Domen Škofic, the overall Lead World Cup winner in 2016, has done Illusionist (9a) Flatanger. In total, the Slovenian has done 26 routes 9a to 9b. (c) Doug McConnell

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I’ll be honest that the line never inspired me but the unique and incredibly technical moves make this route great 🔥 I got a good lesson on it and I’m very grateful for that. No matter how strong you feel on the moves you’ll still fail if you don’t stay present and do one step at the time focusing on the little details 👌 The send go was orgasmic as my feet and hands were falling on perfect spots the whole way 🔥

How is your project status with Move?
I did two tries from the ground and on my second one I already felt pretty much ready for it. …but I can be also far away because is just so hard to do everything perfectly after so much climbing.

I have to go back on the 30.9. So 6 more climbing days. It could be enough if the crack stays dry. Anyway I’m not stressing about it, the thing that makes me happy is that I’m finally feeling I’m making progress in my climbing again :)

Sung Su Lee, who sent four 8C’s this summer in Rocklands, has done Dreamtime (8B+/C) in Cresciano.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and your trip to Europe?
I am currently in Switzerland, challenging myself with Alphane (9A) and the Dreamtime took me three sessions as a side project. I only have two days left to climb, so I plan to return next year.

How is your progress on Alphane?
I started from four moves in and linked it to the end. I had many good attempts, but it’s a bit disappointing since it’s just a 13-day mini trip.

What is your next plan?
In October, I plan to go to Mizugaki in Japan, and at the end of November, I’ll head to Bishop in the United States for a rock climbing trip.

Who is paying for all trips? Are you a fully sponsored climber?
I’m currently in a short-term contract with an outdoor brand in Korea, but it ends this November, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to travel like this next year. 😮‍💨

Pietro Vidi has done Power of Now (8B+), Tigris sit (8B+) and Dark Matter (8B+) in Magic Wood. In the 8a ranking game, the 21-year-old Italian is #2.

”Dark matter is the longest line in the darkness cave, around 40 moves. I mainly tried it to gain some fitness as it’s super crimpy and powerful and good training for resistant projects in the fall. I tried a bit with Dave [Graham] and we both agree is way harder than any other 8B+ in the cave wich all took me just a couple tries, whereas dark matter was was a bigger fight. It was originally graded 8B+/C but after some breaks we agree it is definitely 8C!

Jorge Diaz-Rullo reports on Instagram that he has done Move (9b) in Flatanger. The Spaniard has been up in Norway for almost two months and two weeks ago he sent Change (9b+). (c) Adri Martinez

" Dream line and my favorite in the cave. I will never forgot this battle, 17 days of work in 2 month where I straggled with the condition, state of my skin and even more with all my emotions, to control all this and putting everything together feels like one of my biggest fight. Thanks Move for teach me a lot and thanks to all the people that was part of this process, without them help this would have been impossible."

Kai Lightner made his first 8a headline when he sent Southern Smoke (8c+) at age 13, in 2012. The next year, he won the Youth World Championship and completed Era Vella (9a). Then it took him ten years until he sent his next 9a and during the last year he has sent another five including Planet Garbage (9a) in Rifle (CO). (c) Joe Kinder

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Since moving to CO Rifle has become a local-ish crag for me, and I’ve began taking random 2-3 day trips to climb around and enjoy the canyon! I decided last weekend to try this cool Joe Kinder Rifle Classic as a way of reacclimatizing to rock and building fitness for the start of the season. Suprisingly, it all came together in just a few days and managed to send it pretty quickly! Definitely a confidence booster and a testament to the good training I’ve done in prep for the Fall season.

What are your autumn plans?
I won’t tell you my exact plans, but I will say my goals are much bigger than they were in the Spring. You guys will know in due time 😉

Doug McConnell, who did his first 9a in March, has sent Valhalla (9a) in Flatanger, after a one hour fight. "What a route - dream line! As hard mentally as physically. Took it to the top 1st time thru the crux on the second good day after the bad weather. Cool to share the process with Gonzalo, Josh, Nils & Leo - good times!!" (c) Kerrin Gale

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Valhalla is a monstrous route. Something like 65m of climbing out the Flatanger cave, extending Odin’s Eye to the Thor’s Hammer anchor. It breaks down to something like two stacked 8c/+ pitches.

Last year I was also in Flatanger and did Odin’s Eye after quite a bit of work. Afterwards, I watched Domen Skofic climb Valhalla and joked that it looked completely impossible to me. But it’s honestly one of the most inspiring routes I’ve ever seen and already my logical brain was telling me that it would suit me quite well - being long and without any super hard moves - so I was sufficiently intrigued to see if it was possible.

On the last few days of our trip in 2023 I checked out the first part above Odins, and found a sequence that I thought I could do from the ground with enough work and some specific preparation. So this year I was motivated to come back and commit to exclusively climbing on Valhalla and see what happened.

The trip didn’t start ideally though. I broke my toe two weeks before arriving and a host of other minor niggles plagued my first month here, but I persisted, and climbed on Valhalla exclusively in August.

It has two crux sections above Odin’s, separated by a good rest and then a final pumpy 8a ish section. All 3 of these parts involve strong left heel hooks so working on the route was a real balance of doing as much as possible to gain fitness on it but not going too far and breaking my left leg off.

It’s possible to fall in a number of places after the first crux, even right at the end. Mentally it was quite confronting to leave the ground each time, with so much hard climbing ahead and the real possibility to fail after doing so much work.

A year to the day after I watched Domen do it, I passed the first crux and kept it together to the top. I repeated Odin’s 6 times this year. It’s a nice route, but that’s enough.

James Mchaffie, with two 9a’s, done 13 years ago, has sent Yma O Hyd in Gnyweed. The 43-year-old is one of the most accomplished trad climbers in the UK with 15 routes E9 and beyond.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The climb is a direct on an E9 called Mission impossible (8b). It follows a thin crack via some great moves to join mission impossible at all its cruxes. It took me 3 months to get into shape to climb it, partly because the summer was very wet and I needed to gain form. I did Mission impossible in 2009 and that didn't take long, 2 sessions I think. This hard one took many sessions over 3 months.

I'm generally into onsighting rather than projecting but the climbing and rock was so good on this project I really wanted to give it my best shot at climbing it.

How is the protection?
Protection is good but start is committing. Need to place gear carefully, jump down on rucksack to then test them before climbing. I placed all gear on lead.

Leo Cea sent Tecnoking (9a) in Las chilcas at age 11 and three months, the youngest ever to have reached 9a. The next month he did La Nueva Yera (9a) at the same crag.

How did you start climbing and what are your first great memories?
Since I was a kid I liked to make mountains out of things and climb them. I also liked to climb trees and rocks near my house and in the places we visited with my family. When I was 8 years old, I started going to “Las Chilcas” accompanying my dad who was going climbing with his friend. That's when I started to climb Top Rope and I liked it more and more. I remember very well that I really liked going to Las Chilcas to play climbing rocks and hanging out in a cave in the “El Cubo” sector. There we would hang out with my dad and friends while we ate what we had brought for the day.

How does a normal climbing week look like?
I climb 6 times a week. Of those, 2-3 times a week we go to the rock, 2-3 sessions a week at the climbing gym where I go with my trainer, and another couple of sessions on the wall at my house.

What is it you like most about climbing?
My favorite thing to do is to climb a lot and be on the rock. I love looking for hard routes, working on them, and I really enjoy the feeling of connecting sequences. I like exploring new climbing areas and camping.

How many sessions did the 9a's take and how do you project such hard routes?
For “Tecnoking” I did 26 attempts before sending it, divided into 11 sessions. “La Nueva Yera” was 10 attempts divided into 6 sessions. I chose the new projects by looking for 8b+ routes or one that looked good. When I try it, I try it as much as possible until I know all the moves. After that, I take a rest day before the sending day.

Are you sometimes afraid of trying long hard routes?
No, because I'm not afraid of the height and I'm also very confident of the equipment. I'm confident that I'm using it well and that it is very strong.

What about onsight climbing?
I really like doing onsight climbing. I've already climbed almost everything in “Las Chilcas” so there's not much for me to climb onsight there anymore. But I love going to new sectors and try out new routes.

What are the routes and experiences you like the most?
The routes I have liked the most are Tecnoking, Migrand Balam and Puro Contacto. I also really liked when my dad took my best friend and me camping at Las Chilcas.

What is your next dream when it comes to routes or travel?
Margalef. I dream of climbing there and trying new routes there. I would love to climb “La Era Vella” and “Victimas Perez”.