Allison Vest, who the last week sent her third 8B, has made in Joe's Valley (UT). "Woah. Single sesh. What just happened?? Kind of all of a sudden I was standing on top. Suited me so well. Such a cool line. This week has been nuts."

8B in one session. What about going for your first 8B+?
Hahahaha, I guess you could say I feel pretty strong right now? I think I’ve gotta tackle some more anti-style boulders of every grade up to 8B before I look for the next even bigger thing. Stoked to keep looking for the next thing that inspires me!

William Bosi has done Steve McClure's Mutation in Raven Tor and suggest an upgrade to 9a+. "Wow! So happy to get the first repeat, Steve sent this route two months before I was born so its taken 23 years for the repeat. World-class!" (c) Band of Birds

Mutation has been a long running project for Bosi who opened his account on the line 4 years and 40 sessions ago before finally sending the route late Sunday evening on 31st October. What makes the repeat so remarkable is that the route is at a popular sport climbing destination near Sheffield with a high proportion of strong elite level climbers and has still taken so long to see a repeat, despite attention, which attests to the difficulty of the line.

Will commented on his ascent of Mutation, "Finally! This was by far and away my longest project on a route and I am so happy to clip the chains on it. It is so typical of the redpointing game that the route went down on the last go of the day with little expectation that I would send it! Full credit to Steve McClure on an amazing first ascent and for establishing a climb with such amazing moves.""

McClure commented on the first repeat with, "My first reaction when I got the news was 'Awesome!' I was so psyched for Will that he had finally done Mutation. A few years ago, I was really worried that the route was going to gather dust and not see a repeat so it was great when Will opened his account on it. Obviously, I think he took probably longer than he would have wanted on it but for me, the route is at the absolute limit with no margin for error. You need to have the route dialled, be in great shape and have perfect conditions so I am really happy that it all came together for Will!""

On the subject of the grade, Will commented: "Honestly, I think I lost all concept of the grade on this one about 20 sessions ago! However, I do know it cannot be 9a as the first half of the route is Evolution and gets 8c+. I sent Evolution in three attempts in the middle of July, in contrast to send just the Mutation extension link took me around five days! So in my head the top half has to be at least 8c+ too…? Now 8c+ into 8c+ definitely doesn’t make 9a. Also to note, I reckon I must have sent Evolution hundreds of times by now which makes it even harder to grade, the bottom only takes about a minute to climb through now also! So is Mutation the world's first 9b? Maybe, time will tell with other ascensionists but I think I will go for 9a+ for now…".

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Eva Hammelmüller has done Weißer Rausch (8c) in Ötztal. "This 8c was very technical, with a hard and tricky boulder at the beginning and a pumpy ending without any proper rest. Definitely one of the best lines I have climbed recently!"

What is next?
Turkey for 10 days🥳 onsights or looking for some hard projects?🤔!!!🤩🤩

Yannick Flohé has flashed Wrestling with an alligator (8B) and done Bügeleisen (8B+) in Maltatal, video on his Insta.

"I spent two days in Maltatal on my first day I started with Power of goodbye 8B with a nice dyno from two crimps to a jug. After that, I tried Bügeleisen. After a really good flash attempt, falling at the last crimp before the big move to the edge, I climbed it in four more tries. On my sent go I got two splits on my fingertips so I couldn’t try the sit anymore. On my second day, I worked on Hide and Seek but dropped the last hold two times and couldn’t finish it. I was quite frustrated and already tired but Chris Schweiger told me to try Wrestling with an Alligator which he did the day before. I just decided to give it a try and somehow just flashed it. I think it’s not the hardest 8B and I had a good Beta 😅".

So did you actually have taped fingers while flashing the 8B?
Yes, two fingertips taped with superglue and tape 😅. And I put some climb skin into the cut that helped.

Natalia Grossman has flashed Prince of Thieves (8A) and done in Joe's Valley (UT). In the picture, (c) Brennan Robinson, she does and in total has made seven boulders 7C+ to 8A+ during just two separate weekend sessions.

In 2021, the 20-year-old did nine World Cups in Lead and Bouldering and just once she missed the podium. The season then finished with the World Championship where she was #2 in Lead and #1 in Boulder. This can be compared with 2019, when Natalia was on an average #14 in the Boulder WC's and in her only Lead WC, she was #53.

Martin Bergant, #9 in the Kranj WC in 2021, has done Xaxid hostel (9a) in Osp - Banje in Babna.

"For sure one of the best lines in Mišja peč. I tried it twice last year and failed to do all the moves. Last week I went back and fell only twice on my second try. I decided to come back in the morning when the conditions are better and clipped the chain on my 5th try overall. Now I still have some time to open new projects before I start preparing for the new competition season."

Christof Rauch has done Stil vor Talent (8C) in Magic Wood. In total, the 27-year-old has now done twelve 8C's and more than 800 boulders 8A and harder.

How was the process taking it down?
I knew most of the moves from La Grosse Toulouse, so I had a short session where I checked the crux it and found some good beta for myself. Then I had another small session where I did the stand, the next session I failed at the last crux and the session after I did it. Props to Giani (Clement) for this cool addition to one of my favourite blocs! Just in time before the top out got wet. Special thanks to my girl Julia for the support.

Alex Ventajas has done his first 9a+, Pure Dreaming plus (9a+) in Arco. (c) Diego Borello

"After doing “Underground” and “Pure dreaming,” I thought about trying the connection between the two lines, but I preferred to consolidate the grade doing few more routes around 8c+ and 9a before trying a 9a+. This lasts weeks I felt en real good shape and I went to Pueblo in Arco to start climbing again on the routes, remembering the moves and trying the part that connects the two. Step by step, without rush and keeping climbing others “short-term project”.

After doing “Reini’s Vibes” quite quickly I thought: why not start give real tries to my biggest project from the start? After seven attempt (four days) In total, I managed to get to the top of the route, doing my first 9a+. Of course I already knew most of the moves, so the process was quite short, but this line needs very focused mind and great endurance. I loved to climb it and I think it’s a good way to debut in the grade." More info on his Insta.