Ted Kingsnorth, who started climbing in 1994 and turns 44 today, has done Jerry Moffatt's Progress 8c+ at Kilnsey. He did his first 8c at age 36 and his first 8c+ one year later.

"Progress is a classic power endurance route with very little rest and with 35 sustained moves of continuous difficulty (the first 7 bolts) leading to good holds and a kneebar before a final pumpy roof to keep success in the balance until the final moves! The crux sequence is around Font 7c in difficulty by the 2nd bolt. It was a long journey to climb Progress over 5 years mainly due to the quite short season that we have in the UK at Kilnsey. Seepage is always a risk and can turn your project into a waterfall overnight or temperatures can be too high for small crimpers in mid-summer. Staying optimistic is essential and you have to be ready for when the good conditions arrive."

How is progress possible 40+?
I think consistency is the key in all training over the long term. I don't follow any training plan, just head outside when conditions allow and train on plastic if too cold or wet, I boulder on my woodie I built in my flat or do one arm assisted hangs over winter. I think its not that important exactly what you do for training, the main thing is to keep up the intensity and stay psyched, then you will see the gains! I make sure I rest more during summer than over winter to allow proper recovery. I hike for 2 - 3 hours on some rest days which seems to help recovery and increase fitness. Also, enjoying the days at the crag increases motivation and sharing in other people's successes is important and helps everybody crank out an extra grade at least!.

Having Progress go on for 5 years was hard on motivation for sure as I got close in 2019 but couldn't regain my highpoint that year and then it got warm and wet. Covid didn't help last year and it was harder to regain the fitness for long routes without proper route training indoors. This year, bouldering on my home woodie I built in January was the key and I felt much stronger on all the moves straight away. It took some weeks to get the route fitness back in May but it came back fine after some hard sessions. Also Eder Lomba found a new kneebar by the 6th bolt which allows a new shakeout, although it was definitely not hands off for me personally. Taking 2 pads up the route was a bit bulky but worth it for sure!

Solveig Korherr has done her tenth 8c the last twelve months, Idée fixe in La Saume. In the 8a ranking game, the 23-year-old is #2. (c) Jon Shen

"Idée fixe was a great power endurance test piece on some tiny crimps and side pulls. Since I knew the upper part of this route already from an 8b that linked into it, I was psyched to just have a look at the rest of the line. The middle crux felt like it could fit me but it was still very hard. I wasn’t sure if I still had enough power endurance to link the hard section after having done more volume climbing and multi-pitching in the last few weeks. But after some beta refinement and perseverance, I was super happy to make a few good tries and finally being able to climb all the way up to the top! In the end, it took me five days."

Adam Ondra flashed Supercrackinette in 2018 which was the first first and only 9a+ flash in the world. In 2012, he had made the first 9a flash by Southern Smoke direct.

Jon Glassberg from Louder Than Eleven is possibly the only climber, together with his wife Jessica Talley, beside the IFSC official Daniel Gajda, that have gotten four days photographer accreditation to the Olympics. 8a will share some of their pictures during the competition. The 37-year-old just made his first 8C by doing The Nest and with 191 cm and 86 kg, he might be the biggest boulderer who have reached that grade.

Audrey Miller has done her first 8c, Kill Em All at Wolf Point after six tries over two weekends. "Last go best go, pocket slinged my way up this amazing route. Such a nice line. Sometimes a pre-climb laugh attack, a new low point, and a last Hail Mary effort are all it takes to get you to the top! Thankful for an amazing crew to keep the psych up, and a stellar line to throw myself at. Until next time Wyoming!"

What is your climbing background?
I grew up competing until I moved to Utah, then decided to focus my efforts on real rock. This year has been the most rewarding for me, as I’ve adapted my skills for outdoor climbing, and seen a lot more success than in the couple of years prior. I can’t get enough of the rock out west! (her best result in a Youth Worldchampion is #12)

By looking at the registrations for Villars, we can see that most of the Olympians will not participate. Out of the big names, only Jakob Schubert, Alex Megos and Janja Garnbret will take part.

Giuliano Cameroni has done yet another stunning FA, Hazel Grace 8C/+ in Gottardo, which adds an obvious sit start to the 8B+ stand he made the FA of in 2017. The 24-year-old running the Mellow Youtube channel has previously done eight FA 8C and harder. Here is part of his Insta comments: "First day of the season, what a day! A huge mountain of snow was surrounding the bloc, making it magical. Conditions were perfect and no pressure was involved. Checked out the moves, rested for half an hour and climbed it first try. Great moment where everything connected."


How many sessions did it take and what about the slash grade?
I tried it for a long time last summer and the summer before, probably around 30 sessions in total. This year I felt stronger, conditions were perfect and surprisingly it connected first go from the start. Took so long to figure out a very tricky heel hook and all the positions needed to stay on the wall. Really hard to give an opinion about the grade because there is a super tricky heel hook. Physically it felt 8C but technically 8C+. Could be both, let's see what other repetitors think.

Seb Bouin made the FA of Beyond Integral 9b/+ at Pic St-Loup last October commenting in his scorecard. "A mega line, a first 9a+ part to finish into 8A+ boulder problem. I tried many MANY times. From the impossibility to do the moves to a send..."

Marco Müller, who previously has done two 9a's, has done El Molinero 8c+ in Gimmelwald. The crag is located at 1600m and the closest city is Interlaken which is 20 km away.

"First, you take a cable car from Stechelberg to Gimmelwald and then hike approx for 45min. You can walk up, up it adds another 45min of hiking ;) There are around 30 routes, 25 of them above 8a and 4 of them 9a's.

It's a powerful and steep route with no rests. The crux is a cool jump where both feet cut loose, after that, you just rush to the top hoping the forearm pump doesn't kick in. I could climb this route in my fourth session, one last season and three this year."