Camille Pouget, Diego Fourbet, Zelia Avezou and Thomas Lemagner, 17, gave France all four golds in Lead and Boulder in the European Games in Poland. France has had very good results in the IFSC World Cups this year but but did not send any of their top-ranked athletes to this event. Full report on IFSC.

Arne Farestveit, 191 cm tall, has done the 65 meter long Valhalla (9a) at Flatanger which is an extension to Odin's Eye (8c+). Adam Ondra did the FA in 2016 and the Joe Kinder bolted route has previously only been repeated by Edu Marin and Sindre Saether. "In short I could say that I tried Valhalla for 50+ sessions over 5 trips since 2020 (counting days on Odin's). The route suits me really well, and it feels like a huge step above anything else I have done." (c) Henning Wang

What's the backstory on Valhalla, your first 9a?
The hardest part of Valhalla is the first 15 meters after Odin's anchor. First, you have a hard and technical travers on underclings and side-pulls that really drains you, and then comes the meat of the route. A powerful boulder that requires good amounts of biceps and back strength, which is something that is hard to have after climbing 40+ meters. Passing this boulder is the redpoint crux of the route and I fell there many times from the ground. After this boulder it is around 8b, where you shouldn't fall, but anything can happen. On my last day in 2021 I made it up to the boulder from the ground, but I was not strong enough at that point to pull it off.

I returned to Flatanger two times in 2022, both not very successful, and both very mentally exhausting. Trying a route of this length is incredibly hard on the mind. Each attempt requires maximum effort, and perfectly executed climbing in order to save as much energy as possible for the boulder. You want to rest where you can, but at the same time, you don't want to rest too long or else your legs get tired and your body temperature rises. In total, I think i made it up to the boulder 5-6 times in 2022, but I was too tired and did not have the power to pull off the boulder.

When I came back to Flatanger this June, I had quite a different approach than earlier. Usually, I would do crazy amounts of endurance and running before coming here, and while that definitely gives you good endurance on the long routes and a great ability to recover on the kneebars, what it also does is break down your body before coming here, and at the same time you lose a lot of the max power! I found out that resting more, and giving one really good attempt a day was the way to go. That way I ensured maximum effort and high mental energy. Before coming here I did ZERO endurance training after 5 weeks of only bouldering.

Physically and mentally I felt better and stronger than ever before, and my bouldering strength had never been better. I decided not to jump straight on Valhalla, and went to try Sledgehammer (8c+) first, to get a feel for my level. I felt incredibly strong on the wall, and even though my endurance was worse than on previous trips, the moves were so much easier, and I managed to clip the chains off it after just 4 sessions.

It was time to try Valhalla again. After 2 days the quickdraws were put up, and the beta was refreshed. The moves felt good. On my first go from the ground, I repeated Odins, easily, with almost no pump, and I saw that I had gotten a lot stronger and that I actually had the level to do this. Next burn I fell on the boulder, making a tiny highpoint. Only one more move, the hardest move remaining, to get through the boulder.

On the 22nd of June, we had the craziest conditions I have ever seen in the cave. There are two holds that are ALWAYS wet on the route. One on Odins, and one in the extension. They were both dry. The wind was blowing and the temperature was just perfect to not get too cold. I went for my first try of the day and felt amazing. Odins had never felt easier, I was completely fresh. Arriving at the boulder I made a tiny mistake by a foot placement I fell while holding the semi jug, of the last hard move. WOW, I'm so frickin close!!! Need to keep the nerves down now… Wanted to go home as I had only done 1 burn a day up til that point, and thought I would be too tired. Leo convinced me to do one more burn. You can do it, he said. Nerves were building up, but keeping casual conversations with the boys, trying to joke and keep things light made the nerves stay away.

1.5 hours later I hopped on the wall. Conditions are still crazy. I was moving well and relaxed. The eye went smooth, and clipping Odins anchor felt even easier than the previous attempt, and I was feeling really relaxed. My breathing was good and I was climbing efficiently. As I did the travers I arrived at the boulder not destroyed, which was something new. As I went for the boulder Sindre and Leo started screaming like crazy, I started screaming like crazy and somehow, just barely, I stuck the big move and held the cut, with 3 fingers barely on the most outer part of the hold. I couldn't have been closer to falling.

My heart was racing and my breathing went crazy. I need to relax. Sindre and Leo tell me to calm down. I go into the no-hand rest and start relaxing my breath. I still have another 20 meters of 8b to go, and I was always nervous about falling up there. If I did I would mentally collapse, and probably not have the mental fortitude to try again from the ground. As I used the rest I was surprisingly fresh, relaxed and calm. I moved the next 5 meters to the next rest. Felt good. Went for the last hard boulder. It went with ease. Arriving at the rail I was feeling no pump and still so relaxed. A scenario I never expected. I only stayed in the rest for a few minutes before sprinting and breathing like a madman up the last rail. 8 meters of 7c+ endurance on slopers. I was feeling weightless, climbing seamlessly perfectly, and the rail had never felt easier. Clipping the chains of my first 9a was euphoric. That instant moment of relief, fulfilment and happiness is something I truly will never forget. It is a dream come true, and i couldn't be happier. Somehow that was not the end of it. 2 days later the imaginable happened. After staying in Flatanger for 1 week, Leo (on his 7th and last climbing day) managed to climb Thor's hammer, after a HUGE 1.5 hour fight. What we started together back in 2021 as something far beyond ourselves, was suddenly over. I couldn't believe it. Leo belayed me on Valhalla, and I belayed Leo on Thors. What a perfect ending.

Leo Bøe 🍄, who in 2023 has sent his first six 9a's, has done Thor's Hammer (9a+) at Flatanger. "Didn’t expect the send at all !! 7th day on, and I was in Flatanger only for a week to work the moves. I tried the route some seasons back and never got past the bouldery start. On my final try today, however, I did the boulder and never fell afterwards… I only went through the upper part once this trip and mixing up betas got me super pumped! I was fighting into the jug before the sloper rail and needed 35 mins to recover… Never have I suffered this much for a send and 1hr30mins after leaving the ground I clipped the chains! Big thanks to my belay bro Arne! 🤜💥🤛"

Can you tell us more about that marathon ascent?
I was tired from climbing many days in a row, but my friend insisted I give it some tries from the ground as good training. I didn’t have a good rest day for a week since I was so psyched to be in the cave. As a result, the climb turned out way longer as I was forced to rest more between each boulder.

I had to fight my way into this last rest. Knowing the final part and how people usually fall there was scary, especially since I only did the sloper rail once on this trip. My beta was all a mess in my head… If you do a wrong shuffle along the slopers you might get too pumped and slide off. This was not an option for me as I was leaving Flatanger [that day]. Therefore I stayed there for 35 minutes to make sure I was as rested as I could be. You get a pretty good kneebar combined with a heel-toe cam, but it’s painful and tough cause the foot is slopey. The left kneebar is not no-hands, but is very useful to recover the right leg. If I was to fall on the last couple of moves after being on the wall for 1hr25 min I would be heartbroken… Luckily I didn’t!

Clément Lechaptois has sent La force tranquille (8C) in Magic Wood, which was the 30-year-old's seventh 8C and harder since 2019.

Can you tell us more about La force?
I tried ‘La force tranquille’ after having done ‘The Understanding’ in 2020. I was close to send it, I fell after the crux move once because my foot popped. The day after there was 1m of snow.

I came back in the spring but the boulder was almost always wet because of the rain every evening, so I moved to other projects.

I just came back 4 days at the beginning of June this season, and I thought it would be too warm but surprisingly, I felt a way better on each move and I did it the second try from the ground. It was a nice & satisfying feeling to feel the progression.

How can you explain your great progress over the last few years?
Hard question this one. I think it comes from different factors. I am passionate about hardcore bouldering and I like to push myself by trying the hardest ones around where I am. Projects too. So I think I got used to trying hard moves/boulders and knowing faster what works for you and what doesn’t. I also like to train when I am at home, and I am lucky never to get injured. I try to be smart when I train. Even if I don’t follow a very scheduled training, I try to keep an eye on where I am not good at to get better.

Tyler Thompson has repeated Joe Kinder's Bone Tomahawk (9a+) in . It was originally put up as a 9a+ but Kinder lowered the grade just three weeks ago as new knee bars have been found and Thompson confirmed the new 9a suggestion. "One of the coolest routes I’ve ever climbed! I remember watching the video of Joe equipping and sending this thing when it came out. Feels surreal to have climbed it myself. I climbed it on my first go of my fourth day trying the route. It’s an amazing and steep route that fits my style surprisingly well."

Heather Weidner, who did her first and only 8c back in 2014, has done I am the Walrus (8b+) in Flatirons. This was the 43-year-old third 8b or harder since she became a mom 18 months ago. (c) James Lucas

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I am extremely grateful to be the mom of Dallas and still be able to get out three days a week to pursue climbing. I love pushing myself in the sport, physically and mentally. It allows me to have balance and come back to our little guy refreshed and ready to be the best mom I can be.

I am the Walrus, 5.14a, is in our backyard in the Flatirons of Boulder, CO. It had the hardest crux I’ve ever done on a route. The crux for most climbers is the upper boulder problem 30 meters up, but for me, about 1/3 of the way up the route there’s a huge move to the tufa from a terrible left-hand pinch that barely goes with my 5’5” (163 cm) height and span. I did a severe dropknee that made the move possible. I started working on this climb last fall for a half-dozen days then spent the past 6 weeks consistently working it. The first time I got through the lower tufa crux from the ground, I was able to keep it together mentally and clip the chains.

Jana Svecova continues her big Terranova (8C+) project by doing the FA of a shorter variant, Nova (8C) in Holstejn.”15th day. Start like Sedni si na kost (8B+) and finish like the second part of Terranova. 2 mover 8B into 8B? And now the whole Terranova, but first some hardcore training! :D."

Solveig Korherr, who did her first 9a in 2021, has sent in . ”A dream route! One of the best feelings how it all came together & every day on this route over the last two and a half weeks felt better and better thanks to refining beta and perseverance. (5 days last & 9 days this year) Thanks John & Lulu for the best time up here!” (c) John Thornton

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I first tried „Jungfraumarathon” (9a) last year for two or three weekends. I was immediately really psyched and felt quite good on it, but I stopped trying it when I injured one of my fingers.

This year, I wanted to eventually come back to it. I was quite nervous before trying it again because I didn’t focus on sport climbing the last half year as I usually do. I was bouldering during the winter, did some trad climbing in between, and mainly did some shorter sport climbing routes in the Basler Jura. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I couldn’t tell if I was in shape.

The first time I got on the route this trip, I was surprisingly shocked at how good all the singles moves felt. I felt much better than last year. From this point on, I was totally committed to the route. I was climbing one day on, one day off, which I have never done before. The style in Gimmelwald is very powerful and demanding. I had to rest a lot which was sometimes quite hard for me mentally. 😄

Over the last two and a half weeks, I optimized my beta, learned the moves a lot better, and gained more endurance. Every day I felt better on it, and I was falling higher and higher. On the day I sent it, everything felt perfect, and I did it on my first try. I’m really happy to see how I’ve improved on this powerful climbing style over the last few years.

What does a normal week look like when it comes to training/climbing for you?
I just worked for one year for my sponsor SCARPA Germany with marketing and planning events. I mainly trained in the gym during the week and climbed outside on the weekends. For now, I‘m taking some time off and I will spend the next few months climbing outside.

Can you tell us more about those summer plans?
I‘m planning to spend two months in France and climb in La Ramirole & probably Pic Saint-Loup as well. I‘m really staring to get into this steep & powerful climbing and I‘m psyched to check out these two places.

Francesco Berardino sent Off the Wagon Sit (8C+) last month and now the video has been released. Here is the 8a article where commented his ascent.

Quentin Guillen has done Condé de choc (9a) in Entraygues, after trying it for three weekends.

Can you tell us more about your send and skipping 8c+?
So this year I trained with the goal to take my ticket for the lead world cup with the French team. It was a long time I didn't compete due to some injuries (2 pulley rupture the last two years). As I totally missed my selective competition, because I was too stressed, I took a 3 weeks break from climbing after this.

When I started climbing again I choose to go outdoors to try a hard route and challenge myself. First I wanted to try La moustache qui fâche (9a+) because it is my climbing style (short endurance on crimps with a lot of overhang). But, when I came to Entraygues it was wet. My friends Justin Dechamps et Adrian Houbron had just sent Condé de choc (9a). This motivated me to try this route.

The two first weekends trying Condé were pretty hard because it was raining all the time so conditions were not good. On the last day of the second climbing trip I fall in last move of the first crux. I knew I should not fall in the second part of the route so it was pretty frustrating. During the third weekend the conditions were really good.

I fell 4 times at the last move of the first crux the first day, in the second day I pass the first crux at my first try of the day but my hand slipped at the end of the route. I was pretty tired and I knew I just had one last good try before coming home, I managed to climb the first crux but It was so hard I almost fall at every move of the first crux but finally I could sent it.

What is your climbing background?
I started climbing at 10-years-old in my little climbing club. I started compete pretty quickly. With some good results I could join the Pôle Espoir Voiron at age 16. I have always been a plastic climber training every time for the competition. Sometimes i go outdoor to do some routes pretty quickly (8b/8b+) but I never try real projects.

The last 3 years were really complicated for me with the covid (no training structure ) and 2 broken pulley in 2021 ans 2022 (3 months off and 6 months of reeducation each time). But now my pulleys are feeling good and I want to try hard at the crags too! I'm so happy with the sent of "Condé" but I know it was just the beginning and I'm sure I can do harder !