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.

Yannick Flohé, who last month became the first climber to flash an 8C boulder, has done the first repeat of Alex Megos’ Ratstaman Vibrations 9b/+ in Céüse. The German remarked that it was the hardest route he had ever attempted, adding that it deserved a slash upgrade after taking him 30 days across two seasons to complete the send. In ten days, he will compete in the final Lead World Cup in Koper, aiming to improve on his current sixth place in the rankings. (c) Rainer Eder

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
I started trying this route more than a year ago, right after the OQS in Shanghai in May. My plan was to try Biographie, but it was too crowded, so I checked out Ratstaman and got addicted to the route on the very first day. The route is so unique and really different from the usual Ceüse climbing style. The beginning is pure bouldering with a low-percentage crux after 26 moves. The first part was never a problem, and I had some promising tries, getting to the final crux within just a few sessions. I had high expectations to send quickly but slowly realized that it is a completely different game to do the last two crux moves from the ground.

I remembered Alex describing the route as a 12 moves 8b+ boulder with a bad rest into an 8c+ climb. Climbing an 8c+ with a medium pump did not sound too hard, but I would describe it more like a 9a route into an 8a boulder without any rest. It was a frustrating time, falling at the same two moves almost every try.

Conditions and skin also played a big role. I never had more than one or two good tries per day and had to take a rest day after every session. The main crux of the final boulder problem is a deadpoint move into a blocked three finger crimp, which I managed to stick twice last year. But catching that crimp perfectly and engaging the next move, another big move to a three finger pocket, turned out to be another problem from the ground.

It was a big rollercoaster dealing with weak fingers, cuts, and a lack of motivation. On my first trip this year in June, I felt stronger than the year before but only stuck that move once. On this trip, I started to feel more consistent and, for the first time, stuck the move in a way that made me believe I could reach the final hold. It took me another week to complete the last hard move and it felt so good.

The entire route is about 40 meters but the upper half is only 7c, so I made it to the top. I think this was my biggest mental challenge in climbing and I am really happy that I can finally move on to other projects in Ceüse.

What are your next plans
Koper [WC], World champs, Rockmaster and Excalibur. Maybe I will try Bibliographie next year. But first, I need to finish Excalibur. Climbing both of these routes has been my main goal this year in my new role as a lead climber.

Alex Megos has made the third ascent of Adam Ondra’s Iron Curtain (9b) at Flatanger. The second ascent was done by Seb Bouin, who suggested a personal grade of 9a+ as he used knee pads. (c) Benjamin Schelker

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The route brakes down into 3 cruxes (for me). Right after the anchor of the 7a first pitch you have a section of about 15 moves that are all hard. Then you have two good holds for resting, followed by the actual crux of the route, which is not too much of a crux anymore with the kneepad. After that you have the classic Flatanger pumpy finish with another hard section at the end.

Adam originally gave it 9b without kneepads and Seb gave it 9a+ with kneepads. At this point I think it should be mentioned how extraordinary Adam's ascents were back in the day (especially the years 2012 and 2013), climbing all those lines without kneepads and grading some of them "only" 9b. There are not many kneebars in Iron Curtain, but the one in the crux makes a huge difference and replaces the 8A+ boulder (that Adam did) with a 7C/+ boulder. Coming from the ground this makes it significantly easier of course.

Grade wise I really have a hard time with most routes here. I don't think people will find any crazy kneebar trickery on Iron Curtain, but maybe I'm too inexperienced to see the kneebar trickery 😅😂

Connor Herson repeated Magic Line (8c+) trad last year after having tried it for a year. Connor first gained international attention in 2018 when he climbed an 8c+ on his second attempt at the age of 14. That same year he repeated The Nose (8b+) and placed 11th at the Youth World Championship. He has since become recognized as one of the leading trad and big wall climbers worldwide.

”This fall, I returned to the valley with magic line as my primary objective. My first day I had a solo session toprope soloing on it, then the next day I decided to give a lead try, and somehow I sent it! It felt very flowy but insecure on the send go — I was executing the moves well, but I was very pumped and every foot placement felt like it was going to slip. I was confident I’d fall almost until the moment I clipped the chains!”