Veronica Chik began climbing at the age of five and normally she trains five times a week. In March, she ventured into outdoor climbing for the first time. Following three months of intense training, she encountered a fear of falling from heights, prompting her to take a temporary break. After approximately ten weeks of mental adjustment, Veronica resumed her training in September with renewed determination to conquer her fears. Just a few weeks later, the 135 cm tall climber successfully completed China Climb (8b+) in Yangshuo.

Her mother Vivian shares their story. ”The emotional rollercoaster of the past few months has been indescribable. From the moment we decided to accept this challenge, we knew it would be a difficult journey. Every weekend, we traveled from Hong Kong to Yangshuo for training by high speed train for 5 hours each way, experiencing a whirlwind of emotions—anticipation, excitement, disappointment, doubt, fear, and ultimately courage and perseverance.

We felt heartbroken seeing Veronica's hands covered in calluses, her skin torn and bleeding from climbing. There were times we wanted to convince her to give up, yet she gritted her teeth and insisted she would complete the challenge. Throughout this journey, we reevaluated our roles as parents, contemplating how best to nurture, encourage, and appreciate our child.

This experience has been filled with challenges and inspiration, teaching us the values of courage, persistence, and the spirit of never giving up as our child relentlessly pursues her dreams.

Veronica's success is not only a personal breakthrough but also a recognition of the courage and dreams of the younger generation, inspiring more children to bravely pursue their paths. Although the journey to realizing dreams is fraught with challenges, as long as one is courageous and persistent, dreams can indeed come true. With climbing now included in the Olympics, the popularity of the sport is gradually increasing in Hong Kong, and we look forward to seeing more young climbers courageously chase their dreams, writing their own remarkable stories.”

Lana Skušek, who was #8 in the European Championship last month, has sent Strelovod (8c) in Mišja Peč. (c) SAC/Romy Streit

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
When I climbed Marjetica (8b), two friends were climbing Strelovod, and right away I felt the urge to try it myself. I made the moves in the lower part quite quickly, and I already knew the moves in the upper part from Marjetica. It felt good and doable. I linked everything together quite quickly; it took 2 sessions. I’m very happy since this was my first 8c.

What are your autumn plans?
Oh, I don’t have one 😅 I’m really enjoying rock climbing at the moment. I’d like to try a few more hard things, and I hopefully send some. In about a month, I’ll take a break from climbing, and then I’ll start training again for the upcoming competitions.

Sorato Anraku, last year's World Cup winner in both Lead and Boulder, will clinch the 2024 Boulder title if he finishes at least 13th in Seoul. Overall, six climbers from Team Japan are in the top ten, and the Narasaki brothers, along with Toby Roberts, still have a chance to win.

Natalia Grossman and Janja Garnbret have each won the two Boulder World Cups they have competed in during 2024. Since Garnbret will not be participating in Seoul, the highest-ranked athlete among Grossman, Oceania Mackenzie, and Nao Nakamura, provided they reach the podium, will secure the overall title. Anon Matsufuji still has a theoretical chance, but Naile Meignan and Oriane Bertone are out of contention as they are skipping the Korean World Cup.

Anna Wild has sent Bat Route (8c) in Malham which has been rated five stars by all 14 that have star rated it.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the number of sessions neeeded?
I tried it a few times in spring but it got too hot and had a birds nest in it, so I had to wait until recently to try it again, I think 8 sessions overall. I really enjoyed trying this route, had been wanting to try it for a while as it is one of the best routes in the country. I’m excited to try the harder link ups of it next!

What harder link-ups could that be?
I’d like to try Raining Bats and Dogs (8c) and Batshadow (8c+) next.

Stefano Carnati has sent Flow State (8C) in Val daone. The 26-year-old is one of the very few climbers who both have done a 9b route as well as an 8C+ boulder.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Although it’s not that far from my home, I only visited this area for the first time last year. This spring, when I found out that Pietro Vidi had climbed this line, I was psyched to come back and put some effort into it. The boulder follows a great roof, combining the first and hardest part of “Grizzly” with “Flow” (both in the 8B range) for a total of 15 moves. The crux is holding the final sloper.

After completing both individual lines a few weeks ago, I immediately started trying to link them, and during my third session, I was able to climb it! Overall Daone is a nice area that offers some good quality problems. Big Illusion (8C) is another hard one by Stefano Scarperi, which still awaits a second ascent. I hope to find the time to return before the snow comes and make some tries on this as well!

Stefano Ghisolfi, with over 50 routes 9a to 9b+ under his belt, has done Little Badder (9a) in Flatanger. The 31-year-old Italian has been in Norway since the beginning of August focusing on Silence (9c).

What is the status on your big project and how was your latest 9a ascent?
The season is almost over unfortunately, no Silence this year 🙃😭. But I had fun climbing four 9as in this trip, I'll be back stronger next season.

I started trying Little Badder because it shares the first part of Move so I worked on the first 2 cruxes while also trying Move. Then when I knew I could do it I tried it from the ground, fell once in the first crux and then sent it later.

Andrine Skilbrei, who started climbing at age 19 and last year sent La Rubia (8c+), has completed Brunhilde L2 (8c) in Flatanger.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
When first arriving in Flatanger this season I was looking for a nice project to get back in shape on after a somewhat slow year without much climbing. Brunhilde was recommended to me and it seemed to be a good choice considering it didn’t have a line of people on it. This was in the middle of august, and there were still a lot of people here at that time.

The route, at least for me, breaks down to 3 quite hard dynamic coordination moves separated by a lot of steep resistance climbing on mostly good holds. The final big move especially caused me a lot of trouble as it was at the very limit of my reach (I`m 1.60) as well as being at the very end of all the hard climbing, making it not just difficult physically, but also mentally.

In the end I spent about a month trying the route, with the last two and a half weeks consisting of falling on this one move over and over again before I finally stuck it and was able to carry on to the top. All in all I am really happy about how it all turned out, and I am now looking forward to returning to new projects in Flatanger next year.

At the European Youth Boulder Championships in Troyes, France dominated in the boys' categories, while Great Britain excelled among the girls. Overall, France emerged as the top nation, with 13 climbers reaching the finals. Samuel Richard was the only competitor to win both the semifinal and the final, having also led in the qualification round. Notably, Israel achieved an impressive feat by securing all three podium spots in the boys' Youth B category.

Juniors: Kito Martini FRA - Emma Edwards GBR
Youth A: Samuel Richard FRA - Lucy Garlick GBR
Youth B: Itamar Harel ISR - Olivia Kistmacher GER
Complete results

Petra Klingler has had a memorable day in Magic Wood, sending Octopussy (8A), Jack's broken heart (8A+) and Unendliche Geschichte 1 (8A+). The 32-year-old has won the World Championship in Boulder in 2016 and Ice Climbing in 2022.

Can you tell us more about that special day?
What an incredible day it was! I arrived to Magic Wood on Saturday evening to try UG1 with some friends. Unfortunately, nothing was going right. I could barely manage the first move. Eventually, I managed to get an okay go, but it drained so much energy from me that I couldn’t continue afterwards. Feeling a bit frustrated, I headed to bed.

Exhausted and tired, I slept remarkably long on Sunday, waking up at 11 a.m., which is quite unusual for me as a morning person! After a hearty breakfast—or rather, a late brunch—we set off again. We started with a little warm-up on a 7a that felt surprisingly tough, and then we decided to give Octopussy a shot. I had already attempted it in two previous sessions, but the long reach had always been a challenge.

I started with a warm-up attempt. The holds felt good, and before I knew it, I was holding the top hold in my hand. It was such a surprise that we didn’t even film it. Catching my breath, I jumped back on, teasingly prompted by my friends, who joked that I would have to do it again since there was no proof of my ascent. And once again, I managed to climb the boulder cleanly.

Next to it was Jack’s Broken Heart, which I had also tried during two sessions. Since I felt good and was waiting for my friends, I thought I’d take the opportunity to repeat the beta and stay warm up. The first move was close, but I didn’t let go. Move by move, I made it to the crux—an extended reach to a sharp hold, a cut lose, and right heel to hand. I slapped the sloper and made a dynamic move to the left. At this point, I knew I couldn’t let go. Fortunately, my friend was filming, as I certainly didn’t expect to send it.

With two of my projects already crossed off the list, I felt happy and satisfied. I wanted to join the others at UG1 to burn off some energy and repeat the moves, hoping to tick off this classic before the season ended.

I jumped on and pushed through. What a day! I can hardly remember the details of the movements—it felt like a movie. I couldn’t believe it. Until that day, I had never sent an 8a+. Prior to that, I had bouldered seven 8as, four of which were in the Rocklands just last month. What an incredible day!
Just to top it off, we once again forgot to keep the camera rolling 😂🫣, so I climbed UG1 a second time for the camera 🙃.