Alma Bestvater, who was #10 in the Boulder WC in 2018, has had a productive three week trip to Rocklands where she has done seven boulders 8A and harder including Tea With Elmarie (8A+) and Fragile Steps (8A+). (c) Anja Steinhauser

Can you tell us more about your trip to Rocklands?
When I went to the Rocklands, I didn’t know how hard I could climb. In 2022 I had two shoulder surgeries, the last one less than a year ago, and I climbed my last 8A about two years ago. So the expectations were rather low and the focus more on having a good time and climbing a lot of cool boulders regardless of the grades. That I was able to check off so many 8A’s in the end surprised me. Especially because I was able to climb each of the boulders within one session, except for „A Tea with Elmarie“ which I was able to climb in a second session on the last day of the trip. I also tried a few 8B/8B+ boulders but quickly realized that I am still too weak to climb them quickly and therefore decided to do a lot of boulders rather than projecting only a few the whole trip. I will probably remember „Pendragon“ the most because it was my first 8A after the two surgeries and definitely "A Tea with Elmarie“ because that was my biggest fight this trip.

What's on your radar now?
I will try to qualify for competitions again next year, but we will see how well that works out. Staying healthy is my priority for now and giving 100% again in dynamic competition bouldering definitely needs a bit more time.

Austin Hoyt has logged 244 boulder ascents from 4C to 8C over the last 12 months. The 19-year-old is, based on the Top-100 ascents, #1 in the ranking game. Runner-up is Antoine Maire followed by Coudert Camille in third. Here is the complete ranking.

”I would say the main reason I can climb all these boulders is because of my climbing philosophy, which is maybe the simplest philosophy ever. “Climb Everything”, yep that’s it haha. Even when I first started climbing I just wanted to climb it all. From classics to choss, softies to sandbagged, small to tall, it doesn’t matter to me. Maintaining that same philosophy as I continued to get stronger and stronger allowed me to really “climb everything”!”

Ryan Sklenica, who last December did his first 9a, with the FA of Fiction, reports on Instagram that he has done the FA of Hartkäse (9a+) at Nowra. It starts up a 7a+, followed by a hard boulder crux, a long traverse and then finishes up another route. Interestingly it is the first proposed 9a+ in Australia. (c) Lachlan Norris

During the semifinal at the Bern Boulder World Championship, the athletes faced a boulder problem that had a hold with no texture. Many struggled coming to grips with this problem, but Yannick Flohé did it with ease after having pouring water on his fingers. (c) IFSC

How did you come up with this idea?
It’s obvious if you have dry fingers there’s no friction on the no texture holds so I tried to get rid of the chalk with sweaty fingers the no texture feels quite sticky. I already used techniques like only chalking the fingertips and cleaning my palms in iso when I knew there would be a press on dual texture in the next boulder. I feel like using chalk on no texture is worse than not using chalk on regular holds when it comes to grip 😅

How do you like this modern school bouldering?
I think no texture holds suck, it just adds another random factor that is not based on climbing skills and there are already enough such things in modern comp bouldering. I think most of the rounds were pretty good lately, however, it’s just frustrating if every round comes down to a slab or a paddle/swing and jump dyno. I would be really excited to see some more powerful climbing but most of the moves (even the „powerful“ moves) are just dynamic moves with big footholds, going from one stable position into the next one. I would love to see some more cut loosing on bad holds or pure upper body strength with poor footholds. I know it’s super difficult to set anyway it would be nice to have some more separation on this kind of boulders. The "every athlete is sooo strong we need to challenge them in different moves“ argument doesn’t really count because the physical difference even between the top athletes is huge in my opinion.

Mejdi Schalck did also use water in a successful way. "It was a very weird experience. We had the same hold in the iso so we did some tests on it and with our coaches we realized that the best thing was water."

Clément Lechaptois has done Child of Hell (8C) at the Gottardo / Gotthardpass. "[An] Amazing problem from Shawn. Very techy and pretty unique style." (c) Nicolò Sartirana

The 30-year-old has done ten boulders 8C or harder and he is having his best year ever, which culminates seven years of non-stop progress. In the 8a ranking game, he is #7.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I first tried the boulder one day on the rope when it was still a project in 2020. I figured out some methods but couldn't return to it that season. Then Shawn did it in the summer of 2021. I came back at it this summer and felt better on the moves and positions. I tried it one more day in pretty bad conditions and fell at the last move once, as close as it gets. I did it on the first try the following session, the conditions were perfect that day.

Alex Barrows has done the FA of The Last Nacho (9a) in Raven Tor. The 36-year-old, who previously has logged seven 9a's, is having his best year ever. (c) Dave Parry

"Belly Full of Nachos (long 8B/+) to an ok rest at its finishing jugs, then head left along the lip via 2 bolts (~6C?) to good knees at the start of Mecca. Up Mecca (8b+), then quest exhaustingly onwards to finish up Crucifixion to the top of the crag (~8a/+ from Mecca chains?). ~45m of climbing taking in quite a few different styles, and surely the longest bit of climbing you can get out of the tor without getting very traversey! Maths says that the top part "shouldn't" add to the difficulty, but it doesn't feel like that - the extra stress, exhaustion, and getting baked by the sun made it a battle from rest to rest, and definitely the most traumatic and, of course, most enjoyable part of the route. I guess it must be the hardest piece of climbing I've done to date, though unfortunately it's not the most classic 😂. (Aka "The Last Supper, brought to you by Taco Bell's halal range")."

Last week we reached a first milestone in our efforts of unifying 8a and Vertical-Life. All routes in the Vertical-Life app are now synced with their 8a siblings. This means that when you use the app to check out topos, you can see all the ascents from 8a, and when you use 8a, you’ll notice significantly cleaned up data on the matched crags (marked by coloured pins). Next up are synchronised ascents and logbooks between the app and the web, with the ultimate goal being a better service on a single platform.

Thanks to our team and 170 moderators, we have significantly improved the data quality on 8a in numerous countries, making it easier than ever to find the best routes for your next trip. As part of this, we have introduced the ability to search by sector in the global search. If you would like to join as a moderator, sign up here and we will onboard you! We've also made several changes to the gallery. The latest update is the ability to upload indoor climbing images. This will be launched in earnest in a few weeks with a big photo contest. Stay tuned for more details! We’re working on bringing gyms and competition climbing to 8a too, making it a place for all climbers while keeping its core values. We've also improved the overall performance of 8a, so the site loads much faster.

On the Vertical-Life app, we've improved the navigation between routes, crags and collections, making it easier to find all the content in the app, and tweaked core features like offline content to make them more stable. Everything rock-related has been given a facelift, with the collections getting a new map and crag filtering options in the latest update (iOS only, Android coming soon).

We'll try to keep you updated on a more regular basis, so if you have any feedback or comments, let us know!

Martina Demmel, who was #26 in the Bern WCH, has done La Cabane au Paradis (8c+) in Rawyl. ” Battle against the heat with sweat running all over my face at the top but another good reminder what's possible when the mind is calm & peaceful! Fell in love with the resistency lower part what makes me curious to someday invest more time in "... au Canada". Quick progress resulted in an unexpected 4th try send with the best support by Chris & Leni!! Such a magic moment: we can't force/wait for it, we can only live & enjoy it!” (c) Chris Frick

The day after she onsighted her eleventh route 8b or harder, Gaucho (8b). ” Wooow I'm still shocked & in disbelief about onsighting this bouldery gem! Especially proud of sticking the jump at the top with only a little bit of hesitation;) amazing rock in the middle! Special thx to Chris for cheering me up all the way:)”

Are you 100 % recovered from your latest injury?
Regarding my broken wrist this winter, it's been 4 months now since I was allowed to climb again and I'm very relieved how well it was playing along the last months with almost no pain and consistent improvements😁📈! I'd say that I can do everything with it again but the strength level in the wrist and the whole arm isn't the same yet again and I've developed some kind of fear of getting injured again, so this was probably the hardest part to overcome😅.

What's next on your radar?
Now I'm getting back on plastic for the final preparations for the last 2 Lead WC's and then, it's already time to go back to school for the next 4 months🧚‍♀️🤓.

Sébastien Berthe, one of the very best multi-discipline climbers in the world, has onsighted Ajo Crudo (8c) in Cicera. (c) Christoph Muster

"Fighting my way up this infinite crimpy route with the cheering of good friends was definitely a big moment! This means a lot to me: onsight climbing is a discipline that I truly love and I have always done it a lot! The onsight game is all about finding a good balance between the risks to take and the good beta to have. In order to take the super fast decisions needed, I have the feeling I had to get together all I've learned as a climber, thanks to the km of rocks I've eaten 🥰

Last few weeks and months, I struggled a bit with my climbing: lack of motivation, low shape, quest for meaning... But for two weeks, everything has slowly come back! Now, the least I can say is that I feel back on track.

8c onsight was definitely a big goal of mine for 2023. In the past, I onsighted 8b+ and flashed an 8c (Mind control in Oliana), but onsighting one felt like another game: it's so much about grasping the right moment on the perfect route. During the last two weeks, I tried on 4 different routes and was quite far each time. But somehow, I knew I was getting closer and was capable of doing it!

Ajo Crudo was a really good candidate for an onsight attempt for me: long, crimpy, okay rest between the section, slightly overhanging... My perfect style! I took all the info I could from the ground (thinking about every single detail: shoes, kneebar, clipping), I climbed well, took some risks, had some chance and fought hard. I took the opportunity and truly didn't let it go even if my body has wanted to quit multiple times during the ascent!"

What is coming up next?
All I can tell you is that Rayu and Orbayu are on the list, let's see if it can work!