Luca Bana has done the FA of Battle of Hearts (9a) in Paline. "It is basically a different end of "Abusive Love", a 9a link-up I freed in 2018 at Paline's crag. This 'new' one adds some physical moves which make the things a bit more tiring. After the send of "Stone War" 8c+/9a last week, I decided to give some tries to this connection and the process for the send turned out to be super fast, as I already climbed several times all the parts of this portion of rock for the other existing routes: just two sessions were enough to grab the first ascent of this pure stamina beast, where fatigue tolerance is crucial for success: probably one of the biggest challenge against the pump of the whole area!"

Joel Kinder has done yet another stunning hardcore FA, Mamajamma (9a+). "(Pronounced: ma'am-uh-jam-uh) Bolted during March 2020 as our pandemic crag where we could be alone. Likely 25-30 days of effort over the past two years. The perfect white face of clean rock that meets the flap and continues to connect with JoeXotic. Could be HARD as fuck 9a, but not sure as it's confusing with the bouldery-type-rigs. I hate grading this particular route for a number of reasons, but my personal, honest belief and feeling for ME is 9a+."

The 42-year-old has previously done 16 routes 9a and 9a+, out of which, nine FAs. He did his first 9a, in 2008 and his first 8c+ 20 years ago. On Insta he reports. "The route is a dime. Zero choss/amazing rock, hard as fuck sections, lots of fatigue and a relentless exit boulder problem. The entirety of the route is about 120’ long and has a rope transfer at the lip with a kneebar (see the video, actual send)."

Maho Normand, who did his first 8c+ at age 14, has during the last month done Bronx (8c+) and XXL (8c+) as well as six 8c's. Prior to that, the 16-year-old and 160 cm tall had not done anything harder than 8b during he last eight months. (c) Lactic Photography

How can you explain being back in peak performance the last month?
During the last two years, I have often injured myself (in my knees and hands) because of the diet in high school and the change in my body. So the motivation and the desire were at their lowest. After a recovery on the cliff in St-Léger a little over a month ago I re-chained an 8b, "Much suspend my flight", and after several discussions with friends related to food and management with high school, I re-motivated myself to start training well and eating well! And I immediately saw the change, and the crosses followed one another more quickly than expected!!

So it's been about two months since I regulated my diet and stopped eating in high school and it made me lose weight. In a few weeks, I lost five kilos, and I immediately felt it in my climbing!

How much do you train nowadays and what is your next plan?
I'm working Sachidananda 9a+ that a friend (Victor Guillermin) recently chained. I train at least ten hours a week without counting the days on the cliffs. I climb at least 4 to 5 times a week.

Allison Vest has, in just one session, done Dark Matter (8A+) in . "Amazing boulder. Twisty and pockety, just the way I like to climb. So many different betas on this thing too, and all hard. The move to the mono stack packs a punch just when you think you’re all done!" (c) Palmer Larsen

How was it possible to take it down in just one session?
Tried it on a rope a bit and then took a while to decide which beta I liked.

Allison has been an active competition climber since age ten and she has just focused on outdoors for a couple of years. In the female 8a ranking game, she is #2. Interesting is that she has also done two 8B's in single sessions and two months ago she did her first 8B+, which also was the first 8B+ she ever had tried.

Nolwen Berthier, who previously has done two 8c+', reports on Insta that she has done Supercrackinette 9a+ in St Léger. (c) Antonin Rhodes

Previously, only eight females have done 9a+ or harder. Nolwen stopped competing in 2019 after having been Top-30 in the World Cup 15 times, mainly in Lead.

"Over the last few months, I’ve devoted a lot of energy trying to align all the parameters necessary for the send (shape, weather conditions, motivation, etc.) This weekend, the stars aligned in my favour. For the first time, I succeeded in the first crux which was really hard for me… and I didn’t fall at the top! Ideal scenario, I dreamed of it, but the probability of making it real was very limited. I still can’t believe it!"

How many sessions are we talking and what about special or replica training?
I made 20 sessions over the 5 past months + I tried a lot last year from january to june. For the specific training, I made the choice to train mostly in the route rather than do some replica for exemple.

Michaela Kiersch reports on Insta that she has done Apex Predator 8c+ in Poptire. "It’s a hard resistance climb without many rests and the crux goes right up to the anchors so the send is really rewarding :) It was my goal to do this route this spring and I’ve been training my endurance for a few months while also trying to send my boulder projects. I haven’t tried a hard sport route since Dreamcatcher (9a), so it felt good to get back into shape." (c) James Lucas

Last year, the doctorate in hand therapy did her first 9a and last month she did an 8B/+ boulder. Previously, she has done more than a handful 8A+ boulders as well as eight 8c+ routes. Next up is the oral defence for her doctorate, followed by a trip to Europe for the Petzl Roc Trip and three weeks in Switzerland.

What are the autumn plans? Full-time climber or starting to work?
I'm not sure yet! I'm getting married in September :) That's exciting! The rest will follow

Mie Kastet has done the FA of When the levee breaks (8A+) in Perleveggen. The 37-year-old did her first 8A+ two years ago and checking her trend diagram, it is clear that the Norwegian is having her best year ever.

"The process... Well, I thought it looked cool and had an idea that it was climbable. So I cleaned it with a bit of help from my partner, Knut. Then started trying it in the spring of last year. Had to put it on hold due to warm temps in summer and a lot of wet weather in the autumn. Was bummed then, because progress was really good and I felt close to sending. Put the winter months to good use with some specific training (body tension, fingers and biceps😅) with help from Oli at Lattice training. Came back this spring and made a new high point on the first session, and became really psyched! It still took me a few more sessions, limited to a hand full of tries per session as the moves are super demanding and very specific. Also realised I needed more time to recover between each session. Not complete rest, just climbing on something else. I guess that actually helped get the ball rolling. 😂

As for the grade... We all know it matters 😅. I have suggested 8A+, based on the effort it took me, the beta I found, and other boulders of similar difficulty I have tried. Other people may have a different opinion, and that's fair! I am buzzing with excitement and pride because I found the line, cleaned it, tried it and eventually climbed it after a few ups and downs. So the the grade becomes less important to me.

How can you explain that you are peaking at age 37?
I hope I have not peaked yet! Still got things to do. 😉Jokes aside, I think there are many components here. One, I'm still psyched! Second, I have the freedom to make training a priority. Third, I am fighting less with myself now than what I used to do. Working on my own mind, and learning to enjoy the ride more than the send has been liberating, and it is much easier to access full power.

Victor Guillermin reports on Insta that he has done the third ascent of Gerome Pouvreau's Sachidananda 9a+ in Orgon from 2009, which was bolted in 1990 by Jérome Rochelle. The 16-year-old has previously done one 9a, Estado Critico. In 2019 he did five IFSC Youth Cups and his best result was #18. In 2020, he was #2 in his only Euro Youth Cup and last weekend he won a French Youth Cup. "It was incredible to be back in lead mode comp, and winning this french cup in Marseille gave me a lot of confidence for outdoor projects!🤣"

What has been the secret to your success and progress over the last few years?
The thing that has changed since 2019 is the frequency and the seriousness of training. I think the progress is quite easy to explain: it is just a lot of serious training. Because I'm in a normal high school, and I don't have so much time to train, so when I train, I train hard to complete my dreams ; ) It was incredible to be back in lead mode comp, and win this french cup in Marseille gave me a lot of confidence for outdoor projects!🤣

What are your comp dreams for 2022?
It would be awesome to make podiums in European Youth Cup, to be able to qualify for European Championship and even World Championships... where a podium would be a dream...