Antoine Maire, who last year sent his first six 9a’s, has started out 2026 by sending Le playboy rôde sans complexe (9a+) and Beginning Of The Strongness (9a) in Aix-en-Provence. This week the 29-year-old sent Era Vella (9a) in Margalef.

”This line is so spicy, like my progression which is in the ascendent phase. I arrive on stage, brilliant performance, I shine in public, dominant aura. I follow in private with the brother, mentally I almost cracked after three falls under the relay but the secret is to never give up. I'm coming back from Spain with the trailer filled with a beautiful cross, as I promised my brother!”

Michaela Kiersch has visited Oukaimeden in Morocco together with Ashima Shiraishi with a focus on exploring and putting up first ascents. The Doctor in Hand Therapy has built an extraordinary résumé: 20 routes graded 8c+ to 9a+ and some 20 boulders 8B to 8C. Remarkably, almost all of the 31-year-old climber’s hardest ascents have come within the last five years.

Can you tell us more about the trip and the most memborable ascents?
I spent 10 days in Morocco with my friend Ashima. She had a project from a previous trip and I was motivated to put up some first ascents. I ended up adding a lower start to her project, an existing 8A+, and calling it Taradine (8B), which translates to “girls.” It was fitting because we got the first and second ascents. I also added 4 highballs to the area — Atlas 8A, a stand alone beautiful orange and black line; and then 3 lines to a different boulder Aphrodite 7A, Artemis 7B, and Athena 7C. The Atlas Mountains were named for the titan who held up the sky, and I decided to honor a few of my favorite goddesses as well.

Bill Ramsey, who did Nice is Nice (8c) at age 62, has sent Ghost Meat (8b+) in Mount Potosi. The 65-year-old began climbing in the mid-1970s with Alan Watts at Smith Rock. He later shifted his focus to academics, earning a PhD in philosophy, before returning to climbing in the early 1990s. (c) James Lucas

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
The name of the climb is Ghost Meat, put up by Andy Raether a little over ten years ago. Consensus is 8b+ after some hold breakage. It's a fairly short, steep and powerful climb up at the Clear Light Cave on Mt. Potosi that I had been trying since last September. It actually is not a very good climb for a senior citizen because it is bouldery with a powerful crux, but there are some other things about it that were attractive, like its convenience (the cliff is only about an hour and half from my house, including the hike).

There is a crux about 2/3rds up where you have to catch an undercling, and I came off that one move for nearly 3 months. I had tried this climb briefly a few years ago but could never do this crux so I gave up. But at the end of last summer I did a lot of weight lifting and training specifically for this climb, built a small replica of the crux in my garage, and went to work. As with the last 8b+ I did, I would train some in the morning before getting on the climb because I wanted to stay fit throughout the projecting process, and that paid off.

This year, as sort of an act of defiance for turning 65, I didn’t want to simply do a hard climb (for an old man), but to actually be a semi-respectable weekend warrior. So my goal was to do two 8b+’s and two 8b’s and various other routes in the 8a range. I’m now making good progress on my second 8b so that goal is about to be accomplished. I can’t express how grateful I am to be still playing this game and still having so much fun doing it after 50 years climbing. It helps that there’s a really great group of top level and psyched climbers living in Vegas right now, and they constantly inspire and provide support and motivation!

How does a normal climbing week look like?
A normal climbing week I usually get out two or three times. I have become the department chair so I need to spend more time on campus doing administrative work as well as teach, but my schedule is somewhat flexible and I try to get out during the week at least once, sometimes twice. Because of my age I find if I go hard, I need at least 2 rest days. Going hard means getting up at around 5, warming up and max-hang fingerboarding and stuff for 2 or 3 hours, going to the cliff and trying the project 3 or 4 times, and then maybe doing some Kilter Boarding in the evening. It varies.

Laura Rogora, the Vertical-Life climber of 2025, repeated Adam Ondra’s Niobe (9a) last week in just four tries. ”I had watched Adam’s video, but not to checked the betas. Basically, before starting I only knew that after the first chain there was a palm-move boulder.”

World Climbing: ”The decision, that has been communicated to all World Climbing National Federations, lifts the suspension placed on the Russian (CFR) and Belarusian Federations (BACF), while maintaining the following provisions:

1. To allow the participation of athletes and team officials with Russian and Belarusian passports in international competitions under the Neutral Athletes Policy in place.
2. To not allow the organisation of international events in Russia and Belarus until further notice.”

Paul-Martin Luc has done the first ascent of öga för öga (8C) at Hultastenen. The project took shape during the summer of 2023 and developed into a multi-year endeavor marked by progress, setbacks, and ultimately full payoff. Along the way, he first completed Luftig kö till nålens öga (8B+) as well as the sit start den nattliga havsfärden (8B+), before shifting his entire focus to the full low start from Tvekampen (8A) into Nålens Öga—a long, steep, and highly physical line where power, body tension, and heel hooks are central.

In spring 2024, the project gained extra momentum when Adam Ondra visited the area. After a joint breakdown of the moves, Ondra flashed Luftig Kö Till Nålens Öga, one of the most talked-about flashes ever done in Sweden, and at the same time provided valuable context regarding the difficulty of the sector. That same day, several local climbers achieved personal bests, but for the project’s main protagonist the session ended with a hamstring injury that required a long rehabilitation and put the project on hold for more than a year.

After returning, the attempts continued methodically until the entire line finally went down. As for the grade, Öga för Öga is assessed as 8C. If Den Nattliga Havsfärden is considered 8B+, the link sits in the upper end of 8C; but if it is instead a solid 8C, the full line could be perceived as a soft 8C+. Regardless of the exact grade, the ascent is seen as the culmination of an unusually long and emotionally charged journey—where the end result carries more weight than the number.

Andy Lamb, with four 8C+’ to his name, has repeated Ethan Salvo’s IMAX (8C) in Squamish.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
IMAX is a sick new one put up by Ethan last year. All comes down to a big jump to a good crimp at the top. Hands are good but it's hard to generate on the feet. Really nice line.

What are your 2026 plans?
Got a few international trips planned for this spring and summer. Might be moving later this year, so I'm trying to take advantage of my last spring in Squamish too

Tyler Thompson, who the last ten weeks has done six routes 8c+ or 9a, has repeated Ramon Puigblanque’s La Rambla (9a+) in Siurana. ”It felt surreal to get up this in a few days after struggling several years ago. Honored to experience this bit of history!”

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
I initially tried La Rambla two years ago during my first trip to Europe. I spend 2 or 3 weeks on the route, but ultimately didn’t feel super close and abandoned the project for the last bit of my trip to climb some other classic routes. Since that trip I’ve had it in my mind and always wanted to come back with more endurance. Last summer I had a climbing trip in the states that gave me some confidence in my endurance and I planned another trip back to Siurana. In the fall I included a lot of outdoor climbing with a focus on long routes in my training and came feeling super prepared for the route. I climbed to the crux on my second try of this trip and felt significantly more consistent in the crux. We had some good conditions and I fought my way through the crux on my 4th day this year! It felt surreal to climb such a historic route that I have known about for so many years.

What are your next plan?
Planning on trying Jumbo Love (9b) in the spring! That’s as far ahead as I have planned.

Erik Cmiel, with two 8B+’ under his belt, has repeated James Webb’s Sleepwalker (8C+) in Red Rock (NV). ”15/16? [8C/+] This one means a lot to me. Most amount of time I’ve put into a project and truly a dream line .”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I first tried Sleepwalker on my first trip to Vegas during my freshman year of college, just messing around on it and not doing many of the moves. I started taking it seriously in February 2025 on a short weekend trip with my friend Ethan Freudenheim, where I quickly did most of the moves except the big move to the sloper. I got hooked on the process and went back a couple more times that winter.

In the fall, I made a couple more short trips but dealt with skin issues and illness that slowed my progress. Then in late January, I spent a week in Vegas with Kawa Club and had my best sessions yet. After driving back to Salt Lake City for two days of class, I turned around and made the six hour drive back to Vegas for one more weekend. I left at 5 am that Friday and ended up sending later that same day, almost exactly one year after my first serious trip. It was a perfect day with an incredible crew. The only downside was getting food poisoning from my celebratory sushi that night.

I’ve been climbing for about eight and a half years. I started in southern Minnesota, where I grew up, and spent most of my early years competing and making long drives whenever I had the chance to get outside. Access to rock was limited, so outdoor trips always felt like a big deal.

After moving to Salt Lake City for college, I began focusing more on outdoor climbing while still competing occasionally. Over the past few years I had a handful of smaller projects, but Sleepwalker was the first boulder I truly committed to, putting in more than ten sessions. Now I’m shifting toward a few projects closer to Salt Lake City and looking forward to dedicating more time to long term efforts.

Emma Vigneron, with three 8b+’ under her belt, has sent Cannabis direct (8c) in Roquevaire.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I actually started working on the route last year. After sending the right-hand version, graded 8b+, I naturally moved on to its neighbor, graded 8c. I completely fell in love with this route. The profile alone is insane — it starts off super physical with big holds and heel hooks, then the upper section is almost slabby, with flat-foot placements and tiny crimp holds. There are also tons of varied moves: heel hooks, dynamic moves, pinches, crimps…

I tried it for several weeks last year, and I think I kind of burned out. I kept falling at the exact same move session after session. And since I had already tried the right-hand version, I’d been working the shared lower section for months — I was just over it. I was sad not to have sent it, but even more than that, I was sad because I wasn’t enjoying it anymore. So I decided to stop. A few months later, I went back to it. I knew exactly what I needed to do to send it, and I was ready to try hard — I wanted it to be my first 8c. So I took time to dial everything back in. I did strength training with pull ups to cruise through the physical lower section, and I worked on my endurance to be able to make it to the top, because the only rest isn’t great, and last year my endurance just wasn’t there.

It was frustrating because when I started putting down real redpoint attempts, I fell several times on the very last move — and it’s a dynamic one, so it feels super random. Then it rained for almost a month, so I went back to training really hard. And on Sunday, I sent it. I hadn’t been back on it for two weeks, and it only took one run. I was cruising, I felt calm. Usually when I’m about to send, I’m fighting for it, I feel awful, I’m battling the whole way… but this time, no. It felt easy. I was ready.

What is your climbing background?
I started climbing in 2016 and spent four years doing only bouldering, both indoors and outdoors. Then in 2020, COVID arrived and the gyms closed, so I discovered sport climbing on crags with my ex-boyfriend because it was the only way to climb, and I slowly fell in love with this discipline. I climbed my first 7b+ in early 2020, and by the end of 2020, I had done my first 8a, La Femme en Rose at Saint-Léger du Ventoux.

What are your plans and ambitions for 2026?
I have quite a few projects left on the back burner, so there’s work ahead this year 😂. I’d really like to do La Tournée du Patron 8b+ at Saint-Léger, Slow Food 8b+ at Céüse, and À Fleur de Peau 8b+ at La Saume! Then I’d like to find another big project, but the route has to be a real favorite of mine, so I’m putting all my hopes on L’Idéal Chimérique, which is an 8c/+ at Saint-Léger! It looks pretty fun with some small dynos, and at this level, to really push myself, the route has to make me truly excited, so I’m hopeful and can’t wait to go check it out!