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.”

William Bosi has done the first ascent of Brain rot (8C+) in Magic Wood. ”Really cool crimp power bloc, basiclly slap bang in the middle of the forest. Dave G project just 10 metres left Jack’s broken heart. Unsure on grade either soft 8C+ or hard 8C I think. Decided to propose the+. Starts in the obvious crack at the back of the roof.” (c) Dave Graham

At the Speed World Cup in Bali, world record holder Sam Watson claimed victory after setting a new record of 4.67 seconds in the semifinals, which he then surpassed with an even faster 4.64 in the final. The American climber has now set a total of six world records on the 15-meter wall. Among the female, Alexandra Miroslaw won.

Michaela Kiersch has repeated Ethan Pringle’s Everything is Karate (8c+) in Pine Creek. 18 routes graded 8c+ and beyond now feature on The Doctor in Hand Therapy’s impressive tick list, alongside 17 boulders graded 8B or harder. Remarkably, nearly all of the 30-year-old’s hardest ascents have come within the past 3 years. She also holds the distinction of being the first woman to climb both a 9a+ route and an 8C boulder.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I visited Pine Creek for the first time a few weeks ago after leaving Spain due to unending rain. Everything is Karate was an obvious choice. The first few days I was battling extremely windy and cold conditions but I returned to Bishop for 2 more weekends and was able to float my way up on the send.

Jon Cardwell, who did his first 9a back in 2008, has done the FA of Scorched Earth in New Mexico. ”Bolted by Tom Ellis. Beautiful route, super technical and complex! Took a little while to decipher the cryptic crux and then it was a battle with the sun.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The route was an existing project that I was shown by a good friend of mine. It’s a very unique route, not only for its quality but the very technical and cryptic movement. It’s also completely natural which is always a nice bonus. Figuring out the sequences took a couple days and after that I could climb it with one fall more or less every try. It was just a battle against the sunny conditions. It’s also one of those routes that’s pure power endurance where every move is difficult once you enter the hard climbing so it leaves very little margin for error.

Is there a reason this is your first 8b or harder route since climbing your first 9b a year and a half ago?
Well, I can’t say it’s due to not trying! However, last year was big for me, I bought my first house, got married, among other things. I traveled a bit less but i still carved out time to train and try some projects. My motivation for climbing is always there and as I get older I just sort of go with the flow. I put another 6 weeks into my big project at the Fortress, the extension to wind up bird and actually ended up getting really close. I hope to finish that one later this year, it’s something that’s the cumulation of everything I’ve learned over the years. I also have quite a few more projects here in NM, and that’s pretty much been my climbing goal since moving back, to bring my experience and seek out those kind of routes, something that doesn’t really exist here. Turns out finding cutting edge first ascents isn’t that easy!

Andrea Kümin, currently on a year-long road trip, has just sent Tuataket (8B) in Sirevåg. So far on her trip, she’s logged around 20 problems graded 8A or 8A+. Three years ago, she claimed a 3rd place finish in a Boulder World Cup—and this June, she’s set to return to the competition scene for three World Cups.

Can you share more about this ascent and what it means to set a new personal best?
The goal of bouldering 8B (or harder🙃) had been on my mind for a while💭 but I had never actively pursued it. My priority has mostly been climbing as many different lines as possible: Challenges that pushed me, but that I could still send relatively quickly. I‘m really excited that it worked out now during our trip! And since Tuataket went relatively quickly too, I’m curious to find out what else might be possible. But all in good time – I’ll discover it at my own pace😌

There were times in my life when everything revolved around performance. Training, nutrition, sleep, regeneration etc. I tried to optimize everything in order to climb as hard as possible. Tuataket showed me, that this is not the only way to climb at my best. I can climb well without optimizing everything and by taking a more relaxed approach. I can trust my body, trust the process, and still grow stronger🌸

We’ve now been living in the van for over half a year. I was on plastic two or three times and didn’t do any training at all. Just rock climbing. Sometimes two days on, then one day off and sometimes one on one off. @david_firnenburg has always been convinced that climbing outside would make him strong and I‘m happy it works out well for me too on our roadtrip! Our secret? It’s excitement! When we do what truly excites us, we’re able to put in so much more energy. And it‘s double the fun when we share it together!🧗‍♀️ Excited for the journey ahead!🚐👫

How will you prepare for the World Cups being on a roadtrip?
This season, I’m going to approach competitions a bit differently and won’t be preparing specifically on plastic. I want to fully enjoy our road trip and focus on rock climbing without putting pressure on myself when it comes to comps this season. So I’ll approach the competitions with a relaxed mindset and just have fun.

You don’t get out of shape climbing on real rock, and you don’t lose your technique either. During a session on plastic back in January, I noticed that after so many years of competition experience, I don’t lose my feeling for coordination and slab climbing that quickly.

The Swiss Championships take place one week before my first World Cup and will be a good way to get back into competition mode. I’m already qualified for the World Cups based on my 2024 results anyway. And in comps, there are so many factors that come into play — so why not give it a try? I’ll just see how it goes — never try, never know…

Katie Lamb reports on Instagram that she has repeated Carlo Traversi’s The Dark Side (8C+) in Camp 4. (c) Eric Bissell

”It’s easy to fall into the trap of treating friction on this boulder like passive resistance - a force that each scaler is at the whim of. But I learned to reshape this narrative: friction is something to sit with, to actively attend to, and to ask for help in understanding.”

In the past two years, the 27-year-old has previously sent three 8C and five 8B+ boulders, firmly establishing herself as the world's leading female boulderer.

Nigel Armino, who sent his second 9a two months ago, has done Sever The Wicked Hand (9a) in Frankenjura.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I climbed Sever the Wicked Hand in three sessions. The route starts with a tough boulder and finishes in Battle Cat (8c). I first climbed Battle Cat to get a feel for the ending, then worked out the boulder section the same day. The next day, I tried the boulder again but decided to rest—we’d been climbing three days in a row after a six-hour drive.

Today, after the rest day, I managed to send the full line. The key for me was gripping the right-hand undercling tightly with my thumb, which gave me enough tension to get through the crux (see photo). It’s good to see the recent adjustments I made to my training after Margalef are starting to work for the style here in the Frankenjura.

Katalin Paertan, who last week did her first 8A+, has completed Obszöner Zwerg SD (8A+) in Hirschwände. ”Nice line with cool tricky moves, really had to fight through the last few moves. Very glad I could finish this one up today after gassing out at the end on Monday.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent and your great progress in 2025?
I did the stand start a year ago, so I was very motivated to get the sit done this season as well. I had a lot of fun figuring out the sequence in the first session, then it still took me a few sessions to put all the moves together as it drains quite a lot of energy and it gets basically unclimbable once the sun comes in.

This season I have felt quite a lot of improvement in my climbing as I have been working on getting better at my antistyles. Additionally, I have completed most of the physically demanding courses at university (Physical Education) so now I've finally had more time and energy to train more consistently, which seems to be paying off!