Zach Galla has done the second ascent of The Process (8C+) in the Buttermilks. Daniel Woods put it up in 2015, and at that time it was one of few boulder problems graded 8C+. In the ranking game, Zach is #3 after having also done three 8C’s, as well as, Sleepwalker (8C+) over the last three months. The 23-year-old was #8 in the Salt Lake City WC last year but he has said his focus 2024 is outdoors. (c) Brennan Robinsson

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The process was a very special one to me. I saw Daniel do the FA in real rock when I was 14 and the boulder has been in my mind as one of the most mega things out there. Feels crazy that it’s remained unrepeated for 9 years, and my climbing has leveled up enough in that time to climb it for its 2nd. The boulder is definitely scary but not too dangerous. the crux jump to the lip is about 18 feet [5.5 meters] off the ground and feels like it will swing you off and cause a weird fall, but I was lucky to never take a bad one from there. After the lip, the boulder starts to get into a no fall zone as you execute around a V8 [7B+] boulder before making it onto some easy slab terrain. It felt as if there was nothing else around me and I was climbing in a bubble. A unique climbing experience I’ve never experienced before.

How many sessions did it take and how did it all unfold?
It took me three trips and somewhere around 10 sessions. I first flashed the drop off boulder Social Distortion 8A+ (B), then started working the next section off of a ladder and was able to complete that link on my first trip as well. I thought it may go quickly but the boulder is a logistically hard one to try. I needed at least one day of rest after a short session with only a few tries, and often multiple rest days after a sesh due to skin.

Buster Martin has repeated Will Bosi's Furia de Jabali (9a+) in Siurana. ”Six sessions. Final piece of a life come back. Could barely pull on last year but despite climbing having a back seat in my life I kept up the fingerboarding which got me up this thing. Wouldn’t have sniffed at it if it was given 9a.”

Can you elaborate, on what you mean by climbing taking a back seat and not sniffing at 9a?
If the consensus for the grade was 9a then I wouldn’t have complained.

Until a short trip out here a month ago, I hadn’t been climbing as much for the past 10 months or so, with most of that time being spent in Indonesia. However, I never stopped training completely. Classic 20mm pulls and weights as standard then the addition of Front 3 half crimps, micros, high angle work on the fingerboard to work my weaknesses. Whilst I didn’t have the time, motivation or mental energy to climb I found that short fingerboard and weights sessions were manageable and knew they’d pay off.

I also filled the board in Bali with grimmest scew ons I could find, so when I did climb it was an hour of limit moves on there, I was more working a general weakness but it came in useful on this route.

What is coming up next for you?
I didn’t have much luck in my climbing in the first quarter of last year so I’m keen to get some confidence up and get moving again. I thought doing a short route like Furia and trying something longer like Estado would give me a good base and target both ends of the energy systems to later apply more specifically to the endurance required for First Round First Minute (9b) which I got back on today.

More thoiughts from Buster and a video of the start can be found on Instagram.

Marco Müller has posted a great video from his trip to Mallorca last October where his hardest DWS was Animalistic (8c).

How high were the highest falls you took? How dangerous is it?
I'd say around 13-14 meters. You can definitely take some bad falls if you do sketchy high heels or toe hooks and stuff. But then, the art is in knowing you abilities and letting go at the right moment in order to not swing unexpectedly.

Solveig Korherr has done Rêve de poutre (8c) in ”Good one! Felt just like board climbing. Two days.” (c) John Thornton - Les petits chefs du néant (8c)

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I spontaneously decided to try “Rêve de poutre” (8c) on a short trip to St Léger because it was one of the few routes that were dry at the beginning, and it seemed like one that could suit me. It has an easier start into the upper part of ‘Cadafist’ (9a/+), which is quite powerful on small crimps. Four hard quite basic board moves, and then some power-endurance to the top. Very fun!

What is next? Start projecting Cadafist?
Maybe one to try for the future. I will go back home and perhaps do some shorter bouldering trips to Ticino in between some work & training.

Jorge Diaz-Rullo sent Bibliographie (9b+) last October. " Marco Zanone's documentation immortalizes Jorge's epic triumph, a tale of resilience that resonates far beyond the cliffs of Céüse. Jorge's journey was one of sacrifice and dedication, spanning years of relentless training and attempts to conquer this formidable challenge. “Bibliographie” pushed his physical and mental limits, demanding a level of commitment that surpassed mere ambition."

Marine Thevenet, who has roughly 100 8A - 8B+ boulders under her belt, has flashed Catatonica (8A) in Brione.

How was it pulling off your first 8A flash?
I’m not particularly looking for flashable boulders because I like to feel that I control the movements when I climb. I just tried the boulder and did it right away. I was well warmed up, and my friend had just done it, so I had good beta.

Can you tell us more about your month long trip to Ticino?
Since I started my new job as sports agent I can work from anywhere ; so I went to Ticino to work and climb! We had quite a lot rainy days so I couldn’t try The Kingdom (8C) - it dries really slowly - but Ticino is full of nice boulders and the boulders in the river dry fast so I cannot complain.

Austin Purdy had a productive night session up at Coal Creek where he first sent Freakshow (8C) followed by two 8B’s and an 8A. ”Psyched to take this down and to be done with those sharp holds. The highball finish was a bit sketch alone, but definitely makes the boulder full value. As for the grade it is certainly much harder post break than it was before, but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be V14 now and just V13 before the break. I'm not very confident in my grading at the moment though since this is the first hard thing I have tried since recovering from some injuries this winter, and this is certainly much harder than the V13's down the hill, so for now I will defer to Daniel's expertise.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent and why you opted for a night session?
I have not had much success climbing the last couple of months due to some minor nagging injuries. I felt like Freakshow would be a good reintroduction to hard boulder for me since it is quite long for a boulder and none of the moves are exceptionally hard for the difficulty of the full line. It ended up being a perfect project to get some fitness back and I was very psyched to send it.

I think I sent around 7pm. The boulder sits in the sun all day and the day I sent was actually rather warm for this time of year so climbing at night felt like the only good option. I do find myself climbing at night quite often in general though as I typically prefer colder temps and it is the only time I can get outside on days I am working.

Jonathan Siegrist has done Don’t Die in Linares (9a) in Texas. The 38-year-old has now done 75 routes 9a and harder. "I went FULL A Muerte after sticking the crux move and decimated my skin in the process… felt the do or die moment on the top out as I tried to contain the bloodbath! Another nasty one from Cody [Roth]..."

Can you tell us more about the "bloodbath"?
After sticking the main crux you still have a pretty serious 7C boulder problem and on this move I got my hand stuck behind a toe hook. When I ripped my hand out of the pocket I left a huge piece of skin behind and at this point, I still had a 7c-ish section to finish the route... so I felt the real pressure now as I could feel a pool of blood filling the jug I was resting on! I knew there was no way I could have another try and with my trip ending in a few days, I knew this was really my last effort for the season. Thankfully the top was not super hard but I definitely took every move very seriously and kept cleaning the blood off of my fingers as often as I could! I like moments like this where the climbing level is way below your max but you really have to focus. If not for the whole risking your life thing, I think I would really enjoy big solos.

Bronwyn Hodgins has sent La Rubia (8c+) in Villanueva del Rosario. "WOWOWOWOW!!!! I can’t believe it!!! I chose this route a year ago as a lofty dream and trained for 8 months specifically at home, then lived in Villanueva del Rosario for 2.5 months this winter and managed to get the send on the final days of the trip!!! Definitely suits my style, hang on forever with a four limbs in a crazy 3-d cave. The crux was tough!!! But I do love crimps and I think it also suited me. The kilter board training was definitely for this!! By far my longest sport project. Send go was a fight at the top, I very nearly dropped that last move at the chains! SO PSYYYYYYYCHED!" (c) Julia Cassou

The Canadian climber is more known in the climbing world for her big wall free climbing and remote first ascents, but after three back-to-back big wall expeditions in 2022, Bronwyn was feeling burnt-out from expedition stress and logistics. A little lost for motivation she travelled to Spain to climb tufas and improve her Spanish, and soon found herself wondering how hard she might be able to climb if she put her intense focus into training and sport climb projecting...

"It was hugely intimidating arriving at La Rubia, having only climbed one 8b+ and a handful of 8b's. I definitely felt like maybe I had dreamed a little too big this time! But over the course of the season I slowly ticked away at more manageable chunks of the route until I was finally able to put it all together.

The mental aspect was really tough. I felt like I had some of the tools from big wall free climbing such as performing well under pressure and sequence visualization and execution, but I had no experience in sticking with a project for anywhere near this long. At the same time, I continued to make progress pretty much every time I tied in which was super motivating.
The route is 55m long, and steep with many knee-bar rests in the top half, which also gives a lot of opportunity to overthink things and get nervous. On the send go, I climbed super smoothly and faster-than-ever all the way up to the final bolt (where I'd fallen on my last attempt a few days earlier). I tactically skipped the final knee bar so that I didn't interrupt my mental flow and launched myself with all I had left for the big move just next to the chains. I still can't believe my fingers latched onto that hold!"

If you have ever climbed in the Arco area, we would like to see your photos. Submit your Arco climbing pictures for a chance to be featured in the new Arco guidebook. The guide will be released in multiple languages this summer and will include updated crags and new additions with contributions from local experts.

To participate, you can upload your Arco climbing photos to the gallery by March 31st 2024, along with route and location tags, credits, and a brief caption explaining the significance of the photo. If you want, you can add your Instagram profile too for a chance to be tagged.

All contributors will receive one month of Vertical-Life Premium, and those whose photos are selected will receive a free copy of the guidebook.

UPLOAD PHOTOS