Felipe Camargo has made the FA of Cavalo de Troia (9a) in . The Brazilian has previously sent 9b and boulders up to 8C. (c) Fabio Moreira

”My hardest first ascent in Brazil so far! Incredible route...really steep and physical 8c/+ to a taxing no hands kneebar into a powerful v10 (7C+) boulder problem to the anchor!”

Can you give us a few more details about this route?
It’s an old project that Enzo Oddo and Gabri Moroni bolted in Brazil in 2013. It took me about seven days.

Is there more left for you to do in Brazil?
[Yes] Gonna focus on Brazil this year and try some hard projects here!!

Solveig Korherr has sent Shogun Part I (8c) in Basler Jura. ”Two days. Great finger strength testpiece. It had the perfect length to get back into sport climbing after mainly bouldering this winter. Got inspired by Lucien‘s (Cousin) send of Im Reich des Shogun (9a) last week🔥”

Can you tell us more about your and Lucien's ascents?
Last summer I moved to the Basler Jura for work but I didn’t climb there so much yet. The summer was a bit too hot. Over the winter, I spent a lot of time bouldering in Ticino. There were a few routes on my list that I wanted to try and Shogun was one of them. I got lucky that my friend Lucien who has been trying the historic line Im Reich des Shogun met up with me and could share some of his beta. Both lines share the bottom crux.

It’s a very fingery & sharp route. There is this big lock-off move to a tiny crimp and then an under cross move to a mono. I was quite surprised that I could already do all the moves on my second try and some good links on my third try on it. The best part of the day was that he sent Im Reich des Shogun at the end on his fourth try. It was very impressive to see him fight and witness the 5th ascent of this route.

This week I went back and the first two tries didn’t feel so good on it. That’s why I had no expectations on my third try but somehow fought my way to the anchor. I guess that’s when the magic happens. I’m psyched to check out the second part of „Im Reich des Shogun” in the future but for now I’m enjoying some trad climbing here in Cadarese :-)

Cédric Lachat, who has previously has done nine 9a+ graded routes, has made the FA of At Home Cornus 9a+ in Vercors, which Romain Gendey bolted in 2015. It is a crimpy 10-meter extension to a 30-meter-long 9a (8c+). (c) Jérémy Bernard

"Being close to my house, I often went there. The length of the route reminds me of long efforts [routes] such as, “Pachamama” or “La Rambla “. Nevertheless, I invested more time in “At Home Cornus” than the former. Compared to the previous 9a+ I did, the difficulty is that this one is new: a first ascent, there is no video, nor betas served on a plate." More quotes on Fanatic Climbing.

Cedric won 17 medals in a storied World Cup career. In 2007, he took the bronze at the World Championship in both Lead and Boulder. Seeing as how he has also done some very hard multi-pitches, the 38-year-old should be regarded as one of the best multi-discipline climbers in the world.

Alex Barrows has done Fabela pa la enmienda (9a) in Santa Linya after projecting it for some 12 sessions during three weeks. "When I first went to Santa Linya I thought climbing the whole way out of the steep part of the cave looked like one of the coolest bits of sport climbing going. That was 13 years ago (god I feel old)... Back then there was no chance of me doing it - my hardest route was 8a+ and the easiest way out of the steep part was 8c+.

The last few years I've mostly been psyched for onsighting when we've been at long Euro crags, but this year I thought it would be cool to go back and try Fabela pa la Enmienda, a 9a coming all the way out of the steepness. Maybe by now I'd be strong enough, fit enough, or at least have amassed a large enough collection of kneepads...?" (c) Ella Rusell

A couple of days later, he sent in the big cave. "Brilliant last day pump out. 3rd best line in the cave for me, after Neanderthal and Remeneo-Enmienda."

What is next?
Now we have to go home, unfortunately, so it depends on the weather in the UK! I have two projects at Kilnsey I'd like to try this summer if they're dry, though I think one might be too hard for me and the other needs quite a bit of loose rock removal so it's hard to know how they'll go!

Eva Hammelmüller has done Pungitopo (8c+) in Arco. During the last two months, the Austrian has sent 15 routes 8a and harder out of which half onsight or flash. In the 8a ranking game, the 22-year-old is #2. (c) Felix Mast

Can you tell us more about the quick double send of the route?
So happy I could tick this beautiful route after struggling really much with one move and a nasty cut in my last sessions! After the send, we decided to film the whole route, so I tried it again - and found myself on top of the route a second time! I have never re-climbed a route as hard as this before, especially not within an hour :D

Drew Ruana started making 8a headlines in 2012 when he did his first 8b+ at age 12. Two years later he sent and won the silver in the Youth World Championship. He continued progressing both on rock and in comps, where he was close to making it to the Olympics and was #13 in the Combined World Champion in 2019. After quitting the competition circuit he has since 2020, focused on bouldering and with 27 8C's and nine 8C+, he has one of the most impressive tick lists over the past two years. He's also undertaking a full-time University program . During the first two weeks in February, Drew did two 8Cs and one 8C+.

How can you explain being in such good shape right now?
I don't know, I’m really busy with school and climbing just for fun right now. Takes the pressure off.

How much do you train and climb outside a week?
I don't know, I’m really busy with school and climbing just for fun right now. (That) Takes the pressure off.

How much do you train and climb outside a week?
I don’t train or climb inside too much. I normally have 4-5 outdoor sessions a week.

What drives your desire to climb?
I just like climbing hard boulders outside. V15/16 (8C/8C+) is a lot more fun than it used to be because I can do them in around a couple of days or a week now, especially if I know the beta or have tried them before. I like trying v14 (8B+) and harder stuff because that’s where I usually start feeling challenged. I like pushing myself so I stick to harder grades, but I try to do the climb before the grade.

How many different projects are you working on now?
I have like 20 boulders I’m trying off and on.



How do you deal with failures and working with one or several projects?
You get used to it. It sucks but it’s part of what it takes to get stronger. Learn from failures and figure out how to make them less likely to happen in the future. Trust the process, projecting and progression involves lots of failure and learning.

Any short and or more long-term advice that you would give the youth that are out there pushing hard to make gains?
Not really any great short term but for the long term is to really think long term. Plan your projects and training cycles long-term and keep punching the clock. Just putting in the time. 6 months of consistent training is better than going super hard for a week.

Marine Thevenet reports on Insta that she has done Dreamtime Stand (8A+) in Cresciano. In total, the lawyer has now done some 90 boulders 8A and harder, out of which around 30, in just the last two years. (c) Clement Lechaptois

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I tried it a session or two last year very quickly when Clément tried the Dagger a little. This year I worked it two times and did it at the 3rd session :)

How do you manage working full time and climbing so hard?
I will quit my job in few weeks :)

Wow! So what is the plan now?
I quit my job to have more time to climb and to organize my job (and my life) in my own rythm - to not have to work during the all sunny week and climb in gyms thé weekend because of a bad weather (for exemple!) I decided to do it since in the past I negotiated some sponsorship agreements for my friends and I gave them some advice regarding their image rights. I used to work in a law firm for a huge sports agent in football/rugby. I would like to help climbers or outdoor athletes to find some sponsors that fit their expectations for whatever they are :) So🤞

Ignacio Mulero reports on Insta that he has done the FA of the trad route El boulder del pedal (8c+) in La Pedriza. This means that it is one of the hardest trad routes in the world, as nobody has dared to suggest 9a. (c) Emmi Isakow

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
"El boulder del pedal" is a ball in the middle of a meadow at the top of the La pedriza with a blind and slopey crack that runs through practically the entire rock except for the entrance, which concentrates the hardest part. The movements in El Boulder del Pedal are of crimps, slopers and some uncomfortable fingers and hand jams with bad feet The protection is quite good. The entire start is protected with crash pads and at five meters you can put the first cam (Dragon 00 blue from DMM) and from there it is protected quite well with the next size.

It is very short and intense, about 12 meters. If it could not be done in trad, I would see it as a highball. In fact, it was always in my head to do it without a rope. But being on it with Nalle Hukkataival made me see that you can really protect it without altering the rock, so why not use the rope and not add danger to the ascent when it is well protected? It was difficult for me to change that thinking. There are many routes of this style. And the truth is that Nalle was right! When you lean out from the top you don't want to fall from there.

Of the difficulty when doing it with a rope, it sounded strange to me to grade it as a boulder. Talking about it a little together with Dani Andrada, who was able to try it briefly one day, it would be like an 8c+ route. For me, that comes from equivalence to a bouldering grade of around 8B+, which for me would be easier to approximate the difficulty of this route in comparative terms of difficulty.

I started trying last season but I couldn't do it. This season I had to remember again and to change methods because I broke a very important foothold and some days it was wet. This together with those of last season were like 20 days.

Now I'm going to Annot for a few days to know the place and then I'm going back to Norway to try Recovery drink (8c+ trad). In between these travels, I want to finish more projects that I have in the La Pedriza.