Allison Vest, who the last three months has done three 8B's (all within four sessions), has sent Show Your Scars (8B) in Ogden. "YESSSS! Took me over 10 sessions on this thing. I can't believe it. Had to crimp the last hold so much harder than I even thought was possible. So cool that every session I made progress and got farther... Such a unique projecting experience." (c) Sean Faulker

Allison has been an active competition climber since age ten and she has just focused on outdoors for a couple of years. In the 8a ranking game, the 26-year-old is #2.

Is this the first 8B+ you have tried?
This is the first. You told me to try one so many times I just finally listened ;)

What about that #45 Mitchell T-shirt?
He’s the point guard for the Utah Jazz here in Salt Lake. I don’t know what it is but I’ve done most of my hardest boulders wearing it now. It’s almost a mental cue that it’s game time.

What is next?
This was a big goal for 2022 so I’m excited to already have checked it off. Time to find another project and focus on going to places I’ve never been before to climb new styles.

How do you live your climbing life? How much and How do you train?
It depends. I get really obsessed with single boulders sometimes so for Show Your Scars the past few weeks I’ve been doing very little training and mostly climbing. But I love training so when I’m not focused on a boulder, I’m training a lot.

Alexej Pinchuk has presented statistics of all 9a+ to 9c ascents. A total of 26 climbers from the US have done a 9a+, which can be compared with 21 from Spain and 15 from France, followed by 14 from Germany and Italy. In short, it seems the US has the best climbers in the world.

What is very strange is that there exist only 13 9a+ routes in the USA at the same time Spain has 78 followed by 39 for France and 18 for Italy. In other words, the Americans travel to Europe and especially Spain in order to send a 9a+. Many think that some grades in Spain are on the softer side but possibly the above statistics also suggest that the grades in the USA are harder.

I sent over these stats to Jonathan Siegrist, who has done 18 routes 9a+ and 9b, out of which half in the US. (c) Joe Segretti - Ghetto Booty 9a from Frank Legrand at the Hood, Mt Charleston.

Could it be that several 9a's in the US would have been 9a+ in Spain?
Yes, I mostly agree with this. Our routes overwhelming tend to be quite bouldery - even the longer routes. So they can feel hard! We have very few resistant style 9a and harder. Our cliffs in the USA are simply shorter than in the EU, so if we can find 9a+ usually they have very hard boulder problems when compared with a 50 meter 9a+ in the EU. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are graded wrong, I just think the style is different. Although some probably are sandbagged. Especially the originals in the grade, as usual everywhere.

However, I think these numbers are also slightly deceiving, and also I believe I have an answer for why there are fewer hard routes and ascents in the US.

A. In the US we have the strongest boulderers in the world, no question. Largely because we have excellent, hard bouldering everywhere, but not nearly as much good overhanging limestone. I think you’d find that a good number of those 26 9a+ climbers have only climbed a hyper bouldery route that might be better described as a very long boulder problem. So in other words I think the number of US climbers doing true ‘sport climbing’ style 9a+ is a bit lower.

B. As for the few numbers of hard routes, this is largely because the US simply does not have nearly the quality or the quantity of tall rock that Europe has. Also, the bulk of hard route development (~9a and harder) is all done by a very small number of climbers and it tends to be in obscure, remote places far from a cafe or even a petrol station.

C. I think that for many years in the US we barely had any 9a+ and up, and they were mostly pissed off hard, quite obscure or difficult to reach. So if you were an aspiring 9a+ sport climber you would likely be better off going to Spain and having your choice of dozens of great climbs, quickdraws hanging and within a 5-minute walk from the car as opposed to only a couple of options that all probably require 4x4, a long hike, rattlesnakes, and possibly a couple of days of cleaning to get the route back to climbable.

Do you also agree on that,
From a grade theory perspective, you could possibly use Action Direct as an example of what you say. It is so specific and it is very hard to send after like 20 sessions... and even if you send...you have not gotten much stronger doing other 9a's. However...if you do an endurance 9a...it is kind of fun to spend 20 sessions on it and after the send, you get rewarded as you have gotten stronger on this style and could repeat many others :)

Well, I for sure agree with this! I have learned to love our bouldery, strength endurance style routes here but what I love to climb are the 50-meter beauties where you can really fight for it and get super pumped. I wish we had more of this style in the USA. But thankfully I am fortunate enough that I can fly to the EU once or twice a year and get my fix.

Daniel Woods has been one of the best boulderers in the world since he at age 15, in 2004, did his first 8B+. From 2005, he won the American Nationals for ten years in a row and he has also won one World Cup. In total, he has done 40+ 8C and harder, including the FA of Return of the Sleepwalker (9A), which is by far, the most in the world. Although the first 8C+ was suggested in 2004 by Mauro Calibani, Boulder World Champion in 2001, there were, besides traverses, no real 8C+ boulders in the world some ten years ago. During the last few years, the progress has been dramatic and there are now some 20 boulders graded 8C+ or 9A, out of which Daniel has sent eight. (c) Dave Burleson - Grand Illusion 8C+

Do you remember our talk during the TNF Festival in Kalymnos 2013 about grade deflation and that possibly some 8C's could be upgraded?
Haha, I remember bits and pieces but that was a while ago.

Today (including upgrades) there are some 20 boulders graded 8C+ or 9A. How can such rapid progress be explained?
I mean for one there are a lot more climbers in the world compared to ten years ago. Also more climbing gyms, training resources, video beta. I believe all this has allowed for more people to get stronger and perform at a higher level. There will continue to be more climbers getting into the game, perfecting movement, and sending hard shit. I’m excited to see what future climbers bring to this sport/lifestyle. Also, it will be exciting to see how our current standards hold up over time. All we are doing at the moment is proposing next level grades.

How have you been able to continue progress? Getting stronger or is it also that you are smarter and project longer?
I feel like my body strength has stayed somewhat the same. I def fluctuate but know how to get myself back in shape. Overall it’s knowledge of understanding movement, picking the right season to project/potentially send, and confidence within that you can do the line. When you are breaking into new grade territory there is uncertainty if you can do it or not. Once you break that barrier then confidence goes way up. Nowadays I can look at something and know if it will go quickly or take some time. And something that might take a lot of time isn’t as stressful as it used to be since I have experienced what it’s like already. So ya, the more climbing you do the better you will get. It’s important to know that there is no escape from failure though. Rather than being afraid of failing, learn from your failure to create success.

How do you see the progress in 10 years time? First 9A+ and multiple ascents of your 9A etc?
I mean there are a few 9A projects out there that I and my friends know about and I believe 9A+ exists. And ya Return of the Sleepwalker and Burden of Dreams might have multiple ascents.

As for myself in ten years, haha, well I still want to be trying hard. I feel you can continue to push your personal limits regardless of age. It all comes down to personal motivation to do so and how well you take care of your body. Obviously, recovery time is slower the older you get but knowledge on how to send will increase. It's all about being patient and believing that you are capable of doing it. I'll add though that this is easier said than done haha.

What have you been up to lately and what is your next plan?
I have been motivated to session again. The last few months I have lacked the motivation to try hard outside. I’m slowly learning that it’s not possible to perform at a top-level all year round without rest (speaking for myself). The older I get the more I value listening to my body and calling it quits when I’m not feeling it. Younger me would force something to happen. So ya I try hard when I get the feeling to do so and now I have that feeling. Last month I decided to take a break from going outside all the time and put in some gym work. It’s been fun creating indoor projects, ticking them off, and feeling some strength return. Next up is a Swiss trip… will see where the motivation lies after that. Would like to sport climb more this year and there are a few boulders I’d like to put work into.

IFSC comes with the great news that Sport Climbing has been included (with three disciplines) in the initial programme of the Los Angeles 2028 programme. (c) Gajda Photography

Kim Marschner started off 2022 by doing his fifth 8C, Crystal Ship in Cresciano. Interestingly, all of them he has taken down within five sessions. "I‘m not really a projecting person😅". Last year, the 24-year-old won the Allstars Ninja Warriors in Germany and 50 000 Euros in February but then he was mainly injured.

What have you been up to lately and what are your plans and ambition for 2022?
Lately, I’ve been a lot in Chironico trying a new crimpy boulder there which will be around 8C I guess. My goal is to climb that but I just have time as long as it is really cold. This year I‘ve been there already twice. I would love to go there more often. It‘s 4,5 h dive. Also, I want to qualify for the World Cup this season as well as the European Championship in Munich. Therefore we have some comp simulations in the next months and a selection competition.

Could you please describe how and where you train to fulfil your goals?
At Active Garden. It’s my parents' gym. I train a lot at the moment to get there. Especially doing comp style boulders in the gym and a lot at the spray wall. After all the time on rocks, it’s kind of hard to get back into comp mode but I’m really motivated and psyched for the comp season to start. I train 6 days a week and on three days I train twice a day. Normally I start with easy comp boulders to warm up. It makes me awake because you need to have a good focus. After that I try the harder ones and sometimes only single moves but I do them more than one time to really get them dialled in. After that I go to the spray wall and do some hard boulders there until I have no more power.

In the second session, I do more functional training like rings and weighted pullups and stuff like that. Also sometimes I do campusboard training. But mostly bouldering. Once a week I also try to do a little power endurance session. One of our national coaches writes me a plan but I don’t train with a trainer. I train a lot with Max Kleesattel and Stefan Schmieg. Also members of the national team.

William Bosi put up Below Zero (8B+) in Rooftown two weeks ago. "The low roof start to Zero. Adds about 5 fairly tiring cool moves. Definelty got to be one of the best hard uk boulders". In the video Dave MacLeod documents his process to repeat it and part of the process was to sand down his pinky and moistining it with water to increase the friction.

Dave made his first, out of 82 8a headlines, in 2002 and is famous for all his hard core FA tradlines. He has also also done a 9a FA and 8C repeats. In short, the 43-year-old has been one of the best multi-disciplin climbers over the last 20 years.

Marco Zanone has done Wild Publico (9a) in Margalef. "The start is the hardest part of the route, probably around 7C+ boulder problem. The wall is very steep, so the hardest part for me was to hit the pockets/crimps in the right spot and to keep the tension through the whole crux, especially clipping the third bolt (first 2 pre-clipped). Then you face a not so hard section that leads you into the hardest part of Pal Publico.

I randomly choose Wild Public as a project of mine, the line looked gorgeous and I had already climbed the upper part. Then It turned out to be easy or soft, at least for me. I'm sure one day I will pick up an hard one, but if it will be as beautiful as Wild Publico I will simply try harder and at the end of the process I will be even more proud of my performance. "

Please take us through your morning preparation to get the prime conditions?
It is very seldom that I get up very early for climbing because I think that my body it's definitely not used to climbing that early. I usually train during lunch or in the evening on a normal routine, so my body tries to always stick to that habit. Breaking the habits is not that simple but when motivation is high it helps to make the transition smoother and quicker.

I'm staying in Cornudella, so I had to wake up quite early (6.30 am) in order to be in Margalef when the sun was rising. When we reached the Espadellas sector (8.20 am) the sun was still behind the mountain and the temperature was around 2°C. No one was there, it was very peaceful. I warmed up on the hangboard while waiting for the sun to hit the rock. Just some pull-ups on the jug first, then on crimps and pockets. Then I did a very cool 7a to stretch my body and to get the feeling with the rock.

After a more intense hangboard session I felt warm enough to try the route in different parts. It was a week since the last time I tried it, so it was great to get into the flow and brush some holds before making proper tries from the bottom. When the sun was up, the wind came too (as predicted from the weather forecast). I was feeling great, my skin was cold and the rock was dry. After messing up once on the boulder, on my second try, I got through the crux without wasting too much power. On the second part, everything clicked perfectly, I wasn't feeling too pumped, which I was instead on the previous sessions. Glad to see some improvements in my endurance during the last month of climbing. :)

Juliet Hammer has done her seventh 8A, Testify at Lilly Boulders. "Testify was a dream project for me: the challenging tension style, perfect difficulty, and workable solo. It took me 4 sessions in total. I’m psyched to keep pushing my limits!" (c) Nathalie Dupre

What is your climbing background?
I started as a youth competition climber when I was 10 years old. After a couple year break, I started climbing outside in college and have focused on outdoor climbing ever since.

What is next?
I moved to Chattanooga, TN less than a year ago so I’m excited to keep exploring the climbing here in the South. There are lots of areas I still haven’t been to and would like to keep trying new boulders.