At the beginning of February, Stefan Hochbaum made the first ascent of Obsidian (8C+) in Scharfenstein, a boulder known as the "King Kong Project" for 17 years. He spent three years working on it, requiring over 55 sessions to complete the climb.

The problem can be broken down into two sections: a difficult 8A+ start that leads directly into an 8B+ boulder with no rest in between. This combination made it incredibly challenging to send. The entire climb consists of 12 moves, with the crux in the final three.

Obsidian demands extreme power endurance, body tension, and finger strength—three key areas Stefan focused on in his training, with board training and fingerboarding playing a crucial role. During his first year on the project, conditions were relatively good, but the last two years were tough, making consistent attempts nearly impossible. This inconsistency added to the challenge, both physically and mentally. Yet, the project remained on his mind, and he was determined to complete it. In the end, it was the hardest climb he had ever attempted and the biggest mental battle he had faced.

Eva Hammelmüller continues her strike in Oliana by redpointing Joe-cita (9a) and onsighting Humildes pa Casa (8b+). ”Felt a bit lost in space while kneebar kneebar kneebar tufa tufa tufa :D Unique route with a spicy slab at the end - definitely felt the pressure up there!” (c) Felix Mast

The 24-year-old Austrian has during the last two weeks also redpointed seven routes 8b+ to 9a and flashed four routes 8a+ or harder. Only these ascents would have put her as #2 in the VL annual ranking game.

Can you tell us more about the amazing finish of your trip?
On the last two days of our climbing trip, I onsighted my first 8b+ and climbed another 9a, which still feels surreal. ‘Humildes pa Casa’ is very long with a tricky part at the very top. I didn‘t climb well at the beginning of this route, overcrimped every hold and didn‘t find my flow at all. However, I managed to calm down at the rest before the long, unique tufas. The upper part felt more solid, and I am really happy with how I dealt with the little crux on top!!

‘Joe-cita’ is a combination of ‘La Morenita’ and ‘Joe Blau’ which requires doing the crux of ‘La Morenita’ after climbing through the hard part of ‘Joe Blau’. I didn’t really expect to send it, but I liked the challenge of trying to link so many hard moves. The sun was shining relentlessly on our last climbing day, so I had to wait until 5 p.m. to do an attempt (in which my climbing felt terrible, and I fell in the crux of Joe Blau😅).

I decided to give it one last try, climbed not perfectly but well enough through the first part, arrived pretty tired at the last crux - and somehow managed to stick the hard shoulder move! Clipping the chain, I still couldn’t believe it. This trip has simply been perferct.

Maël Musson, who sent his first 9a in 2023 at age 17, has done Redoublement d'effort (9a) in Roche de rame.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Redoublement was first climbed by my friend Diego Fourbet a few years ago. The route is divided into two difficult sections: the first, very intense, involves climbing the crux of "La Proue Débridée", an 8c/+, up to a moderate rest. Then comes a second section of about ten meters, which corresponds to the hardest part of "Les Trois Points", another 8c/+. While this final section doesn’t seem too challenging when climbed on its own, it quickly becomes brutal once fatigue sets in. The key to the route lies in managing effort: you have to get through the first section while conserving as much energy as possible.

I started trying this route last year after sending "Les Trois Points". Very quickly, I fell on the final moves, which made me think I could complete it within a few sessions. However, from that point on, I kept repeating the same attempts without making any real progress. The route became a mental battle. I spent the entire winter working on it, but to no avail. After several months without trying it, I seriously got back to it in 2025. Progress came quickly, and I found myself falling multiple times on the last move. With ten free days ahead, it was the perfect opportunity to go for the send. And on the second day, my nemesis finally gave in!

Nicolai Užnik, #5 in the World Championship in 2023, has done the first ascent of Mount Doom (9A) in Maltatal. The 24-year-old has this winter sent two 8C’s in “1.5 sessions” each and Forgotten Gem (8C) he did second go.

Can you tell us more about this amazing 9A FA?
I started trying it in 2021 after doing the stand Hide and Sick (8B+) in 2020. It took me quite a few sessions and a lot of work to figure out the moves over the year. In the fall of 2024 I had the beta perfected and also trained on the moves quite well. In january I did the intro into the stand for the first time and shortly after started giving send goes. I total it took me 8-9 more sessions with send attempts to actually do it. A lot of effort for the final reward.

Can you also describe the challenge?
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.

Martina Demmel, with a dozen 8c+’ or 9a’s under her belt, has done two 8c+’ in Santa Linya. The upper part of Digital System Extension (8c+) she had only checked out the try before the send of the 8c first pitch and she comments.

”After experiencing a personal setback the previous day which left me emotionally drained, feeling confident & unstoppable on the wall was priceless! Adapting to those pinches involved some struggles... 5 tries.”

”[8c+] The valley defines the mountain! All-in for the final lanch... a bit in disbelief to have never fallen up there! Verengaaa;)”

Blomu L3 (8c+): ”After leaving my nervousness on the ground, I found a perfect rhythm on that line which displayed that my strength still lies more in face-climbing. Therefore, more predictable and less like such a meaningful achievement because I wasn't investing that much with 3 tries in total. Onto the main one's;))”

Which are the “main one’s”?
I've been trying I've been trying La Fabela (8c+) and La Novena Puerta (8c+) which I both managed to one-hang quickly at the beginning of the trip but the progress is rather stagnating since then😅...

Nigel Armino, who works full time as a mechanical designer, has completed Mr. Big (9a) in Margalef.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I climbed Mr. Big in 3 sessions (6 attempts). Last Friday, after a 15-hour drive, my brother Juan and I arrived in Margalef. On the first day, we took it easy, but I was still able to flash Batuka (8b). On the second day, I worked on Mr. Big for the first time and got on it twice. After a rest day, I tried the links: first from bolt to bolt, then splitting the route into 3 sections, and eventually into 2. Today I warmed up on a few routes, then did some hangboarding, and finally gave the route a go – and I managed to send it!

What is your climbing background and how is your training organised?
In addition to my job, I train 11 times a week: 5 times bouldering, 3 times climbing-specific training (such as hangboarding), 2 times cardio, and 1 time strength & conditioning. Thanks to the portable hangboard from Crimptonite Climbing, I can do my finger training during my lunch break at work. I want to show others that it is possible to train hard and achieve your goals alongside a full-time job.

For my climbing training, I mostly use my home wall – a 40° overhang that I built during the corona period – and the Kilter Board in my home gym, Ivy Climbing in Sittard. I follow a self-made 6-week program, with the last week intentionally scheduled as a proper deload week. This has helped me a lot because I used to push beyond my limits, which led to injuries and overtraining. After incorporating deload weeks, I’ve seen a peak in both my finger strength and my max strength, which has been a game-changer for my climbing performance. In the past, I always warmed up on the route itself, but today I tried a different approach, and it worked out well.

Lukas Sager has completed Tom Bolger’s Mr. Big (9a) in Margalef. The 19-year-old did his first 9a already in 2022.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and your ”loose rock” tag?
I tried it at the beginning of the year. At the end of the first day, I fell on the last hard move before the endurance section. I came back to Margalef, just over a week ago. I knew it was only a matter of time before I sent it. Margalef has a very atypical rock, a conglomerate that you don't see anywhere else, but unfortunately, it's quite crumbly. In many places you have to reinforce the holds to make it hold and sometimes, despite all the care, they break under your fingers. Mr.Big is one of these routes. I broke a crimp and 4 feet myself. When there's a high level of humidity in the air, the risk that the holds will break is really high on this type of route, but it's still one of the King lines and I recommend it to competition climbers because it reflects the style of competition. Dynamic movements on pretty good holds. Being able to do Mr.Big brought back memories and motivated me to do more outside climbing like I used to during the COVID or when I lived in Austria, but unfortunately the current competition circuit is very hard to combine with outdoor climbing.

What is next?
After the competition season I'd like to try out some of the futuristic lines I'd equipped a few years ago, climb some of the multi-pitch that are close to my heart. And come back here one day and do the real projects.

What was your best comp result last year and what is your comp plans in 2025?
Last year, I finished 7th in the French U20 Championship. Honestly, it was a real underperformance; I was hoping for much better. The last few years have been very difficult for me mentally, for the past 3 years, I've been training in Voiron, France, almost every day. I've dedicated my whole life to competitions. During training, I feel really strong, but when I get to the competition, I lose all my abilities and find myself at 50% of my capacity instead of 150%. This year, due to personal problems, I decided to participate in the senior qualifier on March 15th without training intensively for it. And afterward, I'll decide whether to continue the season or not. Don't get me wrong, I love competition, I'll do it for almost my entire life. But as a climber, I still have plenty of things to discover that I haven't done yet and that I would like to try. And instead of going through another year that will exhaust me mentally, perhaps it's time to take a small break to discover new horizons, to come back stronger next year.

Tyler Thompson has done Black Mirror (8c+) and the first repeat of Kai Lightner’s Death of Villains (9a+) in Hurricave, which was bolted by Joe Kinder. “ Unbelievably psyched to finally make this one happen! Spent the better part of the last two months putting in the work, building the fitness, and ultimately getting stupid close before breaking through and doing the thing. Definitely a step up in my endurance climbing. Big props to Joe and Kai!!” (c) Ryan White

Can you tell us more about the 9a+ ascent and the process behind?
I first tried DoV in November for around a week and then again in December for another week, still mostly training in the gym in between. By the end of my trip in December I had already made tries but felt like I needed just a bit more fitness. The route is incredibly sustained with almost no definitive crux. I came back in January for a longer trip and had many goes falling on the same move, around 8 moves from the ending.

I had the feeling that I was hitting my endurance limit and was close to calling it for the season. Instead, I took a few weeks break focused on climbing on new routes and at different crags. In February I returned feeling like I had broken through my endurance barrier and got very close on my first day back. After that it was just a few more sessions before I clipped the chains! Something like 20 days or possibly more spread over a couple months.

Brooke Raboutou, who claimed silver at the Paris Olympics, is one of the very few female climbers excelling both outdoors and in competitions. She first gained attention in 2011 on VL/8a when, at just ten years old, she completed her first 8b route and an 8A boulder. This video showcases some of her most challenging ascents, from flashing Euro Trash (8A+) to sending Box Therapy (8C).

Austin Purdy, with two 8C+’ under his belt, has done The Bookkeeper (8C) and Bookkeeping (8C+) in Clear Creek Canyon (CO). ”Certainly low end for the grade, and maybe could just be hard V15 but it put up much more of a fight than I thought it would.

Can you tell us more about those ascents?
The Bookkeeper is an easier variation of Drew Ruana's Bookkeeping, which I had been trying off and on this past season, but was struggling to get good conditions as the crux holds can seep and were often wet when I went there. On Friday I went right after a big snowstorm while it was still cold and the snow had not had a chance to melt to try and find dry holds. Fortunately the holds were try, but unfortunately it was around 25°F/-4C° by the time I was able to get there after work, which is quite cold conditions for a boulder of that length.

I decided to give it some tries anyways since the holds were dry and on my second try of the day I made it through the crux section of The Bookkeeper, but numbed out on the extension and failed to complete Bookkeeping. I gave one more decent go, but realized it was unlikely I would be able to send the full line that day with how cold it was so I decided to try and conserve some energy and come back the next day when it was warmer and hope that the holds were still dry.

On Saturday I came back to perfect conditions and dry rock and after my warm up was able to execute the full line of Bookkeeping my second try from the start!

What is next?
I am about to head to Bishop for a short trip, mostly to try and test out some projects for next winter since the season is wrapping up there. Here in Colorado though I am excited to try The Game (8C) and Defying Gravity (8C) when conditions are good for them and train to get ready for the upcoming alpine season!