Johannes Hofherr, an active IFSC competition climber from Austria, has completed Sprengstoff (9a) in Lorüns. Jacopo Larcher did the FA of it in 2020 some 20 years after it was bolted by Beat Kammerlander. ”5th ascent, best route I know, my longest journey to a send ever - what a mental battle.” (c) Nemuel Fuerle

Can you tell us more about the journey and how it was mentally?
I first tried this route in 2020 when it was still a project. Balancing training for competitions and outdoor climbing made it an on-and-off journey. Over the years, I had phases of intense effort followed by long breaks. The crag is great for winter climbing, but as soon as spring arrives, it gets too warm.

In November 2023, I came close but ran out of time due to a training camp and my annual two-week break. After that, a rainy winter and subpar form kept me from making real progress—until this March. Suddenly, I felt good on the route again and committed to trying twice a week, as much as my comp training and the sharp holds allowed.

I’ve known for a while that I could do it, but that didn’t make it easier. The history behind it, with Beat Kammerlander attempting it before 2000, added weight to the challenge. The pressure of sending such a meaningful route in my home region made every attempt nerve-wracking.

This March was the first time I believed I could climb even harder routes. But oddly, knowing I should succeed made it mentally tougher. Today’s send wasn’t perfect—my head was flooded with thoughts—but that’s fitting. This route has been a journey of ups and downs, patience, and persistence. And in the end, never giving up made all the difference.

What are your 2025 plans?
My plans for 2025 are to do as well as I can at the first national comp and selections at the end of May to then try to be at a few lead world cups. Then I am gonna be in Rocklands all of August for my first time ever. Maybe trying one or two other 9a's if I get some timeslots in my training weeks but nothing oddly specific. That's pretty much the plans I got so far.

Dan Mirsky, who did his first, out of five 9a’s, at age 35, has done Z-Nation (9a) in Wicked Cave. ”Not necessarily the straightest line to the the top of the cave but I will say it was more fun than I thought it would be and I was in need of a side proj. Once I found my way on the reverse Curu boulder it all felt pretty manageable. From there it was a few near misses and one terrible warm up go today. Psyched to get the ball rolling in 2025. Gonna give this one a personal grade of 8c+/9A; harder than The Club, easier than Phat Club. Used my knees and my other wicked cave savvy and still almost fell at the top of the BGC roof for what might be the last time... Thanks to the homies for the encouragement.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
This was kind of a funny one for me. On the one hand, I have spent a significant amount of time on all of the routes that make up the Znation link up so in that regard the process was quite long!! On the other hand I only really tried the link up itself a handful of random days this winter. I was intimidated by the proposed difficulty of the boulder problem going from Zulu to The Crew and honestly never tried it before. Once I did, I fairly quickly found a method that suited me and did the whole boulder on my first or second session.

I am certainly pleased to have sent but it definitely didn't feel as challenging as other routes I have done at this level because I knew I could do it all from my previous experience on the individual routes. Znation felt like it was a physical challenge, well right up until I actually thought I was going to send, then of course I let it get in my head just a little bit... Still, I found it much easier to remain confident and I sent quicker than other routes I have done at this grade. I think it really highlights how much the mental component contributes to the difficulty of climbing hard routes.

Jules Marchaland, with four 9a+’ under his belt, has on his second go sent Beyond (9a+) in Pic St Loup. ”Wtf. Best climbing moment of my life. Everything went perfectly. Last 10 meters completely wet was a big mental battle. Really soft for 9a+ . Maybe 9a/+ Merci Lucien [Martinez, who took the picture]!!

Seb Bouin made the FA and called it hard 9a and later a hold broke and repeaters have suggested an upgrade.

Tell us more about that epic second go ascent?
Lucien told me I should try to flash but it is too hard. I did not spend too much time, just found quick beta climbing without any doubt.

When I gave my try, everything was just perfect and I climbed exactely as I hoped to climb. It was too good. I climbed the first part fast and super well and the same for the second boulder. Then it was the last ten meters 7c but the tufas were super wet. It was so hard mentally as both my feet and hands were super wet creating a big fight. Best climbing moment of my life.

Silvio Reffo, with 19 routes 9a or 9a+ under his belt, has repeated Tre Mou Polacche (9a) in Arco. Stefano Ghisolfi and Gio Placci shared the FA last November.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
It had been a few years since I last climbed at the Eremo di San Paolo, but this new route bolted by Gabriele Moroni gave me a great reason to return. Tre Mou Polacche is a very different route compared to the others in the same sector. It’s less overhanging but features slippery holds that require constant body positioning.

The route starts with a tough but fairly straightforward boulder problem, followed by an upper section that demands finger strength endurance. It took me several attempts to find the right sequences and the proper positioning for my body dimensions. Balancing family, work, and the terrible weather over the past few months made managing this project quite challenging. In my last few sessions, I kept falling on the final moves, which was really frustrating. Fortunately, the good send finally came, and now I can go wear out my skin on other vertical projects.

What projects are you thinking about?
I have a project near home that I still need to send, and I think it could be around 9b. I also still have a few unfinished routes at the Eremo, like Beginning (9a+).

Christian Leitner, who four weeks ago sent his fourth 9a, has done the FA of Der rote Baron (9a+) in Zigeunerloch. (c) Mario Leitner

Last year the 16-year-old Austrian was 2 - 1 - 1 - 1 in the Lead European Cup/Championship he participated in.

Can you tell us more about the process behind the FA?
The route starts on Public enemy (8c) until reaching a good rest before the hard part begins. Every move requires a lot of body tension, with a lot of moves on underclings. Just before linking into Zigeunerbaron (8b), nearly at the end of the hard part, the absolute crux is waiting there. The true difficulty lies in doing the crux after all the demanding climbing that comes before it. At this point, you’re already deep into the route, and putting everything together requires every last bit of power. After the crux, the rest of the climb is pure enjoyment, with no more major difficulties standing in the way. The rock face is actually my homecrag, so I have tried the route on and off about three to four years before truly committing to it as a project. The dream of sending it has always been there.

In the end I have approximately projected it serious for about one year—Just about from the point on where I first found a potential solution for the crux. From that moment, I tried it regularly, even through the winter. To stay familiar with the moves I kept at it despite the bad conditions. Soon, I was able to climb all the way to the crux but I fell there every time. Not once I have had an attempt where I got super close to actually sending it. On the day of the send, we originally went to the crag because my brother Julian (14) wanted to send his second 8c, Public Enemy, which he eventually did. Afterwards I wanted to try my project for fun and I didn’t really have any expectations But somehow, everything went just perfect. I fought my way through the crux and could barely reach the next rest. Sometimes, everything just falls into place, and the climb flows like magic.

What are your 2025 comp plans, any senior World Cups?
For the comps I think I will mostly focus on international lead comps. This year unfortunately only youth cups, because IFSC changed the rules. Next year I am allowed to climb with adults.

William Bosi, who last month sent Excalibur (9b+), has done the FA of El Dorado Sit (8C) in Sintra. In total, the 26-year-old has done 30 boulders 8C and beyond including four 9A’s, making his ticklist a contendor for being the #1 in the world. (c) Teresa Coimbra

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
El Dorado is another incredible Sintra line, I was completely blown away by when I was shown it. It has an obvious stand start which was one of the oldest projects in the area.

The stand is a very hard two move crimp bloc which needs a lot of foot tension. It’s hard to say on the grade but I guessed around 8A+. Then the sit adds just 4 moves but you cover a lot of ground and makes the line full complete and really rewarding!

Each sit move is hard but not desperate. However it climbs quite slowly and every move feels like it almost adds a grade to the stand. As by the time you get there you feel like you are lacking the maximum crimp strength or body tension needed to stick the crux move.

What is coming up next?
I’m planning to head to Switzerland soon and check out some futuristic projects. Currently I’ve been working on some long term projects close to Sheffield, one still feels very far away but I had a breakthrough session on the other one yesterday and I’m hopeful it’s not too far away now.

Bruce Zou, who last week did his first 8C, has completed The Game (8C) in Boulder Canyon, and both of them barefoot. In total, it took the 37-year-old 80+ session to repeat the Daniel Woods classical testpiece from 2010. (c) Xinyang Zhou

Can you tell us more about the process taking it down?
The Game took me 4 years of serious work. It caught my eye in 2018 but I couldn’t do any of the hard moves until 2020. I figured out that shoes were blocking my progress. End of 2020, I tried barefoot and did two crux moves in one session. I believe this is my way. However barefoot making the rest of moves way harder…

I start serious in Jan 2021 and made big progress till June 2021. I almost did it but failed at the end on the jug… thing just got into my mind and I was mentally not good.

I realize it’s because my toes were not strong enough to handle the “easier” move which is the sacrifice. Also my fingers are not strong enough to hold the tiny crimp for longer than 10 seconds.

I had to move to WA for my job June 2021, and it became extremely difficult for me to come back. Every night I envision myself sending it. All these memories by recalling the details of the holds, how I grabbed them… I still couldn’t do it for the next 2 seasons… but at the same time I train my fingers and toes every day and climb barefoot outdoors on purpose.

This season it only took me one day to send and I got all the moves back in less than 2hours. Everything feels like yesterday since I had envisioned for over 800+ time in 4 years. It was my longest battle and the most satisfied thing ever in my life.

Katie Lamb reports on Instagram that she has repeated Carlo Traversi’s The Rookery (8B+) in Yosemite (CA). ”The Rookery took me many sessions and was harder for me than the grade reflects. You don’t always need to rock by the book yall.” (c) Eric Bissell

Over the last two years, the 27-year-old has climbed three 8C’s and five 8B+ boulders, solidifying her position as the top female boulderer in the world.

Evan Hau, who did his first 9a+ in 2020, has repeated Death of Villains (9a+) in Hurricave. ”Super stoked to find the magic today! I came on this trip with a single purpose, to try this masterpiece of a route by Joe Kinder. I've had a lot of success in the Hurricave and I knew DoV would suit me well and be a joy to project. Even though I had done Life of Villains previously, I had to spend a lot of time learning new subtle intricacies to make the moves much more efficient before I could fathom building the necessary power endurance to send DoV. I've never spent so much time training in the gym and taking rest days on a climbing trip before.” (c) Grzegorz Tos.

Can you tell us more about the trip and the process taking it down?
I don't generally track the number of attempts on projects but because we haven't climbed at any other sectors this trip, looking back I counted 27 days on Death of Villains. However I already had an understanding of almost the entire route before arriving on this trip. Death of Villains starts of Life of Villains, a 9a that I had done previously having tried it over 2 trips. Then there are 3 bolts of new climbing before linking into The Activator, another hard 9a that I have not sent but I spent a trip working on it previously and knew it pretty well. I also have a lot of cave fitness coming in from our trip to Rodellar last fall.

What is next?
This summer will be back home in The Bow Valley to keep trying Fight Club (9a+) and maybe looking for some new routes to develop as well.

Bruce Zou, with four 8B+’ under his belt, has done Pegasus (8C) in Joe's Valley (UT). ”Barefoot feels great on this one.”

How come you ended up doing it barefoot?
I sprained my ankle in the mid of the trip and was not able to put a climbing shoe on the right foot. The other day I got my left heel swollen too because of Achilles heal. So there was no option other than barefoot. But I have been training my toes all the time for “The Game” in Colorado. So it’s not too bad for me to figure out all the barefoot beta on Pegasus. And I thought this could be a perfect pre test before trying hard on Game so I stick to send barefoot.

Can you tell us more about your project process on The Game (8C)?
I started working on Game 2018 after I did my first 8B, a bit unrealistic but still managed to do some easy moves on that. 2019 and 2020 I was just projecting more 8Bs and 8B+ but keep thinking about how I can improve my self on the game. However even after I did my second 8B+ I still couldn’t do the crux on the game and that’s because I was using shoes…

I got this idea and thought maybe barefoot will help with the tension since shoes are limiting my lower body. And Game is so hard that shoes don’t play too much importance in this case.

I took shoes off and immediately did two crux moves that day. And then it took me one whole year to figure out all the barefoot moves. They make the crux possible but the easy move much harder. So I trained my toes for years… only for this boulder. I have had about 80+ session on The Game starting from 2021.

What is your climbing background?
I am just an amateur climber though…no athletic background. Simply love outdoor climbing.