Jana Svecová (Vincourková) has done Grotta Azzurra (8A+) in Moravský kras and Špekmen (8A+) in Petrohrad. The latter she thought was a soft 8A. The 25-year-old has published a longer video from two days of bouldering also including a 7C flash and some easier sends.

Jana, did her first 8B+ this spring and has in total done 15 boulders 8A+ and harder, since 2019, some of which she has chosen to downgrade. As a youngster, she was an active competition climber, winning a Euro youth cup in 2012, but burnout caused her to take a two-year break before taking up climbing again in 2019. (c) Markéta Nevělíková

How is your climbing life nowadays?
My climbing life nowadays is a bit different since we built our own bouldering gym. We really enjoyed building it, but the training routine changed a lot compared to when we did not have the TeePee gym. The previous two years we climbed only on Moonboard and did some fingerboarding. Now we also fingerboard a lot but whenever we can we go to TeePee, probably as it's new to us and it's a lot of fun. Weekends, as usual, we spent in the rocks, and Sunday evening, the gym again. Sometimes it´s hard for me to be motivated to do all this because I have a full-time job and sometimes I am very tired when I go to training, but luckily when I convince myself to go and have a session when I'm there I get psyched and have a normal session. It takes a lot of convincing some days, cause we climb a lot. 😃 So most days we spent like this just climbing in our new gym then do some additional specific training for finger power or some core training etc.

What is your full time job and do you also work in the gym? My position is HR in an IT company 🙂. And the gym is mainly maintained by my husband. He puts all the holds on the wall and do all the stuff around the wall. Teepee is not a commercial gym but some of our friends have free access so we have like a small commutiny there which is nice and motivational.

Do you have long-term dream in climbing?
I have some, like climbing 8B+ or 8C, but I'm just 158 cm tall and have only a +1 ape index, so it's really hard for me to find something with reachable holds. Sometimes I am not even able to send 7B when it's reachy. But there is one 8B+ in Austria that I should be able to send. With the 8Cs I think if I would find the right one, just on tiny incut crimps I would be able to send it. Any suggestions? For the outdoor climbing, it is quite hard, with the job to go somewhere further for more days, last two years we were just unlucky alot, whenever we went somewhere behind the borders, the weather was trash. So that's why we are going again for a trip to UAE in December, to further develop local boulder potential, which I am looking forward to the most even without any specific project there.

Stefano Ghisolfi has done Pure Dreaming plus (9a+) in Arco, giving it a personal 9a grade. "Better beta was found in the upper part by some repeaters. So this time it is not a downgrade because of kneebars."

Will you go for Paris 2024?
I still don't know what to do next year, the main goal will be Silence (9c).

Luca Bana did the FA of Extrasistole galoppante (9a) in December 2021. "Outstanding project on the 'heart' sector, bolted in 2010 by Yuri parimbelli and remained unclimbed until now. A mix of big exposure, rock quality and savage moves makes it one of the best hard routes of the area!"

Here is the Combined national World Cup ranking in 2022. It was more or less the same ranking in 2021, aside from Japan creating an even bigger gap between themselves and the other countries chasing them. The Czech Republic has dropped in ranking due to the absence of Adam Ondra. Remarkably, Slovenia a country with only 2 million inhabitants has been one of the leading nations for some 20 years straight now.

1. Japan 42 138
2. USA 31 821
3. Slovenia 24 254
4. France 18 013
5. Germany 17 626

6. Austria 14 358
7. Korea 14 150
8. Italy 11 843
9. UK 10 401
0. Switzerland 6 936

Daniel Woods has repeated Dave Graham's Foundations Edge (8C) and Scarred for Life (8B+) in Fionnay. More pictures on his Insta.

The 33-year-old has been on the cutting edge since age 15 when he did his first 8c+ route and first 8B+ boulder. Starting in 2005, he won the American Nationals ten years in a row and he has also won one World Cup. In total, he has done 40+ 8Cs and harder, including the FA of Return of the Sleepwalker (9A).

"I tried Foundations Edge a couple of times in May and a few more times in the past but it was always wet. This time it was bone dry and went the first day. The next day hooked up Scarred for Life (8B+). Both these blocs are world-class and it was an awesome experience getting to climb them. I am here for two more weeks. Next, I’ll try Fuck the System 8C+ and I also want to try the low start project into Permanent Midnight (8A+) or Solitary daze (8C). The low adds is around 8B+ into the 8A+ or 8C."

Loic Zehani has done the FA of Harlem (9b) in Orgon after some 15 sessions. It is a 50 moves steep link-up in between Bronx (8c+), an 8A boulder that continues to the top part and the 7C+ crux of Sachidananda (9a+). Video on his Insta

The 20-year-old did his first 9a at age 15 and in total, he has done 60+ routes 8c+/9a and harder, out of which 43 are FAs. Almost all his hardest routes are done near his home area above Marseille. He has done three 9a's in Spain, and all three he redpointed quite quickly.

What does a normal climbing/training week look like?
Every week is different because I work in a bouldering gym. My working days are different every week so it’s quite complicated to organize small trips. I climb on weekends on rock normally and one day during the week. I do one or two sessions a week in the gym. I climb normally about 4 times a week. I just try to go outside as often as possible.

What is your next plans?
In October I will try to go and train at Chris’ gym in Barcelona and maybe outside. I plan to be in Siurana in November for TENAYA and I would like to go back afterward. In February I will organize a small trip to go to Santa Linya. I don’t have any routes in mind but I have time to think about it. 😉

Camilla Moroni, #2 in the World Championship in 2021, has done The bizarre Ride (8A+) in Magic Wood. "New beta for weak and short people."

So, you found some new short person beta for Bizarre Ride?
I went back to Magic for just one day to send Bizarre Ride and Jack's Broken Heart, but I managed to only send the first one, which, unlike for most other climbers, it felt easier than Jack (for me). I found a beta that suits me better with a foot jam and a right heel that make the boulder more technical.

What's coming up next for you?
The next weekends I will compete in the Italian Championships, after that I hope to come back to Ticino to work on Heritage (8B+) and send Delusion of grandeur (8A+).

Is your long-term goal, Paris 2024?
Yes of course, in fact, this season I worked more on lead than in the last years.

Nico Pelorson has done and Practice of the Wild 8C (B+) in Magic Wood. There are videos of both sends on his Insta as well as many other recently done ascents. The picture is from New base line (8B+). In total the 25-year-old has done 18 boulders originally graded 8B+ to 9A, however, he has suggested 17 downgrades and one upgrade.

Could you tell us more about your latest 8C ascents?
I passed (sent) the Force on my first day in one session. I thought that was going to be the project of my stay but in 1h30 I was done with this boulder perfectly in my style. For Practice of the Wild, I had already tried a session during my previous stay at Magic wood, 3 years ago. This time I succeeded directly.

What are your next projects and autumn plans?
Maybe Gioia (an 8C+ in Varraze). It depends if I will get a holiday. And Imothep sit start, a project in Fontainebleau