well, that’s the kind of things that starts happening when your 64 … Luckily I knew the holds by heart and maybe the fact that this wasn’t a perfect run even relaxed me a bit.

When I clipped the anchor, I was so, so happy. Two days later, I still am. And what’s more – I´ve being able to suppress the question that pops up in all climber’s heads way too soon after having clipped an anchor they’ve worked for so hard: “So, what’s next?”

Eva Hammelmüller, who was #13 in the European Championship last month, has completed Hades (9a) in Götterwandl. ”Just wow. Incredibly happy to have this power endurance route off my wish list!” (c) Felix Mast

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Hades is powerful, steep, and requires strength endurance - all qualities that I thought I lacked. Perhaps that’s why, back in 2022, I decided to give it a try. Even though I thought I was close at that point, I now know how far I was from sending. In 2023, I mainly focused on indoor training for competition; however, I realised how much I missed rock climbing and spending time outside. This autumn, I decided to reactivate project Hades again and, after two sessions, I felt confident on the moves. I was really psyched to start doing send tries, but neither my skin nor my health were too keen to operate. A flu and 2 big flappers later, I gave it another go - and found myself on the top of the route! Mabye sending this route was so important to me because I desperatedly wanted to prove myself wrong, to demonstrate that I can be a powerful and physical climber. I am really proud of the progress I made with each try, and I managed to enjoy the process even at a point where I knew I could/had to send the route.

Sera Gearhart has done After Hours (8B) in Huntington Canyon. The 27-year-old is the new #1 in the VL ranking game. ”This one for the fantasy league <3 took the most direct method, lacking the skill to heel toe cam.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
After hours is an overhung crimp face in Huntington canyon near Joe’s Valley. It got done a few times last fall when I was in the southeast for the season and I always wanted to try it after seeing videos. I went in December last year thinking it was warmer and lower elevation than Joe’s and was completely wrong, it was way too cold and one of the most miserable, snowy climbing days I’ve ever had. I came back this season to give it a better shot when it was warm enough for me to climb!

Isabelle Faus has done Freaks of the Industry (8B) in RMNP (CO). In total, the 31-year-old has now done more than 40 boulders 8B or harder, out of which some ten 8B+'.

Can you tell us more about the ascent on this very long boulder?
Haha, yup definitely very long! It took a good amount of work because I didn’t have the endurance. But it’s still quite a powerful boulder, so needed all the skills to send haha. Super fun!

How many sessions were needed? Any special power endurance training in the gym?
Haha, haven’t trained in a gym since I was a teenager. I don't know how many sessions, maybe once a week since the start of sept .. also started classes and the transition was hard on me so I don’t really think the amount of days means anything in this case.

Julia Duffy, who 16 months had 8a+ as her personal best, has done Super Tweak (8c) in Logan Canyon.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Super tweak has some of the hardest but coolest moves I have done on a route. The climb starts off with a 7c/v9 boulder problem. From there, the climbing is quite sustained until a good rest 3/4 of the way up the route. After the rest, there is a final 7c/v9 boulder crux involving a big mono move. I’m usually more of an endurance climber so this route felt like a big step outside of my comfort zone. It is certainly my hardest route to date so I’m very happy to get it done!