Eva Hammelmüller, who the last six weeks has done a dozen routes 8b+ and beyond, has spent the last days in La Ramirole and sent hard again. (c) Felix Mast

La flûte en chantier (8c+): ”What a line and what a place! Thanks Felix for convincing me that a few days is worth heading all yhe way south to La Ramirole, this place is mindblowing. Danke Simon for your beta and merciii les copains for your support in the send go🫶🏽 managed to send it on my 4th try!!”

Agressif you want (8c): ”Great route with funky sequences, many kneebars, and dynamic moves! Thanks Max (mon idol ;)) for giving me some beta!! ”

Can you tell us more about the trip?
Due to the bad weather, we decided to head down south to la Ramirole, even though we only had a few days left - and it turned out to be the best decision!! I loved everything about this place, the beauty of the valley, the steep powerful tufa climbing, the numerous hard routes, the climbing community… Clipping the anchor of ‘La flûte en chantier’ and ‘Agressif you want’ in only 4 tries each was the icing on the cake🥹

Lara Neumeier has climbed the eleven pitches End of silence (8b+) in Feuerhörndl after 7 days of work. Neumeier’s ascent marks just the second time the route has been climbed by a woman, following her good friend Babsi Zangerl’s first-female-ascent in 2012.

“At the end of June, just a week after sending Silbergeier, I was still full of motivation and already on my way to End of Silence. Together with Romy Fuchs we hiked up to the base of the wall. The approach is pretty long, and the first time it took us 2.5 hours (luckily, we got much faster the next times).

Over two climbing days with one rest day in between, we made it up to pitch 8, fighting with slippery rock and super tricky moves that needed precise micro-beta. Then came a long break: military exercises above the wall, the Arc’teryx Academy, endless rain, and finally a bad infection that knocked me out for three weeks.

Mid-August I could finally return with Tobi Ebner. Our goal was simple – climb from bottom to top in one day, just to see all the pitches. It worked out, but I couldn‘t do the crux moves on pitch 9 – a tiny two-finger pocket that reminded me of my old pulley injury. At least we fixed ropes for the photographer, and two days later I went back up to brush and tick some holds. One week later, I checked the crux pitches again with Manu Papert, found a solid beta and felt ready to give it a try from the ground.

The following Tuesday everything fell into place – perfect conditions and lots of motivation. Still, the day started with a real “what a start” moment: I fell on the very first pitch at the second draw. My climbing partner, SteUen Hilger, lowered me back to the ground, we pulled the rope, and I gave it another go – this time it worked. From then on I sent every single pitch first try on lead. We set off at 9:30 in the morning and topped out by 6 pm. Number two of the Alpine Trilogy – done.”

Neumeier’s ascent of ‘End of Silence’ follows on from her success on Silbergeier in June, leaving just ‘Des Kaisers neue Kleider ‘in Wilden Kaiser, to complete in her quest to climb the notorious ‘Alpine Trilogy’.

Leo Cea, who sent his first two 9a’s at age eleven, has done Trip tik tonik (9a) in Gorges du Loup. A video of the ascent and a short interview is coming up. In the meantime, his uncle Javier gives us the background story. (c) Carlos Lastra

”In May of this year, Leo and his family moved back to his native country, Germany (Leo is Chilean-German), choosing Erlangen as their new place of residence. This made Frankenjura his new climbing home base.

Taking advantage of the last weeks of summer vacation, and still within a preseason training plan, Leo, together with his brother Inti and his father, decided to travel from Germany to France for a week, supported by The North Face Chile. The goal was for Leo to try the same route that French climber Théo Blass sent in 2022 at the age of 12 years and 9 months—the exact same age Leo is now.

From the very first moment, Leo was captivated by the aesthetics of the line and the natural beauty of the crag. He especially enjoyed taking on a style that was quite unusual for him, with several kneebars and many tufa pinches, very different from the climbing in Frankenjura.

Leo progressed quickly on the route and by the second day had already solved all the moves, including the crux. According to local climbers present at the time, just three weeks earlier the key hold for the crux had broken significantly, making the sequence considerably harder.

After six days of work on the line, with humidity constantly between 76 and 80%, and unable to wait for better conditions since he had to return to Germany the next day, Leo seized a moment when a breeze picked up to give the route a relentless try. Standing 1.43 meters tall with a wingspan of 1.48, he successfully sent the climb, which became his fourth 9a (5.14d).”

It’s on again - for the 5th year in a row! We’re stoked to bring back our annual photo contest and highlight what makes indoor climbing visually striking and full of character. Every year, climbers capture the unique vibe of the gym, and we’re looking forward to seeing what you’ve got this time.

Throughout September, submit your best indoor shots for a chance to win AUSTRIALPIN climbing hardware worth up to €1000! We’re after photos that capture all the colors of indoor climbing - the hidden craft of routesetting, dynamic movement, unexpected wall angles and the vibrant energy of your climbing community. Just make sure safety is clearly visible in every shot!

How to enter:
Upload your photo to the Vertical-Life web gallery, select “Indoor”, and tag your gym. Then spread the word, share your image link and collect those Vengas to win the Crowd Favourite prize!

Prizes:
1st place: AUSTRIALPIN gear* worth € 1000
2nd: AUSTRIALPIN gear* worth € 500
3rd: AUSTRIALPIN gear* worth € 200
Crowd Favourite: 1 Year Vertical-Life Premium
*Winners can choose from selected AUSTRIALPIN products like carabiners, quickdraws, and drilling gear.

The best photos will be featured in our upcoming Climbing Gym Gear Guide, releasing this November!

Let’s see those gym vibes through your lens!

Photo: Grzegorz Marcinek

Mathieu Bouyoud, with 43 routes 9a and beyond under his belt, has done the first ascent of Titanesque (9a+) in La Balme de Yenne.

Can you tell us more about the first ascent?
Titanesque it s the longest route in La Balme, around 50 m long. It takes the Titan route and the end of Les Nuances du ciel, two others 9a routes. Two bolts and ten meters for the link-up were added. Many attempts were made to complete it. A long standing project that l equipped four years ago. I work on it every year.

Arabella Jariel, with previously two 8A+’ to her name, has done Mind Stream (8A+) in Smugglers' Notch.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Mind Stream is a short, powerful boulder which sits in the center of Smuggler’s Notch, Vermont. It consists of only three intensive moves. Because of how powerful it is, projecting the climb can be a challenge as it exhausts the shoulders quickly.

I’ve had this climb on my list for a while, but wasn’t able to make it out to Vermont until recently when I moved back to New England. I finally started trying Mind Stream this summer as the temperatures in other climbing zones started rising.

I ended up opting for the beta which Madeline Brandt used, which involves a super high right foot to establish. I fell on the last move on my second session, and finally pieced it together on the third!

I’m very happy to be back to climbing harder after a number of injuries over the past year. Excited to get back on some old projects in the coming the fall season.

Which injuries have challenged you?
I had a volar plate finger injury injury in the fall, and then I reinjured the same finger with an A2 pulley sprain in the spring a few months ago 😬Both took a while to recover from, luckily feeling a lot better now

Stefano Carnati, who the last month has logged 33 boulders 8A and beyond, has done La Mola Mola in Plamproz. ”Absolute banger of a line on a beautiful bloc of banded gneiss with a limestone coating (?) right by the river. The rock quality and movement are just incredible. The easier intro leads to the main crux, with a tough heel hook and powerful compression moves that stay sustained all the way to the top. A little morpho. 10 tries spread over 3 days!” (c) Marco Zanone

Do you think your recent Boulder focus had an impact of the ascent ?
I think the recent boulder focus really helped for this one. I just came back from three weeks in Rocklands, and over the past few months I’ve mostly been bouldering. However, indoors I still kept at least one short-circuit session per week (15–20 moves), so I didn’t lose much the habit of climbing with a bit more continuity. After Rocklands, the first day I put the harness back on was in Ravoire. The routes there are pretty long and the pump felt real 😅. But then switching to La Mola Mola was way better, since it’s short, about 25–30 moves, and basically climbs like a big boulder on a rope: burly heel-hook crux, compression, and some long, reachy moves. The style suited me well. Now I’m psyched to rebuild some power endurance for the next projects!

Simone Tentori, who is on a three months climbing vacation in South Africa, has repeated Nalle Hukkataival's The Finnish Line (8C) in Rocklands. It was the first bloc the 27-year-old Italian laid his eyes on visiting Rocklands for the first time in 2018 and since then it has been a dream. (c) Siara Fabbri

"Six years later, in 2024, I decided to fully commit and see what could happen. By then I’d already ticked a few 8Cs, so I knew the physical level was there. But this bloc came with its own set of issues: the height, the not-so-friendly landing, and the mental game that’s totally different from a lowball testpiece. On this one, even trying all the moves is tricky: from the ground you can only touch the first hold, and to work the upper sequences you’ve got to rap in on a rope. The arête overhangs, so just getting to the holds means swinging in, catching them on the fly, and trying to figure them out in positions that don’t feel anything like the real attempt from the pads. That’s why it’s so hard to lock in the beta the same way you do on other projects you can just try ground-up. In 2024, I’d decided to save my best conditions — skin, body, and headspace — for The Finnish Line. In my first five sessions, I always felt good on it, but never stuck the crux — right in the middle of the line — which defines the bloc’s difficulty. I knew other strong climbers had also fallen there after many tries. So I went home empty-handed… but with a surprisingly good feeling. I think it’s important in bouldering to see these “failures” as part of the success — stepping stones in the process of unlocking a bloc.

This year I came back to Rocklands planning to stay twice as long as last year. Mentally, I was way more chilled. My first days were all about playing around: trying different foot sequences, experimenting with how to grab the various pinches, and not obsessing over recreating last year’s sensations. I just wanted to find the most efficient way to climb it.

First session: just refreshed the moves, but the heat was a bit of a send-killer. Second session: perfect conditions — stuck the crux multiple times on a rope. Started feeling solid. Third session: more experimenting, tweaking the sequence to make it more efficient.

In the third session, after a couple hours on the rope, I pulled on from the bottom and — for the first time — stuck the hardest move of the bloc from the ground. I peeled on the very next move, but I was totally fired up: that was the moment I realized the bloc was actually possible for me. From there, the difficulty eases off — but the height kicks in, so you’ve still got to keep your head together. I checked my skin: good for maybe two or three more goes. I told myself, “If I can hold that pinch on the crux again, I’m walking away stoked.”

Next go, I stuck the crux again, latched the following hold, and kept climbing. I knew the moves well, but my hands were almost numb — that weird feeling you get when you’ve been crimping hard in the cold and lose all feedback from your fingers. On the last two crimps, I had to improvise the foot beta because I literally couldn’t feel my hands anymore. It wasn’t the sequence I’d rehearsed on the rope — I just made it up on the spot. That made the send even more surreal and special. Looking back, it’s kind of scary: with no feeling in my fingers, falling from that height wouldn’t have been pretty. I don’t know if it was fear or just shutting off my brain, but I kept climbing purely on instinct, with a completely new sensation for me." Full report

Moritz Welt, with five 8C’s to his name, has sent Adularia (8C) and Hazel Grace (8B+) in Gottardo.

Can you tell us more about the trip and the highlights?
My girlfriend and I were planning to have a one month bouldering trip to the alps, to enjoy some cooler summer conditions. It was our first time in Gottardo and I didn't have high expectations, my main goal was to check out Hazel Grace. Did that and a lot of nice classic climbs during our first week. Also had a session on Bonjour Finesse (8B) which suited me quite well and went down fast. So I checked out both lower starts on our second week. The start of Adularia did not suit me so well (it is quite morpho and most previous ascentionists are rather tall) but I figured out my own method. Took me four sessions in total to finish it. Happy with how the first two weeks of the trip have turned out! :) Now unfortunately the alpine weather turned pretty bad so we decided to leave and head on to France. :)

Solomon Kemball, who last year sent his first 8C+, has done the first ascent of The Trident (8C+) Trewethet . ”Hardest bit of rock I have climbed so far. At my favourite location.”
Can you tell us more about the FA and the process behind?
So I was tipped off about the spot I think 3 or 4 years ago. And when I first walked down this was the line I saw. The first boulder I added to the board was the stand start too The trident which is this one massive move at 8A+. The following year I couldn’t repeat the move but was figuring out the bottom section more reliably so I bailed out right too a jug and this is Poseidon's Wraith (8C).

Last year I came back to The Board and tried to do the original exit and the original line from the ground but couldn’t find my way up it that season. This summer I managed to make really quick progress repeating the sit section in the first 3 sessions. This section I would say is a 3 move 8C as the exit for Poseidons is so reliable that all the grade is in these 3 moves.

I have then spent an extra 6-8 sessions this summer trying to do this one big 8A+ move after that 8C section getting through it at least once or twice each session.

Can you tell us more about the location?
So the place in which The Board lies is on the coast of Cornwall on top of a flat wave cut platform. It has too be one of my favourite places to go even just for a swim. You can swim out too a little island just off the coast and do some cliff jumping if you fancy it.

To reach the crag you walk through a few fields too the coast path which you then go straight over and down a steep grassy bank which turns into the top of a cliff that you have to skirt round before going hand over hand on a rope down a slab. 15 to 20 minutes, not too long just steep.

Did you mainly go there by yourself?
Normally I would be going down there by myself but this year a local mate has got psyched on Poseidon's Wraith (8C) so have been having sessions with him down there, which has been a nice change than the usual solitary.