Loic Zehani has done the FA of Zao (9a) in Sainte-Baume. Zao was the 22-year-old's 77th route logged in the 9a to 9b range. "Very old project (maybe 30 years!). It's a nice route slightly overhang and vertical. The rock is absolutely beautiful and the climbing is very powerful for the fingers. It starts with 4 hard moves (more or less 7B FB ) followed by 6 very hard moves (8A FB). This section is one of the most beautiful slices of rock that I have climbed and it finishes with a very nice vertical and demanding climb without [poor] feet. Very proud of this one because it's not my favourite style of climb!"

Hannes Puman has been in Tokyo since the end of December training for the Olympic qualification series by bouldering with a group of international and local climbers. On Instagram video Hannes recently published a video of an 8c flash he completed Pain makes me feel stronger 8c in Frankenjura that also went previously unreported. It was put up by Markus Bock in 2006 as an 8c+ but it has been recorded lately at 8c and even 8b+ with the aid of knee pads.

Can you tell us more about the flashing Pain?
I climbed it at the beginning of August when I was on my way to Innsbruck for training. We stopped for a few days in Frankenjura on the way. I was on my way to try Action Directe but as someone was trying it and I was motivated to climb, instead of waiting, I decided to try this one instead. My friend Jakob climbed it before me and we went through the beta and he gave me some tricks. He told me the style is similar to our local crags (short and crimpy) and that it is very friendly for the grade.

I didn’t struggle and had a good feeling when I was climbing. The route is so short running beta wasn’t necessary. I haven’t climbed a lot in Frankenjura so I’m not well acquainted with the style and grades there, but comparing with Wallstreet (8c), which I did the in the morning the same day, Pain felt a lot easier.

You made the Finals at the Briancon World Cup last year. Do you have anything special planned competition-wise this year?
At the moment I’m in Japan preparing for the Olympic qualification series. The focus here is bouldering, when I get back to Europe I will start getting into lead training

I came to Japan the 29th of December and I’m staying until the 12th of March. I usually climb 4 or 5 times a week here and [also] do 2 strength sessions. The main plan is to have 2 long bouldering sessions, 1 short and 1 endurance session. I try to keep the plan simple when being here and take the opportunity to climb with a lot of different and great climbers in climbing gyms with good and difficult setting.

I have been climbing with a lot of different people [from different nations]. Danes, French, Swiss, Korean and of course Japanese. Because the setting is so hard and there are so many great climbers here it’s very interesting to see differences in styles and strengths.

What makes the Japanese training scene special?
There are a lot of Japanese athletes and everyone is of course not doing the same training but if I would generalise and compare with Europe it’s more normal to try really hard, have longer sessions and more rest days.

My best training partner nowadays is Matsura Hiiro [pictured]. He is phenomenal. He is just 16 but in the last session he sent boulders which Sorato Anraku could not do. On slopers, he is in another league 😀 I think he never trains two days in a row and I do not think he has ever climbed outdoors. And he did not make it to their Youth National.

Stefano Ghisolfi has just moved from Arco to Innsbruck for better training possibilities in preparation for the Paris Olympics. His other goals for 2024 are Silence (9c) and Burden of Dreams (9A).

Piotr Schab has redpointed JoeDan (9a) at Santa Linya. The Polish climber has redpointed 29 routes 9a to 9b over the last twelve years. The picture above is from Pachamama (9a+).

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Joe Dan was actually one of the very last routes left in Santa Linya [for me]. Powerful start into a deadpoint crux move that appeared last year after a broken tufa, then Fabela climbing to the top. Didn’t climb routes for a year, so struggled a bit with the top endurance part.

What has stopped you from climbing routes this past year?
Over the last year(s) we’ve opened our second gym called Mood in Kraków, tough times to train so I focused on bouldering. [I] Wanna come back to routes though!

Eliáš Kysela, who over the last four months has sent his first three 9a’s, has done Martin Krpan (9a) in Osp/Misja Pec. The 17-year-old did his first 8c some 18 months ago.

”I went to Mišja Peč for a week. The main goal was to climb Martin Krpan. On the first day I managed to send Konec Mira which is half of the route and four days later I managed to send the whole line. I think it's a little easier with a kneepad. But ok compared to the 9a routes I've climbed, it's definitely not 8c+.”

Shauna Coxsey, who won eleven World Cups and stopped competing in 2021, has during a week spent in La Pedriza, sent six boulders 8A and harder including Wild Wild West, Pin y Pon (8B) and . All the more impressive, the 31-year-old mother to a toddler completed Fotofobia, which was FA'd by Ignacio Gonzalez, in a single session. (c) Talo Martin

“I was so excited to try Fotofobia! Big moves on tiny crimps on and overhanging wall... Yes! It is such an amazing piece of rock and the moves did not disappoint! I tried to climb the original line from Nacho. It seems there are a few new bigger holds at the end to the right that have been cleaned up. I decided to avoid those and stay left of the obvious seam. As for the grade, I really don’t know. It's been a while since I have climbed this grade so don't feel I am in a position to fully comment just yet. It went down pretty quickly so I am tempted to say it may be closer to 8B but I also don’t think I could design a climb to suit me more than this.”

Jorge Diaz-Rullo has logged Sleeping Lion (9b) in Siurana and confirmed Megos' 9b grade proposal. Jorge who is 169cm, says the dyno at the start was the hardest part for him. (c) Marco Zanone

On Instagram he comments. "Based on the whole process and my experience on these levels, if I had to choose a personal grade in relation to my body and my climbing style, I think it could be a 9b in the hard range, and I think it could become confirmed in this grade.

Regarding what I mentioned about height, although it may negatively affect me in some moves on this route due to being shorter than the average climbers tackling these difficulties, I am certain that in many cases, being who I am benefits me, such as when grabbing small holds or being more of an endurance climber. It doesn’t matter how you are or what challenges you face, just enjoy the game ."

Maya Ene, who last year climbed an 8c+ route as well as an 8A+ boulder, has completed The Thrilla in Manila (8B) in Hueco Tanks (TX). Her family owns a small climbing gym in New Jersey, and her father Ionel, finished his World Cup career in 1999 by being #19 in Speed and #43 in Lead at the World Championships.

Can you tell us more about Thrilla?
I think I got very motivated to try a V13 after placing third in the Hueco Rock Rodeo competition on February 17. To be on the podium with these famous names, Nina Williams and Michaela Kiersch, meant a lot to me. The problem was beta intense (knee bars - not my style) so I worked on it for two days. I was able to send it on my last day of the trip, last try. Super psyched. Looking for a V14 now:). My father was a big support for me during the comp and while working on the problem.

What is coming up next for you?
I will try to spend a couple of more weeks climbing outside (maybe I can send my project "Pure Imagination" this spring). In May, I will start focusing more on indoor climbing to get ready for Youth Nationals.

What does a normal climbing week look like for you?
My training? Hmm, that is something hard to describe because I don't have a particular program. My parents' schedule is a bit chaotic, but we climb indoors 4 to 5 times a week. Besides our gym, we climb at many others around us to experience different styles, sets and holds. A couple of weeks before Youth nationals we focus exclusively on indoor climbing.

How often do you climb outdoors?
We have almost no climbing outdoors here in New Jersey, so to get some quality climbing we have to travel at least 6 hours, so when we go, we stay for a couple of days. I think we spend about 3 months climbing outside throughout the year.

Anak Verhoeven is historically speaking one of the best female Lead competition climbers. She made finals in the WC 36 times in a row. In total, she made the podium 19 times, but in 2019 she stopped competing due to injuries. In the second half of 2021, she fully recovered but decided to focus only on rock climbing. During her comp years, she did a dozen routes 8c+ to 9a+, and since then she has done another dozen routes routes 9a to 9a+.

Kai Lightner has kept up his recent form and fitness by doing the FA of Death of Villains (9a+) at Hurricave. Kai first made headlines 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). Last November he made his return to 9a by climbing, Life of Villains (9a).

On Instagram he comments on his 9a+ FA. "I can’t end this post without giving a HUGE shout out to @joekinder. You have really become a mentor for me in so many ways, and have gone out of your way to help me in my outdoor climbing journey. At the end of the day, the climbing community would not exist without people like you developing the crags we recreate in." (c) Gareth Leah

Can you tell us more about this FA?
Training for Death of Villains was honestly a shot in the dark. I had never projected a climb at that level, and didn’t know how much was enough. For this particular climb, power endurance was the name of the game, and I had to have a lot of it. So lots of laps, lots of 4x4’s and lots of cardio! Luckily when I showed up to the climb, I knew I had enough fitness to get the job done in the 2.5 weeks I had given myself. I had also already done half the climb, as the beginning section is shared with Life of Villains (which I sent last fall). After 9 sessions and fighting the rain and damp conditions, I was finally able to get it done on the last possible try of the last day of my trip! Super psyched to nail this one down .

How long did you prepare for the climb?
I’d say [only] the month before (January). After a busy month of December in Jamaica and going home for the holidays, I reserved the month of January strictly for training and preparing.

What is coming up next for you?
Spain in two weeks! I’ll be climbing around Spain for a month testing routes and seeing what goes. Only time will tell!