Marcello Bombardi, with a dozen 9a’s and harder under his belt, has during the last month done Prima Classe (9a), Vivi si muore (9a+) and Trainspotting (9a+), all in Val Tanaro. The 31-year-old Italian climber has been a fixture on the IFSC circuit since 2007, securing a standout victory at the 2017 World Cup in Chamonix. (c) Nicolò Vece

Can you tell us more about these three 9a ascents?
I’ve been at La stazione last year when temperatures were already quite high to try something hard. I started trying Prima classe but after a few days I postponed the project. Few weeks ago the right season for that crag was reopening and I was psyched to go. The climb is the type I really like: steep, physical, on nice and natural (not chipped) crimps. I managed to send Prima classe the first day of this year and immediately tried the other two routes: Vivi si Muore and Trainspotting. Vivi si muore is maybe the one I liked the most. Three boulder problems, each one of them ending with a dynamic move to a jug. Feeling strong and excited on those holds, I managed to climb both of them in a few days.

What are your competition plans in 2025?
About comps, I still don’t know. We have the first national comps which are selective for the national team taking part at the other World Cups of this year.

Why are these your first hard routes in two years?
Ahah good question! Mainly because I am focused on training for comps, which is my work, during most of the year and I am not really good on climbing outside at the same time. Also because I like other type of climbing as well. End of 2023 I mostly bouldered, then started the multipitch and trad game, 2024 I also injured my shoulder which made me loose a lot of time in good shape.

What is your your work?
I am a professional climber thanks to the support of the military sport group for which the objectives are comps.

Nicolas Cioffi has done the FA of Il samurai (9a) in Bismantova. ”Everything felt perfect! Conditions, mental game and my climbing!”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The route start with a boulder, Colpo grosso al drago rosso, in the roof, 17 moves on pockets. Each move is not too hard but is very physical so the hard part is to link moves together. After this you are directly in the beginning of L'aeroplano (8b+) a classic and pumpy route that traverse to the right and goes up following the corner of the crag. Route is 43 moves in total with my beta.

Yesterday condition were perfect: sunny, windy and cold. I felt strong and relaxed I did two attempts before the send but I fell just after the first section: I was a bit nervous and I didn’t climb properly, but I also felt physically very strong. I knew i could do it. I took around 1 hr rest to focus and during the send I felt literally flowing: no pressure and not even a small mistake.

Jana Svecova, with four 8B+ and beyond under her belt, has done Mild Abuse of Terminology (8B+) in Tokerud. ”FFA, 3rd ascent, Five days, although on day 3, I fell from the final jug. Then no rest and training session, after rest fell again from the jug, but kept it together and did it next go. What a drama, what a cool line. The moves! Boulder made for me!”

Babsi Zangerl, with two 9a’s under her belt, has repeated Adam Ondra’s Bombardino (9a+) in Arco. (c) Jacopo Larcher

”After more or less two months of effort, I finally climbed my first 9a+! Bombardino had me completely hooked from the very beginning. A huge thank you to Adam Ondra for establishing such an incredible and inspiring line—it's one of those climbs that just draws you in and doesn’t let go.

Every session above the village of Arco felt like a little mission. The view over Lake Garda gave the whole process this unique, almost vacation-like atmosphere—even on the tough days, it was hard to complain. The deeper I got into the project, the more exciting—and emotional—it became. I fell three times on the very last hard move… and with each fall, the doubts grew louder. The temperatures were rising, the climbing became more exhausting, and I could feel the window slowly closing. The route started to feel more unpredictable—some days I made real progress, others it felt completely out of reach.

On the day I sent it, it was warm—26 degrees—not exactly my idea of perfect sending temps. I’d already had three tries, and only one of them felt decent. And of course, I fell again on the last move. At that point, I had zero expectations left. I just wanted to give it one last try as a bit of training. Nothing more. But then somehow… everything clicked. Right from the first move, I knew I had to fight. My body was tired, but my mind was calm. Move after move, I just kept going. I knew exactly what to do—when to breathe, when to push. When I stuck the crux and kept moving, completely pumped, I still didn’t believe it. Not until I clipped the chains. I was totally wrecked, but my endurance held on—just long enough.

The ups and downs, the doubts, the tiny breakthroughs—that feeling of giving everything for something, even if it’s “just a climb”… it felt amazing. Huge thanks to everyone who supported me on this line—Jacopo, Manu, Barbara, Arba, Lucas—thank you for the belays, the patience, the encouragement, and all the good vibes. You made this experience even more special.”

In the domain of multi-discipline climbing—including traditional and big-wall disciplines—Babsi is recognized as the preeminent female climber and is confidently regarded as one of the top five climbers in the world, irrespective of gender.

Hamish McArthur, fresh off his recent ascent of Megatron (9A), has repeated Nathaniel Coleman's No One Mourns The Wicked (9A) at South Platte. The line adds an 8B sit start to Defying Gravity (8C). Impressively, the 23-year-old completed the climb in just one session—an unprecedented benchmark for a 9A boulder. (c) Quinn Mason

”I know that the metrics of ”climbing V17 [9A] in a single session” is what gets chosen for the headline, but I want to draw closer attention to the immeasurable preparation that gives this metric colour - most of which is a kind of letting go. I just want to keep surprising myself forever.”

Hamish’s Sunday session:
11:15 – started hiking
12:00 – arrived at boulder
12.30 – tried Defying Gravity
13:15 – stuck crux move
13:30 – sent Defying Gravity
13:45 - tried No One Mourns The Wicked
14:15 – stuck low crux
14:47 – sent No One Mourns The Wicked
15: 45 – started hiking

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So you can focus on your next crux move.

Erin McNeice, coming off her first World Cup victory in Wujiang last week, secured another win at the Lead World Cup in Bali by topping all four routes. Chaehyun Seo, who shared gold with Erin in Wujiang, topped all but one qualification route and finished second.

Satone Yoshida, who was #4 in Wujiang last week, won all three rounds in the Bali Lead World Cup. The last two years the 20-year-old was #7 overall. Max Bertone, who advanced to the finals through a countback after placing 14th in qualifications, rose to the occasion when it mattered most and secured the silver medal.

Dan Mirsky, who last month sent his sixth 9a, has completed Shadowboxing (9a) in Rifle (CO). ”One of the last king lines in the canyon; it was both a saga and not. At first I thought the name was a Wutang reference (which I liked) but I learned quickly it was more about the challenge of finding conditions. I Started for real in June of last year and once I found my way, I really learned to love the bouldery style; both powerful and technical, with one actual bad hold! Of course once I got psyched it got too hot... I Started back up in November and started feeling close but by early December it was too cold. Got back to it at the beginning of this month and really felt it coming together. Then, a couple of weeks ago I found myself in the sun and flying through the air at the end of the upper crux wondering, what just went wrong. Since then it's felt like a montage of errors and bad luck. After literally falling out of a resting kneebar (Yes, I used a right kneepad for the purpose of doing right kneebars) on my first go, I finally ran out of ways to not send. Great sesh and Double send day with the Burger. If only the Knicks had pulled it out too. Now ask me, if I am "still" trying Shadowboxing...” (c) James Lucas

Can you tell us more about how it is possible to maintain your top level at age 42?
For me, As with most things that are worth investing in, there's no magic bullet to success in climbing. I continue to be driven by my passion, my commitment to growth and a focus on the pursuit of mastery in craft. I have also learned from my own experience, and from coaching and climbing with others, that working smarter is even more important than working harder. I bring these lessons and my mindset for growth with me to all my sessions whether that's on a project or in the gym. As an older climber it has become even more important for me to focus on quality in my sessions and know when the work has been done and trust myself to do less. In doing so, I both stay positive and psyched and give myself the opportunity to recover and adapt.

Shadowboxing was a great route for me to practice this mentality because it is so frequently in the sun or otherwise not in a good condition to try. With a route like this you have to make the most of your sessions and the best way to do this is by being present and intentional. Last fall, in an effort to "eek" it out before winter, I over did it, got tired and lost momentum. This spring when I came back, I set an intention for myself to climb on the route only when I felt good and in a situation that felt positive and productive. With this mentality, I made very good progress and ultimately succeeded. I would be lying if I said there weren't a few moments of becoming too attached to the outcome of sending and those were the attempts where I found myself hanging on the end of the rope. In the end, each one was just a great reminder to stay present and focus on the moment and not worry about the outcome. On the send, I felt I did that very well and really enjoyed being present, unburdened in my climbing and supported by good friends.

Noah Wheeler did the second ascent of Shaolin (9A) in March making it his second 9A in 2025. ”Really enjoyed the process on this incredibly aesthetic and plain fun line. 7 days in January, 7 in late Feb/early March. Difficult 8B (some argue 8B+) into 1 move 8A+/8B into 1 move 8A/8A+ implies soft 9A to me. In iso, for the last few sessions, I was able to climb the intro boulder 95% of the time, the crux throw 75% of the time, and the last move 100% of the time. Yet linking these sections together felt super improbable. I really had to push for my determination to trump my expectations.”