Beto Rocasolano made the first ascent of Parcero Igual Guerrero (9a) in Margalef last month. Now 34, he climbed his first 9a at 26 and has since added 26 more routes up to 9a+, along with 18 boulders graded 8C and harder. (c) Mateus Haladaj

Can you tell us more about your FA?
I climbed it in February and it’s a super nice route bolted by Angelo [Bernal Quintero] this summer. He told me I’m going to like it because it’s quite bouldery, but for sure you also need endurance hehe.

The route starts from the same start as La Bongada, but the entry is tricky because the first move is hard and some people skip it. For me, to be honest, you need to do it to say you climbed the route. It’s similar to if you skip the first move in a boulder problem and say you climbed the complete line.

So the route is like an 8c route, then two moves of a 7c boulder on a bad undercling, and you have to be precise to take a bad pocket after big moves to reach the rest. After the rest there is another 7c boulder problem on pinches! So it’s a super nice route! For sure it’s going to be a classic for strong people because it’s a super fun climb!

Some strong climbers tried it and think it might be 9a+, but for me I’m happy to do a FA in a world-class crag like Margalef in the 9th grade. It’s a goal for me, so I’m happy! 😊😊😊

What about the start and the potential of skipping the first move?
You need some rocks but not to much to reach the first holds but the people put more and more to skip the first move, jajajajaja.

Ramon [159 cm] did the first ascent of La Bongada (9a) that share the same start and you need to respect the FA. Originally it was four rocks but later people put more.

Jorge Diaz-Rullo reports on Instagram that he has made the first ascent of Cafe Colombia in Margalef. At 27, he’s already stacked four 9b+ sends and now he’s added another monster to the list. After 240 days of projecting, the line finally went down… but no grade has been suggested yet. Do you think Jorge will go for 9c or even 9c+? (c) Javi Pec

”I still can’t believe it’s real! For years, everything revolved around this project. There were very difficult moments, but I never stopped dreaming that it was possible. I pushed my limits in every way. I obsessed over every tiny detail. I worked harder than I ever had before, trying to reach a level that once felt impossible.

After 240 days, everything aligned and my dream became real. A fight I will remember forever. Thank you to everyone who walked this long road with me. And thank you CC, for shaping me into the climber I am today 🙏”

Graham Owens has spent the last month in Siurana where his highlights have been onsighting Cronica (8b) and redpointing Estado critico (9a) and Pati noso (8c+). ”4th go. Flash pump of doom. 8c/+ maybe?”

Can you tell us more about Estado Critico and your injury background?
In Summer 2025 I was feeling stronger and fitter than ever, with lots of big goals for the year ahead. Namely, I knew I planned to take a semester off from school in the spring, and had tons of hard boulders and routes in mind. In July though, I had a freak accident where I decked sport climbing and fractured my ankle in several places. I needed surgery, couldn’t walk for over a month, or fit on my climbing shoe for another month or two thereafter. Once mostly recovered, I started training hard again, but promptly developed an overuse pulley injury. It turned out to stick around for much longer than expected, and when I still couldn’t crimp hard in January, I considered canceling all of my plans and going back to school. Fortunately, friends and family helped me stay sane, and I decided to go for it.

Once I got to Spain in February with my finger starting to feel better, Estado caught my eye immediately. It’s an incredible line that I had seen videos of for many years, and lots of other cool and strong people were trying it. At first my fitness was still lacking after so long without training hard, so I couldn’t try it more than once a day and focused on making links. Slowly I started to feel more confident though and pushed through the bottom boulder, then fell off the last few moves a couple of times, and then sent! Full disclosure, I used the new left kneebar on the headwall which allows for a brief, intense shakeout before the last few moves. It’s far from full recovery and replaces another optional rest a few moves prior, so I personally doubt it changes the grade. Those with freak endurance might find the route easy regardless, but that definitely wasn’t me, haha.

What is next?
We have two more weeks in Spain and I think we’ll spend them in Margalef. After that hopefully I can hit St Leger and Arco too. Lots of other hard routes in mind! Trying to take advantage before I’m stuck in school again 😂

Returning in May once my visa runs out, not sure from where. School is my main focus alongside climbing; I study International Relations at UPenn and am hoping to attend law school.

Davide Zane, with three 8B+’ under his belt, has repeated Dave Graham’s classic The Story Of 2 Worlds (8C) in Cresciano.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and say something about your climbing background?
I started climbing when I was 8 years old, in Arco. I began with competitions and managed to become part of the Italian national team. However, after many competitions, I became more passionate about outdoor climbing.

Three years ago, I started outdoor bouldering and immediately liked it more than competitions, so I continued. Now I’m a routesetter and instructor, but I would like to become a full-time outdoor athlete. I’m 20 years old and, unfortunately, for now I have to work to support myself because I don’t have the financial means to do so without support.

In December, I sent The Stand (The Dagger) in 40 minutes, but it wasn’t my main goal to make a story. I was there to try Dreamtime, but it was too hot, so I focused on Story instead, and after three sessions I sent it.

Connor Herson repeated Pete Whittaker’s Crown Royale (9a) in Jøssingfjord last summer, keeping the ascent under wraps until the video release. The 22-year-old needed just four attempts to send the 100-meter crack, assigning it a personal grade of 8c+. With a tick list that includes a handful of other trad climbs from 8c to 9a+, the American boasts one of the most impressive trad résumé in the world. Herson first made headlines in 2018 by climbing an 8c+ on just his second attempt at age 14. That same year, he also repeated The Nose (8b+ MP) and placed 11th at the Youth World Championship.

Tyler Thompson, who last month sent La Rambla (9a+), has completed La Reina Mora (9a) in Siurana. Noteworthy is that FA Ramon Julian suggested 8c but since then almost everyone has called it a 9a. (c) Esteban Lahoz

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
After doing La Rambla I knew I wanted to try the obvious line that follows the crack the entire way. I started trying “La Reina Mora” and found it much more pumpy and continuous, as opposed to the restful and bouldery style of La Rambla. After a few days I was having good tries but a foot slip during some poor conditions while I was reaching a jam in the crack ruined the skin on my left hand and forced me to take nearly a week away from the route.

After I could try again the conditions were quite bad. I had some promising tries falling in the last few moves before the slab but a week of rain left the route soaked for more than 10 days. That time provided some much needed rest and I came back ready. On the first day with great conditions following the storm the route was still dripping with water. I waited all day while the sun dried the route and, just as the shadow completely covered the wall, sent with a great fight!

I might also add that just a few minutes after I came down the route was dripping with water after the sun was no longer on the wall!

Do you know the reason for the upgrade?
Ramon was known for sandbagging so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was originally 8c+ but at least one important hold broke in the redpoint crux and I believe some other minor holds have broken a bit. I never tried the route in it’s original state but it certainly compares to other 9a I’ve climbed.

What is next?
Hoping to try Era Vella a bit but I developed a bit of an a2 injury while sending so I’m trying to rest up and come back to Vegas recovered.

Alex Ventajas, with 20 routes 9a and beyond under his belt, has done the first repeat of Gabri Moroni’s Mascella Serrata (9a) in Arco. ”Perfect line, all natural, really a must of Arco. 4 days, my style completely.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent and possibly share a picture?
This route caught my eye the first time I saw it, just after it had been bolted by Gabriele Moroni, and I couldn’t wait to try it.

When I first tried it a couple of weeks ago, I had good feelings on most of the sections, but I couldn’t completely figure out the first crux. In fact, even though the whole route is quite complex, alternating bouldery sections and rests, the hardest part comes right at the start.

On the second day, the first boulder was unfortunately wet. I was worried that some damp holds might break, so I focused on the rest of the route, managing to climb it in one go.

In the mean time I was working a lot as a route-setter, so it was a bit difficult to understand the ups and downs of my body shape. On the third day I felt like I just didn’t have enough power to unlock the opening boulder, but at the same time I had the feeling I was missing something.

Finally, on the fourth day I tried to approach the crux differently: thinking about the sequence, I realized that while clipping I was positioning my body in a way that made the next move much harder. I tried to delay the clip and the feeling on those moves completely changed!

On the next go, with that simple adjustment, I managed to get through the first crux for the first time and then just kept climbing! It was a tough fight and I think the key to reach the chain was having fully internalized the moves, which allowed me to stay focus and push through all the way to the top. I’m really happy to add this line to my thick list! A real five-star route that combines technique and power.

Since I don’t have any good pic on the route I share an unposted one from summer holidays by @crimp.films.

”I stopped focusing on competition bouldering after last year’s World Cup in Prague, partly because I can already feel it on my body, especially in my shoulders. The modern competition style, with a lot of jumping from one hold to another, is very demanding for the shoulders.

Outdoor bouldering is more conservative climbing, something I’ve been used to since childhood, but I had never fully dedicated myself to it before. I had a short period when I focused on bouldering more intensively, for example in 2011, but otherwise I always treated it as a secondary discipline. On rock I mainly focused on bigger projects. This time I wanted to try something less stressful. That made the return to bouldering even more appealing, to see how far I could push myself in this discipline”.

”This year I managed to climb three additional 8C boulders flash, so I’ve now done it at least four times. I value Emotional Landscapes in Maltatal, Austria the most. It’s a legendary and technically extremely complex line. It has very few ascents, even though many climbers have tried it. Not only is it difficult, it’s also incredibly technical. People who climbed it before had to spend a lot of time working out the complex sequences.”

Now I’ll focus more on rope climbing. I need to build endurance before the competition season and the World Cup events, where success is not only about pure strength but also about stamina. I’ll try to convert this strength into the ideal form so I can present myself in Prague at the beginning of June in the best possible shape.”

Ainhize Belar Barrutia, who sent a 9a+ in 2024, has done Estado critico (9a) in Siurana.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Last autumn I took a couple of trips to Siurana and started trying Estado Crítico. It was a route that motivated me a lot, but I wasn’t in my best shape… At first I struggled to get through the first dynamic move (the crux for me), and then I started falling on the last slab a few times… When the real cold started, I decided to train for a couple of months, and this week, on my first day back here, I was able to do it on my second go (one to put the quickdraws in and another to send)!!

I’m so happy to have done this mythical line and so motivated to try other things around here in the coming weeks!