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!

Eva Hammelmüller, who last week sent both 9a and 8c+, has done another two 8c+’ in Oliana. The 24-year-old Austrian is the new #1 in the VL ranking game. (c) Felix Mast

La Morenita (8c+) - ” Really psyched about this line! It’s all about not getting pumped in Morrancita and having enough energy left to do a hard foot swap followed by a shoulder move. Mentally not easy, as you get a lot of time (40m to be more precise :D) to think about the crux. Soft for the grade.


Joe Blau (8c+) ”This route is SO GOOD. The lower part is a nice power endurance bloc, and the upper part is all about hanging on to amazing pockets in the beautiful gray streak. Climbed it after the rain and the last slab was a bit wet, which really strained my nerves... So happy I managed to keep it together!! 2 sessions.”

The latter one she did on her eigth straight climbing day in a row, when she also sent Crimptonite (8b+) on her first try.

How does it feel to be in the best shape of your life?
Climbing is just so much fun right now! We meet so many nice people, have a great time at the crag, and I really enjoy every single route. As the time window in which you can do good attempts is pretty short right now (especially on sunny days), I can’t climb many routes per day; however, the positive thing about this is that I don’t destroy myself completely, so I feel well rested the next day. Every time I go to bed, I am already looking forward to the next day of climbing! Unfortunately, our trip is about to end, but I am also very psyched for training sessions in the gym again!!

Oriane Bertone, who was #8 in the Paris Olympics, has done Gaïa (accroupi) (8A+) in Fontainebleau, video. This was the first 8A+ in two years for the 19-year-old, who won silver at the 2023 World Championship and has placed in the Top 8 in eleven World Cups. Overall, the French climber has completed 16 boulders graded 8B or 8B+, all between the ages of 11 and 15.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I started trying this boulder a few weeks ago, when it was still pretty cold in Font. I put three sessions in the boulder in total; I did the stand in just a few tries (first sesh) and decided to try the low : I went back for one session in the cold (that was not very productive) and one session a few days ago with the sun and an higher temperature, and managed to do it in just a few tries :)

As you know, I’m not a very active outside climber when winter’s here, so I had to wait a little bit for some higher temperatures to arrive 😝

What have you been up to after the Paris Olympics and what are the 2025 plans?
After the games I stopped climbing for almost two months, I felt like I needed a lot more rest than I ever did, and took some time to think about the future and rest my mind and body ☺️ So now I’m back, not as strong as before for the moment but I’m slowly getting better and back at it 👊👊

For 2025, probably and hopefully some more outside climbing and a few comps too, but in short I’m gonna be concentrating on doing things I want to do and enjoy. No comps I specially want to attend for the moment, but it’ll be specified soon ☺️

Tereza Širůčková, who started 2025 by doing a 50 meter 8c+ route, has sent Michigan (8A) and Napříč Amerikou (8A+) in Sklapsko

Can you tell us more about those ascents?
Our trip to the crag came together pretty spontaneously—I realized that my bouldering session lined up with a day when I didn’t have school, so I knew I wanted to climb outdoors. At first, I had my eye on a different boulder in another crag, but then I ran into Adam [Ondra] at my home gym. He recommended this crag and sent me all the info I needed, so the decision was made.

I was beyond excited and had watched pretty much every video I could find. My plan was to try flash Michigan 8A. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, but I wasn’t far off, and I managed to send it pretty quickly afterward. Then, I jumped on a 7C that my friends were also trying—it would have been a flash if it didn’t share the topout (which was around 5C) with Michigan.

Next up was Napříč Amerikou 8A+, which shares the first move with Michigan before breaking off to the right. I worked out the moves fast, and after about five attempts, I sent it. I couldn’t believe what had just happened—two 8As in one day! The feeling was absolutely incredible. Once the initial rush settled, I checked my video and realized my phone had fallen during the crux. I really wanted to have the footage, both for the memory and for beta on future attempts, so I gave it another go—and somehow, I sent it again. I got to relive that amazing feeling all over again.

What is next and what about comp ambitions for 2025?
Well, I’d like to go back for that 8B, and then the competition season is slowly starting to knock on the door. I only compete in lead. My main goal is to reach the top 20 at a World Cup, so we will see. But that’s more long term dream