Séb Berthe, who did La Rambla (9a+) in January, has flashed James Pearson's Le Voyage in Annot, which is an 8b (+) trad with two fixed threads. In total, the superb line has now been repeated ten times, out of which five in the last month, including ascents this week by
Mathieu Miquel and Robbie Phillips, who took the picture of Séb.

Berthe: "I thought about trying this route since the first time I saw info from Jame Pearson doing the first ascent back in 2017. The wall and the route looked so perfect. Then when Jacopo, Siebe and Babsi did it not long ago, I thought it would be nice and challenging to give it a ground-up attempt. At the beginning of this week, I went for a short trip to Annot (France) in order to give a ground-up attempt. I knew I was in great shape and I took the opportunity of having my Scottish friend Robbie Phillips working the route so I could have good info about the route and the betas.

I spent one entire day looking at the route, collecting betas and info from Robbie and Mathieu Miquel (a french young climber who also sent it this week). I also spent quite some time watching videos and pictures from all the previous ascensionists. I had to remember everything: footholds, handholds, gears, ... There is so much info to keep in mind... How and where to put the gear? Where to rest? What beta to choose depending on my fatigue? I am really proud of the work I made there, a true studying mission.

On the day of the ascent, I woke up a bit nervous... Always the case with flash attempts: you only have one chance ahah. I warmed-up (which didn't start that well actually because I fell on my second 7a 😅😂), organized my harness with gears put in the good side of the harness and the right order, revisualised the route in my mind,... and went for it in the middle of the afternoon. The conditions were not that good, it was warm, but there was a small and nice breeze and I was too excited to wait for another day.

On the first easy part, I didn't climb very well: I was shaky and nervous. But as soon as the hard part began I felt better and climbed really fast with a great flow. I didn't make many mistakes (apart from one moment where I almost fell, on an easier section), until the crux where I gave everything to make it happen... And it happened! I was through the boulder, still on the wall, shaking my forearms to recover for the last section. The final bit isn't that hard but is still a bit tricky. I climbed really slowly and carefully on the final crack!

It is the first flash-ascent of this route, and maybe, as far as I know, the first time someone flashes a trad route of that grade. It was a great moment in my climbing life, and I am really happy I dared try it flash. About the grade, it is hard for me to give an opinion as I was flash and don't have much experience on E-grade, but I have the feeling that the route is quite easy for 8b+. But I also have to admit that I feel in really good shape. Future will tell."

Mathieu: I started trad climbing about a year ago but not regularly. At first just some limestone routes around Grenoble and a few easy multipitch routes in Chamonix. I liked this style of climbing immediately because it adds a new thing to climbing, it's not just about working the moves and the route but with trad it's also about finding the right gear to protect yourself, and you have to be quick about this when you're onsight. So I had the feeling to discover a new discipline in climbing and be a beginner again and that was really motivating. I also liked the purity of this style, it's really incredible when you can protect yourself in a hard route because in a hard route, you don't have many big holds.

For the grade, I think it could be easier than an 8b+ especially if you are strong in this style of climbing. It's really technical with some little handjam and footjam (even if it's not crack climbing) so the first time I climbed in it I found it hard but the more I climbed in it the more I found little tricks and beta so when I send it I have the feeling to climb something around 8b but with the gear to place in the same time it was not so easy ahah. For the British trad grade system, I think it was graded E10 7a, I don't have experience in this grading system but I could discuss it with the British climber Robbie Phillips, who sent the route the day after me, and he thinks that could be more an E9 6c. In any case, that is in agreement with our feeling of the route being more 8b than 8b+.

I want to say that I don't want to downgrade it because I don't have the experience and legitimacy to do that, it's just some personal reflections.

Sebastien Bouin reports on Insta that he has done the FA of Ariégeois Cœur Loyal (9b) in his home crag Pic St Loup. "I am happy to send this mega line in my home crag Pic Saint Loup. After falling once in this last hard move, I could finally control it in the send last Friday. The move is not hard, but somehow it was hard to stick the left hand in the send. I bolted this route 5 years ago when my grandpa passed away. His wood worker name was Ariégeois Cœur Loyal (Loyal ariégeois heart). It was a great opportunity to keep him close to me all these years. I was close to send it last Autumn, falling on the penultimate move, just before my Jumbo Love trip. This spring was a great opportunity to finish the job. This route is a huge effort, combining two hard 20 meters sections. About the grade, 9b (5.15b) should be appropriate."

Ariégeois Cœur Loyal is a 20m extension to Legend (9a) which he made the FA of in 2017 after it had been a project for 20 years. In total, Seb has now done some dozen routes 9b to 9c, out of which seven FAs. (c) Sam Bie

Peter Kuric, who started 2023 by doing a 9a second go, made quick work of, Sanjski par extension (9a) in Osp/Misja Pec.

Can you tell us more about Sanjski?
Over the Easter holidays, we went to sunny Osp for a few days, as it started snowing in Slovakia. We knew that there would be many people in Osp, so our goal was to do more easy routes and relax a bit. I wanted to show my girlfriend all the sectors as she has never climbed in Slovenia before and we also visited Mišja peč, where I wanted to try some more challenging routes that I have not yet climbed. I've been looking at Sanjski Par for a long time. First, the first pitch for 8c+ was on the line. I gave it a try and surprisingly it went smoothly. The second attempt was already sharp, and I fell one move before the top. I rested for 10 minutes and sent it on the third attempt. After the send, I checked the extension and decided to give myself a rest for the rest of the day. The next morning I managed to climb the extension for 9a on the first attempt. So together on the fifth try. A beautiful relaxing trip 😀.

What are your next and 2023 plans?
I want to check out some projects in home crags. We have so much potential around grade 9a. In the autumn is waiting for me Wild west 9a/9a+ in Margalef 🙂

Dylan Barks has done Selecció anal (9a+) in Santa Linya after having projected it for seven sessions. The 28-year-old did his first 8c+ at age 16 and he also bouldered the same grade, two years ago.

Can you tell us more about your trip and doing your first 9a+? I came to Spain with the intention of locking into one hard route for the trip, and ‘Seleccio anal’ became that. I wasn’t sure where my shape was at exactly for the trip, but on my first day, I was able to onsight my first 8b+ (Rollito Sharma) which gave me the confidence to try something near my limit. Trying Seleccio at first, the upper section felt very powerful and I couldn’t really imagine climbing through those moves from the ground. I had quite a few goes of climbing through the bottom but quickly fell in the upper section. After about a week and a half of trying, however, I had everything aligned and I was able to break into the upper section feeling unexpectedly recovered and I fought my way to the chains!

What's on the horizon?
The next goal is to sample as much as I can in my remaining week in Spain. After that, I’m not exactly sure, but definitely want to continue climbing routes in the States!

Sera Gearhardt, who uses the moniker, Sera Potato on 8a, has added to the four 8A+'s she did last year by sending, in . (c) Oden Dillman

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I tried this one before the snow started in the fall and thought I'd do it quickly! Went for a few really promising sessions, then spent the winter trying to get weather windows pretty unsuccessfully. Got COVID and was out for a month. By the time I made it back, my old beta felt really awful and I was pretty discouraged. Luckily, some friends helped me with a new method and I managed to do it before it got too hot!

What are your spring and summer plans?
I'm going back to Colorado for the month of June to try to finish up Evil Backwards (8B) from last year in Mount Evans! Got super close last year and had to walk away because it was hurting me, hoping that doesn't happen again! If that goes well I'll also go try some things in the park:) no other major plans!

Lair Thibault, who previously has made five 9a's, out of which four FAs, has done Papichulo (9a+) in Oliana. Two days earlier he did the FA of Fake news (8c+) in Suberpène, which was his sixth 8c+ FA, only during the last 18 months. (c) William Barcelo


Can you tell us more about doing your first 9a+?
It's been four years since I started working the route without being very regular. This year I needed 3 times 3 days to do the route. A big goal was achieved with the ascent of this mythical and mentally super hard route. I felt in good shape at the end of last year and I decided to give myself the means to progress even more by asking Patxi Usubiaga to train me. After 3 months of intensive training with Patxi, I really gained strength, which is my weak point.

How come there is a three-year gap since you did your last 9a?
Indeed, it's been 3 years since I did a 9a but it's not because I was less strong. For 3 years I have done a lot of 8c+ FAs that I worked alone. I equipped and tried harder routes than 9a, I think, which I haven't realized yet. All that combined with my work as a carpenter.

What is the status of Papichulo and Oliana after the fire?
Regarding the fire in Oliana, a huge cleaning and repair work was done by a group of people. I thank them once again for this work. There are still a few lanes that have not yet been cleaned.

Loic Zehani has done the FA of Kaboul (9a+) in Orgon. The 21-year-old has previously done 60 routes 9a and harder out of which four 9b FAs. (c) Lunar Fox

”20 physical movements (around 8b+), then (after a very bad rest) a hard section of about 12 moves (around 8A+ FB). There is one move harder than the other with a very bad undercling. I fell more than 10 times to this movement! It starts with Les mollahs du mollard 2 (8c) and it's the easy version of the new exit. This is not the best rock of Orgon but the movements are amazing.

Anna Liina Laitinen, who previously has done several 8c+', has sent Esclatamasters (9a) in Perles & Canelles. The Fin did her first 8b+ in 2016 at age 26 and since then, she has pretty much been a full-time climber also having done an 8b onsight as well as an 8A+ (B) boulder.

Can you tell us more about your first 9a?
Last year after my trip to Albarracin, I wanted to come and see the Escalatamasters route, which had been on my mind for years. The route was even more amazing and better than I could have imagined, and the 1.5-week trip felt like a short tease. The route stayed on my mind and I climbed all routes in Finland and abroad keeping ”Escalatamasters” in mind. I focused on developing myself throughout the year, especially in bouldering, to gain more strength. In the fall, I returned to Spain to improve my endurance after recovering from COVID-19, but I didn’t try the route seriously and instead climbed other routes and areas as it was very rainy. However, I wanted to recall the beta for the coming spring.

In the spring, I got sick again, so I couldn’t go on the trip at the desired time, and after regaining my basic fitness, I had to finalise my shape by climbing on the route as the weather was getting warmer. I focused mainly on being more strategic than usual on 8c+ routes, as well as on focusing on flow state, stress tolerance, having enough rest and focusing more on quality, and taking care of my fingertips, as the long crux of the route has small, sharp holds. I also went to the indoor gym twice a week to maintain my strength, and I believe it helped a lot, even though it initially felt strange to climb indoors when I finally had the chance to climb outside!

I exceeded my own goal for the trip at the end of the second week when I got my first one-hang, so everything from there on was just a bonus. I believe my mindset had the most impact on climbing the route. I was happy with every attempt, and I had fun. I didn’t feel the same pressure as I had felt in previous years when climbing a difficult route. I have worked on my mental side as best I can, and having a positive attitude and friends has a great impact. It’s normal to fall even on a difficult route. On such a good route, it didn’t matter to fall because then I could climb on it again.

What's your next plan?
I’d love to go to Rawyl in May but if it’s challenging to drag my sausage dog on the ledge I might visit Ceuse or go bouldering in Swiss. I’m more motivated doing sport climbing now so I’m doing everything I can so that I could do that :). Another option would be to go to Flatanger in June. Red River Gorge in the fall will definitely happen!

Can you say something about how you train?
My training schedule is a bit of a ”controlled mess”. I emphasize either bouldering or sport depending on what trip/or goal I’m having but I don’t leave either one of those! I just start doing some of those more. Sometimes I climb 4-5 a week and do other gym stuff plus cardio (I know it’s a bit too much and now I’ve been trying to focus more on quality 🙈). It’s been hard to stay away from the gym, especially if I’m not working. Sometimes when I’m trying to gain power I might just have 3 really good sessions a week. If I’m also route setting I’m trying to have 2 rest days on the week. My session might vary from 1.5h to 4h

Sounds like chaos 😂 But that is why I have to mark everything in a Google calendar. To help me to have some kind of an idea and plan what to do. It’s also really helpful for seeing correlations, especially when overtraining. Now I’m a bit older, ”The old keys don’t open new doors”, so I can not compare my training weeks to the ones I did when I was in my 20s. So now my goal is to focus more on quality.

This past weekend, France won both of the golds at the European Cup in Chambery (FRA) with those medals going to Michael Mawem and Flavy Cohaut. Mawem is registered to compete in the first World Cup, in two weeks, in Hachioji. Somewhat surprisingly, very few other WC athletes took the opportunity to prepare before travelling to Japan, especially among females. The route setting was on point aside from the women's final where only two boulders were topped and Flavy was able to claim the win with just one top. In addition to taking the two top spots, results, France dominated the event especially in the women's category where they had six competitors in the Top-10.

1. Michael Mawem FRA 44 - Cohaut Flavy FRA 14
2. Leo Favot FRA 24 - Martina Bursikova SVK 14
3. Jack Macdougall GBR 24 - Agatha Calliet FRA 13