Michaela Kiersch has onsighted Crimptonite (8b+) in Oliana and redpointed Victima Perfecta (9a+) in Margalef. "So happy to send it after some true heartbreaking attempts falling at the last move — maybe 6 times. A good lesson in perseverance and being patient and in the moment." (c) Jan Novak

Can you tell us more about your first 8b+ onsight?
I gave 2 tries on a new project in Oliana and decided to go for it at the end of the day. Turns out climbing on pockets at 50-60 degrees every day didn’t hurt my crimp strength. I just climbed slowly and took my time to find the right holds and sequences.

Babsi Zangerl reports on Instagram that she has done Pungitopo (8c+) in Arco. (c) Jacopo Larcher

Can you tell us more about your latest redpoint?
Originally I wanted to get back on Solitary Souls (8c+) but it was always soaking wet so I checked out Pungitopo. I guess that one fits my style pretty well. I had some struggles on a very reachy move in the middle. It took me 6 days to climb it.

Jacopo [Larcher] also did the first ascent of “Strange” a route on the left of Pungitopo. Alfredo Webber bolted that route and did it from the second bolt. He was unsure if it was easier or the same grade as Pungitopo.

Tomoa Narasaki won his seventh Boulder World Cup. The runner-up was Sorato Anraku, the overall WC winner in both Lead and Boulder in 2023. Narasaki won by flashing two boulders and all four zones meanwhile 17-year-old Anraku needed four tries for his two tops. Hannes van Duysen, who last year won the Lead Youth World Championship and took the bronze in Boulder, completed the podium. The final round was cancelled due to bad weather and the top six were also among the top eight after the qualification.

Narasaki: "I’m happy to take the win. It’s important to get focussed on the Olympic Games and it starts now with this win. I just have to continue training now for the Games." More quotes can be found on the IFSC website and here are their highlights and more.

1. Tomoa Narasaki JPN 24 (2)
2. Soratu Anraku JPN 24 (4)
3. Hannes van Duysen BEL 23 (4 & 4)
4. Toby Roberts GBR 23 (4 & 6)
5. Sam Avezou FRA 23 (5)
6. Meichi Narasaki JPN 22
Complete results

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Domen Škofic, overall Lead World Cup winner in 2016, has climbed Catxasa (9a+) in Santa Linya. "Such a brutal climb, I’m proud I’ve done it! I tried the route two years ago and almost did it without kneepads. This time I decided that I do it with kneepads since everyone is doing it that way and the grade should stand for what is the easiest way to climb it. My opinion on the grade is that it definitely makes it a bit easier with kneepads but it makes no sense for this route to be only 9a since you’re doing a hard 8c+ into another solid 8c+. The upper 8c+(Fabela) has been done with kneepads for the last 10 years and the grade still stands. I’ve done most of the routes in the cave and my opinion is to either downgrade everything or leave it as it is."

Janja Garnbret won all three rounds in Kequiao and in the final she only needed five attempts, including a foot slip on the slab, to do all four boulders and win her 16th Boulder World Cup.

“It’s the first World Cup of the season and you are always a little bit nervous because although I have been training hard over the winter you don’t really know what your competitors have been doing. I knew I was strong and I felt good, but you never know in a competition.” More quotes on IFSC website.

On a side note, none of the three highest ranked female boulderers, Natalia Grossman, Brooke Raboutou and Oriane Bertone, participated.
1. Janja Garnbret SLO 44 (5)
2. Camilla Moroni ITA 23 (10)
3. Zhilu Luo CHN 22 (2)
4. Zelia Avezou FRA 13 (5)
5. Erin Mcneice AUS 12 (1)
6. Anon Matsufuji JPN 12 (2)
Final results and a video of the final day.

Tanguy Merard, who did five 9a+’s last year, has completed Le Cadafist (9a/+) in Saint Léger, Anidalle tracteur (9a) in L'Abattoir and Amicalement blues (9a) in Saint-Pancrasse. (c) Milan Keller

”Le Cadafist was for me my return to high level outdoors after 6 months without rock and without motivation. It's a route that required a lot of mental investment from me. I almost only fell in the second part (Rêve de poutre 8c) which gave me a lot of trouble. I fell 3 times on the last move to go to the final jug then I changed method and I sent.”

What made you lose motivation?
I think it's because I climbed outside a lot until I get bored of it and suddenly I didn't want to go outside at all. I've only been climbing for a little more than 10 years so I wanted to do something else, so I did partying, routsetting and fun climbing. 4/5 sessions per week but only spraywall climbing.

Roman Alexander Hoffman sent Thermonuclear Fusion (9a+) in wedderburn in 2022. ”I often boulder by myself maybe 70% of the time. Only my wife & one good friend knew about the send of "Thermonuclear Fusion" until I published it last week.”

Can you tell us more about the boulder/route and the process behind it?
The total length of the climb is approximately 20-25 metres of climbing at 44+ moves (hands only). The total number of sessions I would estimate with trying all the variants & links, to the final hard lines would be around once a week for 6 months over 3-4 years totalling around 60-80 sessions.

Using a chalk bag is very awkward in roofs and part of the climbing is also close to the ground. I hung chalk balls in the roof at both rests which is also the only place you can freely chalk up, this worked much better.

Ben Hanna, who last week did JoeDan por Fabelita 8c+/9a, has onsighted Humildes pa Casa (8b+) in Oliana. (c) Iandzilenski.com

”Onsighting 5.14 [8b+] had always been a dream of mine. Last week I told @iandzilenski I wanted to onsight Humildes pa Casa before the trip was over, for no other reason then it was the first 5.14a I saw on the Oliana topo. Yesterday we drove to Oliana with this as a goal, but as soon as I started warming up I felt terrible and almost bailed. But we were there, and Dizzy wasn’t about to let me leave without trying. I decided to just give it the good old half ass college try.

I almost fell 3 times on the intro 5.12 and was pretty blasted by the time I got to where the route really starts, but to be perfectly honest, once I started into the tufa I forgot all about how pumped I was and what I was trying to do. I was completely lost in how epic this route is! Probably the most beautiful and enjoyable line I have ever climbed. I had a ear-to-ear, shit-eating-grin across my face the entire route.

The next thing I knew I was pulling the last meter of tufa. It wasn’t until these last couple moves to the anchor that I realized sending was possible, and the fight was on. At this point I was able to get a no hands knee-bar at the last draw which did absolutely nothing I was so pumped. I managed to pull onto the head wall but because of all the rain the last few weeks non of the holds had chalk on them and so I was fully shooting in the dark. With a little bit of luck and power screaming I’m sure all of Spain could hear I was able to pull it off.”