Jakob Bizjak has repeated Domen Skofic’s five star line Umetnost (9a) in Ter. ”Such cool moves on this amazing line! I am also really happy to do it on that day because it was raining a lot and I almost did not go to the crag, but then in the late afternoon I and my girlfriend decided to go check it out just in case… and to my surprise, it dried out just fast enough to make the ascent possible in the evening. 🙂”

How many tries and sessions did it take?
I needed around 20 tries during some eight sessions. I am really happy that it did not turn into an epic episode with years of work but went down rather quickly (for my projecting standards at least that is). 🙂

What is your climbing background?
I have been climbing for something like 16 years, always focusing on outdoor climbing. I really enjoy spending time at the crag, don't mind boulders, long or short routes, and also have a bit of a taste for some more obscure lines and local connections 😃

Alex Puccio has done the Dave Graham's classic We Can Build You (8B) at Mt Evans, Insta video. In total, the runner-up in the 2014 World Championship has done 250+ boulders 8A and harder including nine 8B+'. In effect, Alex has, by far, the most impressive women's career boulder tick list. (c) Robin O'Leary

"I started trying We can build you this summer for the first time and tried not to get too wrapped up in it. I took my time by doing other things as well. I kind of naturally built up to it and then the last 2 sessions before I sent I climbed it from 3 moves into the end. But each session I never went to it fresh, I would get on boulders before it, 7C+ up to 8A+. The last session was the first time I got on it right after warming up and what do you know, it worked! :)

After sending it I rested about 15 min and then decided to re-climb it in sections so I could make a better little video of it. I pulled onto the start so I could do the first part first and then I ended up just repeating the whole climb again. It’s funny when you take the pressure away from your mind how much different things can feel."

How has the summer been and what are your autumn plans?
It has been a good balance of training inside quite a bit and getting outside a couple of days a week this summer.

Now all I’m doing is just more of the same. Trying some harder boulders mixed with some not as hard as well as training inside. Trying to have fun, keep my mind free when I’m climbing at least, and enjoy the good weather! :)

Ghisolfi says, among other things, that;
- his progress has been better than expected
- the boulder crux felt harder than 8C
- a Silence 10a link-up is possible
- and Silence feels 9c

21-23 April: IFSC Boulder World Cup in Hachioji, Japan;
28-30 April: IFSC Boulder and Speed World Cup in Seoul, South Korea;
6-7 May: IFSC Speed World Cup in Indonesia;
19-21 May: IFSC Boulder and Speed World Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA;
2-4 June: IFSC Boulder World Cup in Prague, Czech Republic;
9-11 June: IFSC Boulder World Cup in Brixen, Italy;
14-18 June: IFSC Boulder and Lead World Cup in Innsbruck, Austria;
30 June-2 July: IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup in Villars, Switzerland;
7-9 July: IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup in Chamonix, France;
14-15 July: IFSC Lead World Cup in Briançon, France;
1-2 September: IFSC Lead World Cup in Koper, Slovenia; and
22-24 September: IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup in Wujiang, China.

Connor Herson made his first 8a headline in 2018 when he did an 8c+, 2nd go at age 14. In the same year he repeated The Nose 8b+ MP; and was #11 in the Youth World Championship. Earlier this year he did the bolted route Empath 9a (+) on trad gear and three weeks ago he was #12 in the YWC after being #2 in the qualification round. In other words, Connor is the #1 youngster in the world when it comes to multi-discipline climbing. In the picture by Christian Adam, Connor onsights, Moonlight Buttress, a 7c multi-pitch.

Do you boulder?
Bouldering is certainly my weakest discipline, so hopefully, I can boulder a bit more in the next few years. It’s always helpful for me to work on my weakness!

How have you gone about trying and excelling at so many different types of climbing?
Both my parents have been climbing for several decades, so they exposed me to so many different climbing disciplines. During the weekend it made more sense to go up multi-pitch climbs in the Sierras, but on weekdays I climbed with the youth team at my local climbing gym, which got me interested in competition climbing.

What is your next plan?
I have a trip to Rifle planned, and then I’ll be starting college at Stanford. I’m not sure how much free time I will have in college, but I’m hoping I can still get out to Yosemite on some weekends!

Do you have any big long-term goals such as the Olympics, climbing 9b, or a big wall FA?
I don’t have any particular goals at the moment - I think it depends on how college goes. But I’d like to pursue outdoor climbing more, especially trad/big walls.

Why is studying so important to you?
I think I am just as excited about studying as I am about climbing. Even though I have some very generous and supportive sponsors, I think I’d love to try to keep that balance between academics and climbing. To clarify, although I’m starting college in a week, I don’t intend to stop climbing at all. I might be climbing less frequently, but I’ll still be finding projects, pushing myself, and - most importantly- having fun.

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Here is the ranking counting five out of six events in the Lead World Cup. The last event will take place in Jakarta on 24-26/9.

1. Jesse Grupper USA 3 532
2. Taisei Homma JPN 3 485
3. Luka Potocar SLO 3 405 Complete results

Yannick Flohé from Germany is fourth with 2 910 points although not competing in Edinburgh. He has said that he will not do more WCs in 2022 and instead he has traveled to Magic Woods for bouldering. Colin Duffy from the USA is #5 with 2 845 points and in theory, he could also win although having skipped the event in Koper last weekend.

Jesse Grupper from the USA was the only one to top out the final route in Edinburgh. Luka Potocar from Slovenia took the silver and Toby Roberts from Great Britain the bronze. Japan was the best overall having five guys in the Top-11. Interview with Jesse is coming up. Grupper commented to IFSC. "I’m pretty ecstatic. After last weekend [in Koper] I definitely felt I was at a low point in competition climbing. I knew I still had it in me, and I have been training pretty hard. I am probably the most fit I have been all season and it feels so rewarding to feel that I am back."

Grupper is one of the slower climber on the circuit and has been timed out. "I was super aware of the time. In qualis I had six seconds left. In semis I had three seconds left. The only way to go in finals was to have no seconds left." Complete results
(c) Lena Drapella/IFSC

Among the females, the routes turned out to be too easy again. First, we saw six double tops in the qualifications, and then Ai Mori from Japan and Chaehyun from Korea topped the semi. Janja Garnbret then topped the final but Mori won on countback as she also topped. "I was feeling nervous before I started because I knew Janja had reached the top, and that meant I had to. But when I climb I just forget about my nerves and enjoy it." Seo took the bronze and was timed out. Complete results

Joe Skopec has done the FA of My Curse (8c+/9a) in Lion's head. His previous PB was the FA of Home Away From Home (8c+) which took him 2+ years to put up. The access situation is very sensitive. Here you can stay updated.

"Fought this route for over one year… I had to push my limits mentally/physically. I trained so hard and gave up so much in life to send this route… It’s time to relax and move on to other adventures in life. Hopefully, my Curse of being so obsessive to complete any goal does not come back for a while. My mind needs a break. I need a break haha. It’s done… it’s finally done… I can sleep in peace :)"

Could you tell us more about this FA?
The route breaks down to 5.13d (8b) to a good rest, v12 (12 moves 8A+), to a good rest, to a pumpy 5.13d (8b) that finishes with huge dyno to the anchors. But the route comes down to more than just the difficulty. Many big run-outs and skipping two bolts during the crux were always a mental battle for me. (I usually only train alone in the garage and don’t have a chance to work my mental game on rock).

Lion's head cliff is always an adventure. The hike in is a minimum of one hour, rap down 100 feet (33m), and then at the end of the day climbing back out with the backpack on is always a bit more tiring than you want haha. Please come prepared for Lion's head. One can easily be stuck at the bottom of the cliff if one is not experienced enough. As for the grade, all I know is it’s harder than the 8c+‘s I’ve tried, so I’ll grade it 8c+/9a. I have no idea what a 9a feels like. Took about one year and a half to send :)

Daniel Fuertes, who, two years ago, climbed Ali Hulk sit start extension total (9b), has done La menina sixtina R2 8c+ (9a) in Rodellar.

”The first pitch is an endurance 8c, easy for some people but very hard for me. The second pitch is more tricky with very technical kneebars. Sending the first pitch was the hardest for me. It took me about ten sessions. Once I did the first pitch I also did the second pitch."