Olivia Ogier, who did her first and only 8A last November, has done in Red Rock (NV).

Can you tell us a little more about Lethal Design?
I first got on Lethal in December, and I only gave it a couple of tries as it is very sharp and I had other goals. I came back to it a couple of weeks ago and fell on the last hard move, and I got extremely motivated to go back, but the weather kept me from trying it until this past weekend. I decided to make a solo trip out there, arrived at the boulder to find that most of the stash pads had been taken, and I had to make 4 small pads stretch across the whole boulder, including the highball top out 😅. I fell 8 times at the last hard move in the morning, almost gave up but decided to try again in the evening and I sent with no warm-up!

What's your climbing background?
I climbed competitively from the ages 9-15, then decided to only focus on outdoor climbing, with my hardest sends being Rodeo Free Europe 5.14a (8b+) this summer and then Lethal this weekend. I also in the past year decided to start competing again, with intentions of doing the 2023 elite USA climbing circuit.

“Claret is a really historic crag in South of France and I bolted two new routes in the main wall there. Guerre future (8c+) is a cool variation on the big prow of the crag. Guère de bruit (9a) is going on the wall with tiny holds. Young rockstar Théo Blass joined me during the process on "Guerre future". It was cool to work the routes with someone else and share the experience of route development with the next generation!”

Florian Wientjes, who previously has done nine 8C's, reports on Insta that he has done Off the Wagon Sit (8C+) in Valle Bavona. "I started trying it on a short trip last Dec. The plan was to try the stand but after that went down pretty fast I started trying it from the low start. I did all the Moves and also did my first links which gave me confidence that this Line is absolutely doable for me. From session 2 I always fell on the big move and the mental battle started. 6 more sessions came and went with close calls and new "Highpoints". It was mentally really hard climbing to the big move just to fail another time on the same move as the 60 times before."(c) Xaver Quintus

Dave Graham started working on it in 2005 and the next year, Chris Sharma and Nalle Hukkataival began projecting it. Six years later, Nalle did the FA of the stand start calling it 8C. Two days later Jan hojer did the first repeat, calling it 8B+, which was later confirmed. In 2018, Shawn Raboutou made the FA of the sit start and it has also been done standing from the ground, in both cases using the same starting holds.

Did you do any specific training?
I worked hard on some moves on the spraywall which required a lot of contact strength. I also made some replicas for the big move.

Why not do the sit-start project from the ground?
For me, Off the Wagon and the cart is part of its aesthetic. Moving the wagon to start from the ground is for me not as attractive as starting sitting on it.

What's up next for you?
Actually no plans 😅. Back to training I guess and (let's) see what's (to) come.

Eva Hammelmüller has had a great day in Arco where she onsighted Silver smile (8a+) and flashed Shantaram (8a) and Gado (8b). (c) Felix Mast

Could you tell us more about that great onsight/flash day?
I didn't expect much from yesterday, as I've been ill the last few days and I didn't feel 100% fresh. Yet, trying the routes without much pressure or expectation turned out to work pretty well, and I onsighted one 8a+ and flash another one. Thanks to @paul_lewandowski95 and his perfect beta, I could also flash one 8b, which he sent a few tries and one broken hold later - nearly in the dark.

Do you have your sights set on sending 9a?
I focused a lot on training the past month, so I couldn't check out another 9a - but the day before yesterday I tried 'Pungitopo', a cool 8c+ first ascended by Adam Ondra, and I am really psyched to try this route again!

Elias Arriagada Krüger, who has previously sent four 8B+ boulder problems, has done Dreamtime (8C) in Cresciano. (c) Xaver Quintus

”Dream come true!!!! Had a few sessions over new years with bad condies, so I came back now for a 3 day trip to finish it. After getting super close on it on the first two days, I climbed it on my third climbing day in a row in my first go, but dabbed the tree at the very end. Like WTFFFF!!!! So I had to climb it again. That’s where the mind game started. I started to give some goes again, but all of the sudden I started to slip out of every move from the bottom part, which wasn’t a problem before. It got warmer and warmer, my go’s got worse and worse. And then, with a huge fight, I managed to climb it again and this time without a dab. What an intense day! Beyond happy to have climbed it!!!!”

Katie Lamb has done Meadowlark Lemon Stand (8A+) in Red Rock (NV). ”So fun, pretty bloc, more than a little sandy.

The 25-year-old has done eight boulders 8B to 8B+, over the last 12 months, and is #1 in the ranking game.

Ties Vancraenest, who won a Euro Youth Cup in 2021, has done The Big Island (8C) in Fontainebleau. (c) Hannes Van Duysen

Can you tell us more about sending The Big Island?
I had two sessions on the Big Island on my trip last year, in April, in 25 degrees. I barely did any moves but really liked the boulder and I was looking forward to try it again. Sadly I couldn't come back before now because I had two major injuries and after that I had to focus on getting back in shape.

Finally, last week after my exams I found a moment to come back. I was really surprised to do all the moves already on my first session. The session after that I made some big links and started believing it was possible this trip.

The next day I came back I fell on the cut loose for a whole day until someone gave me a new beta that let me pass the crux but (I) fell on the last move with the final jug in my hand. I came back the next morning to send it first try of the day.

What's your climbing background?
From my eight years as a climber, I have always been a competition climber. I have also always been more of an endurance climber than a powerful climber, preferring lead over boulder. Outside on the other hand, I prefer bouldering over lead. But I’m not climbing outside very often, maybe once or twice a year because it is hard to find the time between all the trainings and competitions.

Tanguy Merard, who two weeks ago did his second 9a+, has done Supercrackinette (9a+) in . (c) Emile Pino

Can you tell us more about your ascent?
I had been thinking about this route for a while. When I did the Crackinette 8c variant two years ago I thought it would be a good project. Last year, I made a first trip at the end of December. I was not in good shape but I could find my methods and understand the route.

These holidays were a good opportunity to go back. We left for a week with lots of friends excited about the rocks 😜 From the first day I felt good on the route and I was quite confident in doing the route. I pass the crux on the mono fairly quickly but fell three times in the final section. The day of the send everything went well. The weather was nice and I put on some music and I flew to the top under the encouragement of my friends 😁. It was a great moment of success, sharing and I was able to discover the other routes of the cliff. Thanks to the dream team it was a great trip😍 Thanks to my sponsors, my family and friends 💪

Loic Zehani continues his fine form by making the first repeat of Manu Lopez’s Coup fourré (9a) in Faron Nord needing only three attempts.

”It’s a nice and long route (40m). The first pitch is a 10 meter powerful 8b called Fuego, then you have a good rest followed by 25 hard moves without good feet. This part is both physical and technical as often on the north face (of this crag). The moves are varied with pockets, underclings and crimps. The last 15 meters are very easy. (But, being a) North face in February: hard to get warm fingers but very good holds.”