Beckett Hsin has done Midnight Express (8B+) in Boulder Canyon. "So much time, effort, and emotion into this one, very psyched to have finally done it. Proudest send to date."

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The difficulty of the climb revolves around the first two moves, and then from there it’s a committing and powerful sequence to the top. Last year, I spent multiple days just trying to link the first two moves together, and I came frustratingly close. After a short break I came back taller, and finally finished it first week of the season.

What is next?
I’d like to build a bigger base of easier boulders, but I’m also psyched to try Echale (8B) and The Game by the end of the year!

Pete Whittaker reports on Instagram that he has done the 100m trad line, Crown Royale (9a) in Jøssingfjord. Pete untied and free soloed the final 20m to reach the summit without movement-hindering rope drag. In 2019, Pete sent Recovery drink (8c+) at the same crag. (c) Andrew Burr

When did you start projecting it?
I worked on the bottom section back in 2018, then did it in 2019. The top section I started working this year, and then I finally linked the two sections together this year as well.

How many sessions did it take and how was the process?
I don’t know how many sessions overall, maybe a bit over 30 if you count the sessions from back in 2018. I also had some sessions just abseiling the line brushing and checking the holds in trainers, but not really climbing that much.

Describe what went through your mind once you realized you had to untie?
Relief, because the rope drag was so bad. Where I untied is a big ledge and incredibly easy climbing to the top. I knew I would have to untie or come off belay at some point, as the wall is 100m but I only had an 80m rope, so it wasn’t unexpected.

How long did the ascent take and how many kilos of gear did you start with?
The ascent maybe took an hour? Not entirely sure, that's a bit of a guess. I placed 17 pieces overall. I started with 8 pieces and tagged up the remaining 9 from the halfway rest. I've no idea about the weight of the rack, I tried to select small pieces in general.

Martin Keller reports on Instagram that he has, after 150 sessions, done the FA of Gateway (8C+) in Cresciano, after the crux hold was broken. Originally, James Webb put it up in 2019, video. (c) Vladek Zumr

The 45-year-old is known for his projecting persistence, having completed Dreamtime (8C) in 2020, after trying it for 18 years, as well as Highlander (8B+) which took him 13 years. He also made the FA of Ninja Skills SDC 8C/+ after some 150 sessions.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the 150 sessions? From not being able to do the single hard crux-moves, to coming very close to send, to breaking (a few times) the crux-hold at the end, to not being sure if it still would go, to having to rebuild the landing after a tree took all the landing out, to fall on the last hard move a year before the send, to finally link all 20+ hard moves on the last night of the season before summer hit - and not slipping off the final mantle and slab at 2am on a solo afterworksession (after a full day of work).

I really loved my time up there as the boulder sits in a beautiful setting, offers an amazing line and some of the best climbing I can imagine with super powerful but also at the same time very techy moves - and a hard mantle to finish up (if you are not tall as jimmy!) - full package!!!

It was also great to test and fine tune some of my (new) training ideas and approaches - very happy on how well it worked - the increase in fitness over winter blew my mind!!! you know how it is with 40+ ... you always wonder when you can't progress anymore... turns out 46 is not the end at all - still progressing ;)

How was the 24 h timeline of he actual send day?
Getting up at 5.50 am. Jumping on a train and while on the train doing some client-feedback for my climbing- coaching (answering questions about the weekly training, tactical approaches for trips ). Then teaching 3 lectures (Business and economics) at technical university during the day. Back on a train in the late afternoon and some more client feedback. Arriving home i went for a 45min powernap. Cold shower. Food. Coffee. Left home around 8pm. Arrived at the boulder in Ticino around 11pm. Usual warmup ritual (mindset work included). Snacking (Choco-Croissant). 1am first try - heel slipped in the crux at the end. Long rest. Going for a walk. More snacking (Carrot-cake ;). Finally had the one perfect go with no mistake, still nearly slipped on the mantel - topped it out around 2am (2nd try of the night). No big screaming. Just very contempt. Long rest on top of the boulder. More Snacking. Back home around 7am I guess. Good thing work started at 1pm that day - not at 8am ;)

Christopher Barlow has, at age 41, done his first 8c+ Waka Flocka Flame in Rifle (CO). "I got excited about Waka Flocka Flame kind of accidentally. I had done the two independent lines and started trying the link up mainly as training when it was too hot for other routes. Then, I started getting closer and more obsessed with actually sending it."

Yesterday, he also sent Nostalgie in Wasteland, as his first 8c in two years.

How have you managed to climb your hardest at age 41?
I think my progress is based partly on simply focusing on foundational strength and power for many years now. I honestly feel more "injury-proof" now than in my early thirties. I think my real superpower is my discipline and rather ruthless time efficiency. I've really distilled my life into mostly family, career, and climbing (and training). It's not for everyone, but it works for me.

What does your normal climbing week look like?
Due to my job (running outdoor adventure courses), my week can vary a lot. I try to align my climbing and training with that - lighter work times are for performance, moderate periods for training, and super heavy work weeks are when I rest. A "typical" week would include 1-2 short strength sessions, a few power-focused sessions, a day of "daddy rock climbing" (when I get to prioritize my climbing), and then another family climbing day, which can be anything from fun (with some focused climbing) to utter chaos.

How do you train?
I train mostly in my garage on a steep, short spray wall, hangboard, and weights. I usually train early in the morning when the rest of the family is still asleep or waking up. My workouts are shorter and very focused. Similarly, I really try to maximize my climbing days. I drive way too fast to the crag and hustle between pitches. I think I annoy most of my partners because I don't do much sitting around talking.

I definitely live at a pretty fast pace. I'm working on slowing down. I'll work after my kids go to bed or early in the morning to offset the time during a work day that I train and climb. I'll send work emails when resting between boulder problems. I'd like to think that my discipline and focus helps me have more time to enjoy fun with my family and the fun of quality effort in climbing.

Jean-Baptiste Jourjon, who made his first five headlines on 8a in 2001, by doing boulders up to 8B, has done Pas tous à la fois (8c) in Rocher de Beverau.

What is your recipe for peaking at age 45?
This summer, I tried to maintain my level of last spring when I did La Novena Puerta (8c+). It wasn't so much visible on the tick list because of warm conditions. At 45 I don't do things radically differently, I probably better listen to my body to distinguish the "good" tiredness of training from the "bad" one that leads to injury. It was already one of my strong points, but I think I'm also better at the mental game to give everything when no one would give me a chance and to continue trying despite ups and downs. When you pass the crux for the first time, it's easy to fall right after because everything looks different from the work go, but generally, I don't. It compensates for my relatively poor level at hangs or pull-ups.

What is next for you?
This weekend, I sent two 5-star lines around my home of Chambéry in old crags we recently refreshed with lots of crazy new stuff. I'm even more focused on climbing than before because if I want to send a 9a in my climbing- life, I should hurry up. Apart from the grail of the grade, I'm looking for a really major line to get motivated. I found it in Céüse, I bolted it 2 years ago, I called it "Générations futures", right now it's too hard for me. I know it's feasible and for sure in the 9th grade. Apparently, I could not convince the strong guys I met to go and try, too bad for them, maybe thanks to this [mention] some others will try.

”In 2021, I travelled to Rocklands. The atmosphere was pretty incredible as it was almost empty because of covid. I was aiming to climb Monkey Wedding (8C)and got very close but got shut down because of a huge split on a finger. I still got to climb another low, but amazing problem called Ménage à trois (8B+). The year after I managed to climb Monkey Wedding the second day of the trip, and then climbed Book Club (8B+) All those 3 problems are great, and making the edit reminded me of the sweet times I had there with good friends.”

Jessica Pilz, the overall Lead Cup winner 2023, has repeated Jakob Schubert's Kein Licht Kein Schatten (8c+) in Ötztal. Originally it was considered 9a but later an easier sequence has been found, ”3rd go, short and powerful, what a line!! thx Steff [Scherz] for the beta and belay :)” (c) Dimitris Tosidis

Scherz comments on Jessy's impressively quick ascent, " I’ve seen some strong guys trying this route and she, by far, looked the best on it I’ve seen yet. I did this route two years ago and it was a struggle😅. She made it look easy and even did it in one session. It’s a short and powerful route with some low-percentage moves. For her, the challenge was to hit some of the crimps perfectly, as she was pretty spaned out in most parts of the route. Nevertheless, once she got the moves dialled in, she just did it with no hesitation. She's got to look for some harder routes now!"

This was the first time since 2020, that Jessica has climbed a hard route outdoors. The 26-year-old has been one of the most active and successful competition climbers since 2011 when she won her first Youth World Championships. In 2018, she won the senior World Championship and in only the last three years, she has participated in almost 40 IFSC events as well as the the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Last weekend, she won the Austrian Lead and Combined Championship.

"I am super happy to win the overall for the first time. After the world champs in Bern my plans for the season changed a lot because I didn‘t have to compete in Laval at the European Qualifier. Instead, I set myself one last goal for the season to go for the overall. I definitely felt the pressure because I had to finish 4th at least at the last World Cup in China. My season finished last weekend with the Austrian championships. Now I try to go outside as much as possible and try some projects in Tyrol. In November we have a training camp with the national team in Turkey. And that‘s it for this year I guess."

Can you tell us more about the quick ascent? I watched a video of Jakob on the route and the moves looked super morpho, so I thought I won’t have a chance. But then Steff told me he has a different beta which could work for me. On my first try I managed to do all the moves. On my second I already linked the hard middle part, and on third try it went down surprisingly fast :)

It was also super helpful for me that there were many quickdraws close to each other, so I wasn‘t really scared and could check out the moves on my first try easily.

Alex Puccio reports on Instagram that she, on her second session, has sent Chocolate Jesus (8B) in Wild Basin. In total, the runner-up in the World Championship in 2014, has done 250+ boulders 8A and up, which is a female record. (c) Robin O'Leary

Katja Zoner has done her first 8c, Picket Fence at Beauty Mountain. ”Sad I don't get to grab those sick pinches anymore! Amazing, unique holds and movement. Grades are weird and this route suits me really well... certainly didn't feel as hard as I'd expected. Enjoyed some post-crux spice building bad feet hiiiigh above my bolt for the last reach out of the crux sequence.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Picket Fence is a route I have always been curious about. It sits on the Travisty Wall, which is quite unique for the area in terms of holds and movement style, and it has some notoriety, mainly due to first ascentionist Mike Williams’ professed 150+ days of effort to send. It’s a short, bouldery and technical route consisting of pinches, sidepulls, several monos, and tricky feet. I scoped it out earlier this summer and it seemed to suit me well, then I began trying it at the start of September and made quick progress. Excited to see what the rest of the season has in store.