William Moss, who one year ago did the FA of the mixed line Best Things in Life are Free (9a), has sent three 8b+ trad routes and he says he thinks all of them should have an R, for run-out, added to the grade. The 19-year-old is #1 in our trad climbing ranking game just ahead of Alex Honnold.

Kill Switch (8b+) in Gross Reservoir: "Cool grit style route. Put it down second sesh. after it was wet during the first session."

Viceroy (8c) in Castle Rock: "Did so much tr solo on this thing, probably about 14 sessions before giving it a lead burn. Worked it a lot cuz of the danger factor and wanted to make sure I had the placements dialed and didn’t fall on the sketch sections. Fell once on the first crux after the 13c and then sent next lead burn."

Cheating Reality (8b+) in Flatirons: "Really cool route. Did it all on gear. Found a good rock sling that made the 5.12 not a solo. Super good route in a sick area."

Matt Fultz has made the first repeat of Shawn Raboutou’s Big Z (8C+) in Tahoe making it his eighth 8C+.

“This is the hardest problem I have ever done without a doubt. Honestly, this is the first time I truly understand the concept of a problem being bigger and more meaningful than just the number attached to it.

I’ve been trying Big Z for the past 3 years. During my first 10-ish sessions I knew it was impossible for me. I’m too tall and don’t fit into the positions at all. My fingers are too big to fit into the cracks. My butt is too big to avoid the dab on the rock! I only continued to show up because I knew it was good for me to work on my weaknesses, and holy cow what a sick line! I eventually worked out the kneebar beta which unlocked the middle crux, but the kneebar also created a new issue... The transition out of the kneebar became a new crux [in itself] and set me up for the next moves terribly. This year I fell on the last move. Then a couple days ago I basically did it from one move in. I truly believed for the first time. Fast forward about 20 more sessions and I ended up on top with full confidence on my first try of the day.”

Luca Bana, who climbed Supercrackinette (9a+) two months ago, has completed A present for the future (9a/+) in Valle dell'Opol. "A couple of afternoons to put up the quickdraws, clean a bit and check out the holds, then a handful of sessions to get the job done. Some holds broke off some years after Adam's FA, when my friend Teto Carnati was trying it, making the lower section (crux) considerably harder. Fortunately the following traverse, of course challenging, didn't feel too hard to me once optimised to its best. That's why, when I got through the crux for the first time, thanks also to a good amount of fuel left in the tank, I accepted the game and made it to the top. Overall, a pretty good looking line despite the poor rock quality in the first meters and some very painful holds. About grades, solid 9a/+ or normal 9a+ should be fine."

The 26-year-old has done eleven routes 9a's and harder. He has also done the FA of 36 routes 8c and harder including five 9a's.

Bana adds: "I still have a few hard unclimbed projects near home, so the plan in the short term is to challenge again myself for high level FAs, let's see! I bolted most of them with my friend Bernardo Rivadossi"

What's the longest you've ever project a climb?
I think that the most challenging routes I did took me a maximum of 8/10 sessions to complete. I'm not a super fan of routes worked for too long, and I know that if I want to make it one step further and move to the next level I need to invest more time. Let's see, for sure I'll dedicate myself to longer projects sooner or later.

Samuel Ometz has made the FA of Avant demain (9a) in St-Loup. "Happy to free a new hard line on this mythical wall! After having tried "Demain" a dozen times over the last 4 years, I decided to try a variant starting in "Nightmare" to skip the 1st crux, the rest being already quite challenging. A first slabby crux with a textureless sloper, followed by a second low percentage crux on shitty feet. 8 days focused on this variant this year."

Can you tell us more about the Demain and how hard it could be?
It was bolted around 20 years ago, by David Hohl, both the original and the variant I did. Demain is the direct start and adds a hard boulder at the start. The variation I climbed joins Demain after that hard section (7bish climbing instead of an 8B/+ boulder). Such slabby routes are tricky to grade but Demain could be 9b.

Sam Weir has made a quick ascent of Forgotten Gem (8C) in Chironico. Here is an Instagram video of the ascent. This was the tenth 8C or 8C+ for the 32-year-old, out of four in the last 12 months.

Can you tell us a little more about this boulder and your send?
I went to try it January with my friend Marine and it was -2 degrees when we got to the boulder. This first session I fell on the top out third try because I was giving ground up tries and was onsighting due to us not having enough pads or a ladder to check the holds. I got scared and dropped. Then the sun left the valley and temps got too cold to climb. I Came back yesterday from Geneva for a day trip and did it I think second or third try! It’s a really basic board style climb. 5 stars. One of the best in Switzerland.

What are you thinking about tackling next?
I’m trying this old Tony Lamiche project in Chamonix and training on the board with my friends. Then, back to Fionnay to have another round on Fuck the System once it melts out!

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Tristan Chen sent Desperanza (8C) in December only 18 months after being diagnosed with leukemia which required a bone marrow transplant a couple of months later. "After the events of last year I feel as though any hope to a sense of purpose I possessed was shown to be illusory, as if scoured clean with my marrow. I feel like this climb was one of my last moorings to hard bouldering and I’m left floating in a void ready to deemphasise bouldering for something else yet to be determined. Whether that be a different form of climbing, finding a new career, a new hobby, or simply pushing forward towards a light from within. The future remains uncertain.”

Yuta Imaizumi has amassed some impressive bouldering footage on his Youtube account Imax over the last few years. In total, he has done six 8C's as well as the only repeat of Dai Koyamada's Nayuta (8C+). Yuta says his favourite 8C is Rokudo (8C) which he completed in three days (see video).

Over the just the last year, Yuta has done Ukiyo (8B+), Asagimadara (8C), Fūjin (8B+), Gakido (8C+) and Ashurado (8C).

Last month he was #5 and #11 in the Japan Lead and Boulder Nationals. "I’ll participate in the first Lead World Cup in China [this year]!" The 23-year-old made his debut on the international scene placing #35 in a World Cup at age 16. His second and last World Cup was Meiringen in 2021, where he was #25.

How does a normal climbing week look like?
I train with a routine of two days of climbing and one day of rest afterwards . I mostly climb spray walls from basic level to high level and sometimes go climbing at b-pump Ogikubo as well. I train lead climbing once a week. Some days I do endurance training and try hard routes. During rock climbing season, i don’t do lead climbing but climb crimp routes on a spray wall. In the season, I go outdoor climbing once a week.

Iris Matamoros Quero has made the FA of Antifragil (8c+) in Mula, Murcia. The 43-year-old has climbed three out of his five 9a’s in just the last 18 months. ”Antifragil is a route that I started bolting more than 15 years ago when I did my first 8c. At that time there were no hard routes in Murcia and that cave seemed like a good place to continue making progress. The problem is that the rock is not good, you have to work a lot and I always abandoned it. Last year I was going a lot to try El Osteopata, so I decided to finish, bolting and trying Antifragil, it was the key to staying motivated in the cave. The route has a very athletic beginning, 8 bolts of about 8b/ after a bad rest comes the key sequence, 13 hard moves about 7c or 7c+ boulder in which you can't take chalk, luckily I found a very bad kneebar to clip, without that it would have been much harder. After that sequence comes a good rest and an endurance section that does not increase the grade but makes you nervous, in which I fell once and almost fell on the redpoint day.

How do you manage to stay in great shape at age 43? How do you train?
I usually train for two days and try to climb two or three more, but with two children it is not easy. Before I climbed more but now my focus is more on quality sessions.
Session 1. Fingerboard and Bouldering
Session 2. Endurance, conditioning

With the kids, climbing a lot and climbing onsight is more difficult. Instead, it is easier to choose a good place and to try a hard project once a day. After climbing and training for many years I know myself very well. Now I'm more focused on quality sessions, good nutrition and more rest (when it is possible... with little kids you never know how it is going be)

I have to say that this would not be possible without the support of my wife, we share the passion for climbing and this is a key aspect. We understand and support each other. I also have to say that we are in a good moment now, we have been training and climbing regularly, but sometimes there are difficult moments when the children are sick and we cannot sleep, when they have their activities or when they are not happy and comfortable at the crag... They require a lot of energy and hard climbs always depends on this [energy]. We need a lot of desire and a lot of coffee! My tactics [with age] are much better too.

What is next?
We will be in Santa Linya in 9 days, I tried JoeDan (9a), and I really wanted to climb it, but now a hold broke and it is much harder...😓 Maybe La Novena Puerta (8c+)… maybe some 8c+ 's that I have not done.

Any new hard projects you have bolted recently?
I have bolted the link between El osteopata (9a) and Antifragil. It means climbing the hardest part of each route and the link could be the hardest part. That is why I think it could be 9a+... but maybe it is too much for me. The season is over in the cave, but maybe I could try it the next season.

Tom Bolger reports on Instagram that he has done the FA of E.L.L.I.E. (9b). "This hybrid route of both boulder with pads into a route (where I low level decked a bunch of times )😅 has its own unique character. For the mathematicians out there it works out at 8A+/B Boulder - into an 7C+/ 8A Boulder into an 8c+ route … it’s a Lot of steeeeepppp climbing ." (c) Esteban Lahoz

The 36-year-old did his first 9a in 2011; in 2022, he did his first 9a+ with the FA of The journey (9a+) and last year he repeated Maya (9a+). The Brit has lived in Catalunya and put up several hard lines there over the last decade, but he often still travels back to the UK for work.