Jules Marchaland, who was runner up in the French Nationals last month, has completed Pornographie (9a) in Céüse. In total, the 24-year-old has sent 19 routes 9a to 9b. (c) Julia Cassou

”4 days for the side proj of Ratsa [Vibration (9b)]. I struggled a lot more than I thought. One move at the very top cost me 6 falls. 2 minutes of climbing for 35 moves. I used my runner skills for this short power fingery route. This debate of grading is so shit because if you want a 9a you climb without kneebar. But for me it’s just annoying to use kneepads in such a pure cliff. So for sure 9a without kneebar. 8c+ with. But today that’s the rule. Maybe I climb an 8c+ in an harder way. I don’t care, it’s such a cool route and a good effort.”

Jorge Diaz-Rullo flashed Pelotari (8c+) three weeks ago. ”One of the best routes in this grade in Margalef, power-endurance style. My hardest flash ever.”

Dan Mirsky, who the last three months previously has done two 9a’s, has completed Stocking Stuffer (9a) in Rifle (CO). The picture is from Z-Nation (9a), which he did in March.

” Sometimes a link up is more than the sum of its parts and when its parts are amazing boulder problems on two classic routes and another sick one to connect them, what you get is a pretty all time rig! Classic Rifle style: boulders, rests, knees, pump, and a satisfying "jump to the jug" finish. Super psyched to have put it together with the relative quickness (for me), even if I did fall at the end of the Stock Boys Crux a couple times...

Hard to say on the difficulty, as I think stylistically this one suited me quite well. I'll go with the proposed grade and be proud of my fastest ascent of a 9th level route, a solid spring campaign and 90th 5.14. Closing in on a hundy! Time to get serious about Cakes.”

Which routes were linked and how many sessions did you put in?
Stocking Stuffer connects Tom Foolery (8c) which I climbed in 2012 into the crux Stockboy's Revenge (8c) which I climbed around 2010. What’s cool about SS is that You get to do the opening boulder of Tomfoolery which has some awesome "tufa" grips and is very resistance oriented, then the Stuffer (connection) section which climbs the underside of a big prow and feels like more like a compression boulder on granite, and then the crux of Stockboys which is quite technical with the knees, classic Rifle Style. The character of the route overall is quite pumpy because you get some fatigue from Tomfoolery, then the Stuffer section really adds more difficulty and pump and it makes doing the Stockboys crux quite challenging and ultimately the redpoint crux of the Route.

It took me a few days to learn all the beta (my memory must be getting worse because I basically had to learn both routes all over again), a few more days to make the connections and links to feel ready to try to redpoint and a few days getting very pumped in the Stockboys Crux and making subtle changes to improve the efficiency. In total I think it was around 10-12 sessions over 4 weeks. On The send I was still on the limit as I was finishing the Stockboys Crux and climbing into a good rest before the final outro boulder, which has some fun and fairly heroic pulls on good holds until you pull the final lip and exit the steepness.

Janja Garnbret shared on Instagram that during a recent session in Osp/Misja Pec, she onsighted both Osapska pošast L2 (8c) and Working class hero (8b+). [Due to broken holds, an upgrade to 8c have been suggested.] With these ascents, the 26-year-old Slovenian has onsighted a total of five 8c routes.

After nearly a decade of dominance on the competition circuit, Janja plans to compete in only three events in 2025 as she shifts her focus to outdoor climbing. Her next destination: Céüse.

Luke Zimmerman, who hasn’t climbed anything harder than 8A in the past five years, has completed North Ridge (8B+) in Squamish.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind your PB?
V14 [8B+] was a grade that didn’t even exist when I started climbing almost 30 years ago, and never something I thought was a realistic goal for me.

I was actually self-conscious talking about it. I felt like I had to explain to people I wasn’t really expecting to send and that I was just enjoying the process of learning and making progress, which was true. I had decided that where I’m at in my climbing, I was motivated to try something with an upper limit beyond me, and I would have been satisfied putting in tons of effort and just making some big links.

The climb breaks down as 3 stacked v10 [7C+] boulder problems in a row, with a bad rest on a kneebar before the final one. Due to its style I was able to use a lot of tactics and find ways to eke out small improvements and continuously make progress, despite setbacks from injuries etc. 2 years ago, when I first started trying it, I would have sessions where I couldn't link more than a move or two together and it just seemed impossible. By just continuously showing up, putting the time in, as well as optimizing my training and nutrition, it started to seem possible.

50+ sessions later, all the work and preparation finally came together and I had that one go where everything went perfectly. Climbing is definitely a cool sport. It's incredible how much experience, tactics and most of all perseverance matter over just being young and strong.

Amandine Loury, with 16 routes 8c and beyond under her belt, has done the first ascent of Zen dans ta benz benz benz (8c) in Entrechaux. It was bolted by Jean Luc Jeunet and it took Amandine some seven days to complete.

Can you tell us more about the route?
It’s a short route very powerful in a 45 degrees overhang. The moves are very cool on tufas, crimp and two finger pocket. It’s a first ascent and I think it can be 8c. We will see with the other repetitions.

What is next?
The temperatures will be hot soon, so I don’t know really. I have some 8b+/8c around home that I would like climbing. No really plans for the summer. It depends of the weather.

Kristóf Modrián, with just one 8B to his name, has repeated Jana Svecova’s Nova (8C) in Holstejn. The 19-year-old is from Hungary, a country with relatively few high-quality outdoor bouldering opportunities.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I tried it because Jana was in Budapest. We met her and asked how we can get to Moravsky Kras. She and Martin showed us the crag and I tried Nova, because I wanted to feel how hard an 8C is? I had 4 trips to Czech to climb the boulder.

What is your climbing background?
I started climbing when I was in the 7th grade, so almost 7 years ago. I am having a gap year now before university, to focus on climbing. The most important is that I love climbing on boards such as moonboard or any spray wall.

Nicolai Užnik, #5 in the World Championship in 2023, did the FA of Mount Doom (9A) three months ago. "In general, it‘s very crimpy and intense. You have 8-9 moves 8B+/C intro into Hide and Sick, 8 moves or so without any rest, which makes it super hard to link. It is super tension and you need to be on point the whole time, cause any second you can slip or miss a hold slightly, which will affect your chances of doing it. "

William Bosi did the first repeat of Stefano Ghisolfi’s Excalibur (9b+) in February. "This is one of the craziest and rewarding lines I have experienced and pulling onto the top of the route is something I will always remember. [Excalibur] was my longest project on a rope since Mutation (9a+ at Raven Tor UK) so I was so psyched to piece it all together finally."

Ana Belen Argudo, with four 9a’s under her belt, has done the first ascent of Jai-Alai (9a) in Margalef, after projecting it for some 15 sessions. (c) Jaume Cebolla Vincent

Can you tell us more about your FA?
Earlier this year, we spent a lot of time climbing in Àtic — the name comes from it being the highest sector in Margalef. Because of the long approach [30 minutes], very few climbers go there. But it features a high-quality vertical wall with around 10–12 routes in the 7th grade, and a steep wall with four hard routes: two first ascended by Iker Pou, and two still unrepeated (at that moment)

I started by repeating the two routes climbed by Iker: Esclavos de las Redes (8c/+), which he also bolted, and Pelotari (8c+), bolted by Vicent Palau. After that, I focused on the two lines further to the right, both bolted by Iker and, at that time, still without any ascents — Jai Alai, and another one that hadn’t even been cleaned yet and didn’t have a name.

I spoke with Iker, and he encouraged me to try both — and even to finish cleaning the unnamed route. But he especially recommended Jai Alai. He told me it would be very hard — around 9a+ — but an amazing line. I felt intimidated, but I gave it a try… and instantly fell in love. The style suits me perfectly: super steep, around 20 moves with no rests, on shallow two-finger pockets.

The mental side was the most demanding. If I wasn’t 100% focused, I couldn’t even get a proper attempt — the route demanded everything from me. It was the first time on a project that I would head back to the van without having done the crux even once, not even in isolation.

We filmed the whole process and are now working on a film to share how special this journey was for me. Now it’s time for others to get psyched and try this incredible route.

Here’s a video from our YouTube channel that gives you a first look at Jai Alai, and also the unnamed project. While working on Jai Alai, I got motivated to clean the other route as well and even gave it a few tries. But in the end, I had to fully focus on Jai Alai, as it was so demanding it required 100% of my energy.