Matt Fultz, has pulled off the first repeat of Aidan Robert’s Vecchio Leone Sit (8C+) in Brione, making it his seventh ascent of that grade.

Can you tell us more about your latest 8C+?
I’m just very blessed to be able to climb in such a beautiful place and be in good shape. I didn’t expect to get caught up with this problem before the trip but it really drew me in with its complex moves and positions. In total it took 8 working sessions and is the first problem of this difficulty I’ve done outside the United States, although I’m hoping to do more this year!

Jules Marchaland, who did First Ley (9a+) in February, has repeated Pierre Le Cerf's Just two fix (9a) in Gorges du Loup. Last year, the 21-year-old took silver at the only Euro Youth Cup he did. After that comp the 20-year-old did three World Cups, always placing in the top 20, in addition to sending his first three 9a’s.

Can you tell us more about your latest 9a?
This route is about 35m! (So long for me haha) The first part is Just One Fix (8c+), "soft", and after a very good rest you have a physical end with brutal move and endurance ! For the progress: I did the first part in 2017! And last year I tried the second pitch! I think I fell 5-6 times at the last hard move and this year I came back stronger and I did it on my 2nd try.

What are your comp plans in 2023?
The main goals are the french championship! I have from last year's results, qualified to do the Chamonix and Briancon World Cups and I hope I can do the start of the season!

William Bosi has been live-streaming three, out of five, sessions on Nalle Hukkataival's Burden of Dreams, 9A in Finland. He's making solid progress and he's also found some new beta. Toru Nakajima is also in Finland trying BoD for the fourth time and says, on Insta. "Honestly, I was somehow shocked at how strong Will is."Will recently decided to extended his trip and continues his battle. In this 8a ranking game, the 24-year-old is #1 with the highest score ever achieved in Boulder. (c) Band of Birds

How and how much time have you put into preparing yourself for, Burden of Dreams?
Overall I worked ten sessions on the replica before coming out. Currently, I am five sessions in on the boulder but the sessions are limited due to skin management as the granite is pretty brutal on my fingers! I can train on the boulder with tape but I think I will need all the skin I can get for the send!

What have you learned from climbing with Adam Ondra?
I think the overall takeaway from training and climbing with Adam is just sheer joy for all kinds of climbing. He is a master at so many different styles and despite all that he has achieved, his fire and love for training and climbing are as bright as ever. It is utterly inspiring.

What are your plans for 2023 and what would be your "burden of dream" ascents beyond this one?
[Yes,] Obviously right now my focus is on climbing Burden of Dreams in Finland but I am hoping to travel to the USA later in the year to explore some lines out there!

Could the comp scene and format change in any way that would make you, and perhaps even others more psyched to take part?
That is difficult to say as there is such a range of opinions on the comp scene at the moment. Fundamentally, as the profile of the sport rises, so does the pressure on athletes to succeed. I would most welcome focussed improvements on athlete wellbeing at all levels from grassroots through to senior level. Competitions should be a memorable and positive part of any athlete's career as opposed to something which could at worst make them fall out of love with the sport or cause lasting physical and mental harm.

Filmmaker, Matt Bird is in Finland with Bosi and adds, "So if you break down the 5 moves, he has done all the moves on the boulder so he is now on links. I saw him do the link from the end of the foot-walk to the top so just first move and foot-walk to tack on. All perfectly possible...and yet.... Honestly, from filming it, it is going to be a roll of the dice for whoever gets up it. (8a: Also Shawn Raboutou and Stefano Ghisolfi will be trying it this week). Everything from weather to skin, to shoe condition, to mentality comes into play and that is on top of immaculate technique and requisite strength. It's the perfect encapsulation of bouldering at the highest level for me. Impossible for people outside climbing to fully comprehend the madness of it all but utterly compelling for those invested in bouldering at the upper limits. He could do it this week or in three years time 😂 such is the nature of the game."

Solveig Korherr, who over the last six weeks, has done several 8A boulders and an 8c route, has been on a trad trip to Cadarese, where she sent two 8a's and onsighted a 7c. As she previously has done both a 9a route and an 8A+ boulder, she's edging towards being a top multi-discipline free climber. (c) Francesco Zanuso


Can you tell us about your trad experience and how you benefit from being a multi-discipline climber?
As I’m still rather new to trad and crack climbing, spending two weeks in Cadarese was a great learning experience for me. The granite cracks in Cadarese were definitely a bit more forgiving than in Indian Creek where I spent a little bit of time too. As they are more features outside of the cracks, I could get away with my sport climbing skills a lot more. Climbing The doors (8a) was a big highlight for me. It is very outstanding and varied line as it changes crack sizes. The lower part was quite pumpy for me. I was laybacking most of it because my fingers didn’t quite lock in the crack and I’m still not very good at ring lock technique but luckily the crack got thinner at the top. As I was still a bit scared of trusting my gear and I placed almost too much and it cost a lot of time. In the end, it was a huge fight, especially because the hardest move comes at the end after 30 meters of climbing. I was really happy when I reached the anchor and felt super fatigued just giving everything.

Another epic and memorable fight on this trip. was Bookcacke (7c+). I think my legs have never been this pumped before😄 It was really cool to experience some open dihedral climbing. This one felt super hard to me compared to some other climbs in Cadarese. Big thanks to Jon for telling me to persevere more after I didn’t quite understand how to climb the top part at the beginning & showing me the kneebar wisdom.

I love how trad climbing is not only physically but also mentally challenging. There is still a lot to learn for me and I’m motivated to do more trad climbing trips in the future. Since I’ve been mainly focusing on sport climbing over the last few years, it was great to branch out into other disciplines as well. So far, it has been a very good experience for me. It is nice to change it up for motivation and climb whatever is best in the area.

I definitely learned to be more patient. For example, when I crack climbed for the first time, it was really frustrating at the beginning, but in the end, when I lowered my expectations, I started to have a lot of fun and got better at it. Now, I even get really psyched when I can find a hand jam or finger lock in a sport route. It’s definitely harder to maintain a high level in every discipline, especially in sport climbing, where I have the highest expectations, but bouldering and sport climbing can work quite well together. After spending a lot of time bouldering in Ticino this winter, I felt quite strong, even on the sport climbs. I just chose some shorter routes for the beginning. Bouldering definitely taught me to persevere more, even when moves seem impossible at the beginning, and not give up too quickly. I’m hoping that I can transfer that to my sport climbing.

In general, in between rock climbing trips, I always like to do some training cycles to maintain a high level, and I learned that if I want to do multiple disciplines, I have to give my body some time to get in shape for whatever I’m motivated for or what my goal is. In the end, it makes me a much more varied and better climber. For now, I’m back in the gym trying to build some fitness for some lead climbing projects.

Aidan Roberts, who in October, made a relatively quick repeat of Alphane (9A) has done the FA of Unison, (8C) in Brione. Insta video. Yesterday, photographer Vladek Zumr dropped the news that Aidan, also pulled off a flash FA of X,Y and Z, 8A+. "The other guys, (Giuliano Cameroni, James Pearson and Nathan Phillips) tried a few times before him, so he saw the lower moves, and then he just crushed it (about an hour after his FA Unison). He's just on another level and a really humble guy.”

Niccolo Ceria added a post that sheds more light on the aesthetic and committing, X,Y and Z. It was envisioned by first Bernd Zangerl who tried it and showed it to Ceria. Four years ago, Ceria re-cleaned and tried it a bit, and with the support of Aiden and a formidable group stoking the fire, Ceria made the fourth repeat . " The climb style also deserves to be mentioned: a simple and basic crimpy sequence leads you to a very high foot placement where you have to shift your body weight to the left, go as low as you can with your hips and bring the right foot on a faint rail to finally cross your hand on the last edge. It took me a while to figure this beta out when I came back for some proper attempts."

Dai Koyamada first made headlines in 1998 when he was #4 in a Lead World Cup. After quitting the comp circuit, he did his first 9a in 2002 and the next year he did his first 8C boulder. In total, over the last 20 years he has done over 35 8C’s and most of them are FAs.

The 46-year-old's latest 8C creation is Mugen in Hinohara. He started the project by spending five days building the landing platform made of hundred of sticks, Insta picture plus video, Insta video. "One thing is clear: this problem is great. One of the best problems in my life."

Radek Votocek did five 8c+ graded routes last year and Rock Erotic (8c+) in Geyikbayırı was his hardest, as it's officially (8c+/9a).

Lukáš Černý has put together the video and says, "I had the pleasure to film with Radek during my Christmas trip, and I was able to record some more of his new entries in his climbing diary. In the video, you can even look at his most difficult journey. In addition, you will find out when he began to train systematically, what the other climbers initially thought of him, or how he feels about climbing on sandstone."

Steve McClure, who did the FA of Rainman 9b in Malham Cove in 2017, has repeated James Person's Le Voyage 8b+ in Annot, which is a trad route protected by many cams and wires and also has two fixed threads. On Insta, he comments, "One of the best in the world. 8b+. Enough gear, but spaced and pumpy to place. It feels like a real adventure. 40m long too! Just a couple of days and first lead effort seems like my usual adopted style of only just getting it, with the odd section still barely worked out!" (c) Grace Taylorson

The 52-year-old has been one of the leading climbers in the world for 25+ years. In 1998, he did the FA of Mutation, proposing 9a, but it was later upgraded making it the second 9a+ in the world. When it comes to trad climbing Steve is also one of the most accomplished in the world and two years ago he repeated Lexicon 8b+ (R) after first having taken a 20+ meter fall.

Can you tell us more about Le Voyage and how you trained and prepared for the trip?
Great route! Loved it. One of the best. Prep for trip, zero. Only ended up sorting the trip a week before coming out. I'd not even thought about trying Le Voyage. It was, in fact, James's harder route Bon Voyage that I really noted, though this would be too hard for me, but it brought Le Voyage to my attention and I was really drawn in.

Training…. Well, indoors and out just climbing. I’m too old for proper training! I treat each session as a day of climbing, doing what I like to do. I try sometimes to keep the intensity up as I get weaker and weaker. So indoor bouldering is a good idea. That works well with fitting around work and family anyway.

Do you know why there are fixed threads?
Threads… and all ethics… are all made up in the end. Some people frown on preplaced threads. Their ethic is perhaps purer. Some are very hard or virtually impossible to place on lead, and yet nature has offered natural protection. Threads may offer a better and/or safer experience for some people.

I think for this one, actually, it’s easy to place. There is a no-hands rest right there. For most people attempting this route, the main issue is to strip the route ready for an ascent placing the gear, is SO hard (as it’s steep). The thread makes this possible. With multiple people trying the route the logistics of stripping it all without the thread are just complex, time-consuming and unnecessary (like having to top rope all of it to get the kit out… or put it back in for those who want it left in). Sure this may be a compromise but it’s utterly marginal and really takes nothing away from any actual ascent. For my ascent the thread was in but not a karabeener, which I put in, alongside the other 20 or so wires and cams I placed on lead. I'm happy to take a yellow card, or even a red one. I think I led it in good style, am honest about what I did, and had a whole lot of fun!

It can be done in a better style. For me, there was no quick draw in (as someone had taken them out), but it really makes no odds. And with a no-hands rest, the thread is not a problem to place.

I like the fact that you are the 'guy that asks the questions'... someone has to do that occasionally to avoid bad practice becoming the norm. So well done. With this one though it's just a common sense thing, a bit like making the decision that a pre-clipped first bolt is a good idea above a death landing... no one will argue with that, even though we all know that a pre-clipped first bolt is not the purest ethic. funny game climbing. But isn't it fun!

Vojta Trojan, who previously has done eight 9a's, has done Sanjski par extension (9a) in Mišja Peč. (c) Lucie Černá

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Happy to finally send this outstanding roof climb! Never climb a route which is so technical yet so powerful before. At first I struggled a lot with finding the right beta, then I managed to send the first part the 3rd day on. From that point I was falling in the last hard moves before the good holds. During the send I didn’t do anything differently and also didn’t feel better, but somehow I managed to keep it together and send. It took me 3 short trips to Osp this Spring and climbing 7 days in total. Today I also add Strelovod 8c (second go).

What’s coming up next?
Next plans are definetely finishing Action Direct in FJ if the weather is okay and then France in summer.