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.

Elias Iagnemma, who already in 2022 has done two 8C's, has made the FA of Ganesh 8C+ in Tintorale. He found it in May and projected it for some 12-15 sessions. Currently, there exist some 20 boulders graded 8C+ or 9A in the world, including Gioia which was his hardest prior to this FA. More info on his Insta.

In 2018 he won the Italian Bouldering Championship and he has also tried some World Cups. Then he took a break from competitions, partly due to some injuries, and only focused on outdoors. In 2022, he possibly will start doing some World Cups again.

Petra Klingler from Switzerland has won the Ice Climbing World Championships in Saas Fee. The Boulder World Champion in 2016, who was #16 in the Tokyo Olympics, was the only female to top the final route. Among the male, Louna Ladevant from France won. (c) Vladek Zumr

Gianluca Vighetti, who last year became the first 12-year-old to have done a 9a, has done Siamo già arrabbiati (8A+)
in Novalesa - Apecar. It was originally considered 8B, video, but Gianluca thinks it is more 8A/+.

"Last Sunday I went to Novalesa to try the low start of Altrimenti ci arrabbiamo, called Siamo già arrabbiati 8a/+, and I did it on my first go but I already knew the upper part. This boulder is pretty my style because it is very technical, with a lot of heel locks and different betas."

What are your plan and ambition for 2022?
I will focus more on competitions. I'd like to take part in the Youth World Championship in the USA and in the European Youth Cup in boulder and lead. On the rock, my goals for 2022 are 9a+ and 8b onsight in lead and 8B and 7C flash in boulder. (c) Nicolò Conterno

Elias Iagnemma has done Der mit dem Fels tanzt (8C) in Chironico. Including also Ninja Skills sit-start (8C) in Sobrio, which he did three weeks ago, the 26-year-old has now done ten boulders 8C and harder the last two years. Here is a new video including seven 8A+ to 8B+ from last summer. (c) Stefania Colomba

You write on Insta that you rested 90 min before trying again?
I rested so long because I fell off the slab..I had to recover😅. Both physically and mentally 🤯 I needed some time to find the right physical and mental stimulus after I fell when the bouldering was practically done. I wanted to get back completely in perfect condition so as not to fail an other attempt at the exit.

What is next?
My next project is a boulder that I discovered and cleaned near my house. It is a breathtaking line, and as regards the grade it could be around 8C+.