Jonathan Siegrist, who three days ago did his 9a #41, JoeDan (c) Cameron Maier, has flashed Digital system (8c) in Santa Linya. In just the last two months, the 36-year-old has done seven routes 8c to 9a+ and he is #2 in the 8a ranking game.

"My friend Dru Mack gave me the beta for the first half (the crux) but I did not have any beta for the second half. SO when I made it to the middle rest he actually swapped out the belay with Yann so he could go far back from the wall and give me running beta. I had to improvise (as always) for some sections but otherwise his beta was great! He knows me and my size (I am only 167cm) really well so normally he can help me with beta for me specifically. It was a goal of mine in Santa Linya since I first saw the line! It's a beauty. I don't have a background in competition at all so typically I am not a great flash or especially onsight climber, but I love to try."

Staša Gejo stopped by in Zillertal on her way back home after being #6 in Meiringen, (c) Martin Rahn, and did a very quick ascent of El Gauhara (8A+). ”Did the stand in a few tries but the low start left me falling at the top so many times. Still happy to have done them in an afternoon.”

The last year, she has previously done two 8B’s and five 8A+ and in the 8a ranking game she is #5.

What is your next outdoor plan?
Plan... uh... these bouldering visits are so spontaneaous that I cannot really plan them 😅 I really like Zillertal, might be back more often, it is only 2h from Munich.

Boulder99 has made an update of, "The World's hardest Boulder Problems", listing 40 8C/+ and harder. Interestingly, more than half of them have been put up since 2019. In only the last three years, in spite of the Covid-19 restrictions, more than 200 8C's have been logged.

Based on the stats, Daniel Woods is the most accomplished boulderer in the world with six 8C+ ascents, out of which four are FA's, plus his 9A FA, The Return of the Sleepwalker. Runner-up is Jimmy Webb with five 8C+ ascents.

The first 8C+ proposal was made by Boulder World Champion Mauri Calibani for his Tonino 78 in 2004. This boulder has later been called 8C/+. Up until ten years ago, there were only another eight ascents of 8c+ or harder. Since then, we have seen a dramatic increase with eight such ascents in 2017, 20 ascents in 2020, and 23 in 2021. As it stands there are 33 climbers who have bouldered 8C+. Further interesting stats include the fact that 10 of the hardest listed boulder problems are found in the USA, followed by 7 in Switzerland and 5 in Japan and as well as France.

Statistically speaking, one-third of the highest graded boulder problems are typically downgraded, and there are likely several unreported cutting edge boulder problems out there as well as some that will be upgraded. Thus, it's likely the current published list will look slightly different in a few years time.

Luke Dawson, who previously has done seven 8c+, has done Rainshadow (9a) in Malham, after trying it for five years.

David Graham has recently turned 40, but he is climbing better than ever. On Insta he just reported that he did the second ascent of Daniel Wood's 4-Lo, 8C. Next season he says he is going for 9A. ”I'm very close on a few problems! Notably, one project which could be 8C+, Rustica, 8C as well as a few others 8B+/C.

How can you still progress after 20+ years as a pro climber?
I feel stronger honestly! 😅😅😅, 🤔🤔🤔. Not sure why?? Maybe smarter??? Healthier lifestyle. Ah just eating better, no partying, lots of good rest!! Better attitude about climbing, more patient and also less concerned with conditions. Always finding new solutions, not getting angry. In the past, I would get much more frustrated when I would fail or not do well. These days I think I'm so used to failing that I'm surprised when I succeed. I do boulders that are really my antistyle too. So I assume they should be hard but I think it really helped my mental game, to push longer and harder. Never get pissed, it is not wise!!! I am feeling strong!! But four months of trying hard has been tough, I took the last two weeks kind of easy as the weather was finally bad 😅🤣

What is next?
Hoping to finish strong this last month. I climb 5 or 6 days out of 7 often. We had such perfect weather!! I am also trying some very sick projects. There's just so much to do here, this season is a good start at catching up. I have just a few more hard ones in Bavona to complete then, I'm on to new things.
I'm hoping to buy a home here in Ticino and someday I would like to be a pro crystal hunter, haha. My hobby is searching for crystals and minerals!! You can do it professionally too!! It makes for 🤪 very good active rest days. I love it !!!!! Keeps me sane! And thinking!!! Gotta be sharp!! And you learn a lot about geology and SAFETY hahaha. Like, don't do stupid shit!! I will start searching next week We dig holes in the ground.

(It should be mentioned that this interview is put together from a chat. Once you get the wizard going, you get at least 10 messages a minute. There's nobody even close to being able to push "Enter" that often. It is very hard to keep up filling in with "likes", "why" and "how do you mean" etc. If he gets passionate about something, you just try to hang on to that roller coaster.

On a personal note, my best flash ever was done when he fooled me into trying a 7c that was my anti-style. I was just going to check out the moves... then Dave got into his "Enter" mode and started shouting beta and telling me and the whole crowd that I can do it. I do remember hitting the one finger pocket almost dynamic, realizing it is very shallow. From that point I am blank but I still remember clipping the anchor and directly understanding that I had injured that finger. This happened in Kalymnos and I could not climb for the next five days, but I couldn't stop grinning!/Jens Larssen)

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Andi Stull has done in Bishop (CA). The 25-year-old started climbing only in 2016 when she was getting out of an eating disorder. She did her first 8A, less than two years ago and now she has done eight including two 8A+. "Over the time I have been climbing, I have recognized that being strong and healthy is far more important than being "light” and will lead to greater physical and mental victories."

Could you tell us more about your latest 8A+ ascent?
It actually took me quite a few sessions! This one turned into an unexpected nemesis for me. I tried a lot of different betas for this climb, but I didn’t seem to fit well for any of them. It took me quite a while to figure out my own beta that worked for me. I was dealing with a few minor injuries, so it was mentally taxing to work around them. However, I ended up day flashing yesterday and felt like I was floating up the boulder! It was a magical feeling for sure!

How did you warm up before sending it on your first try in the session?
That boulder kind of stands alone, so there aren’t really any other boulders to climb around on to warm up. I actually just started using a fingerboard to warm up, which was super helpful to use before this climbs since it’s so crimpy. I also made sure to stretch my hips a lot to prepare for the splits move.

Adam Ondra started bolting a line in Bus de la Stria in the vicinity of Arco ten years ago but abandoned it as he could not find a sequence getting through the crux. Trying it again in 2022 he made the FA of first one 9a+/b and then also the FA of Bomba (9b). "One of the most epic moments of my climbing! Very unexpected. I though it would be 9b+, but unfortunately after only few days of work it cannot be 9b+. Very bouldery, very reachy and very crimpy. Love it! Definitely upper end of 9b in my opinion."

In the epic video, with absolutely stunning scenary above Arco and Lago di Garda, we can see that he twice did skip two bolts and being super thrilled and excited making qoutes like, "Oh my god! It was just the strength of my will.... I think the route is absolutely epic."

Pete Whittaker got the amazing flash on tape and comments. "We both did some crack training before coming to America, and she did a small amount of invert training on some wooden cracks at home in Norway. In terms of beta for the flash, she had knowledge from watching other videos, plus info from myself and Tom."