Brooke Raboutou reports on Instagram that she has repeated Spectre (8B) in Bishop (CA). Shorter climbers like Carlo Traversi and Katie Lamb have previously suggested personal 8B+ grades for the Dave Graham boulder.

The 157 cm tall, who got the silver in the Paris Olympics, has previously done over 20 boulders 8B to 8C.

Janja Garnbret reports on Instagram that she has onsighted her third 8c, Popolni mrk (8c) in Mišja Peč. The 30 m route is the least repeated 8c in Misja Pec with 12 ascents in the database, out of which four, were marked as “hard”. It has never been onsighted before and Janja says, “Really proud because I consider this my hardest [8c onsight] until now 🥳”.

James Pearson has completed Guiliano Cameroni’s Mystic River (8C) in Brione. The 39-year-old projeced it for some ten sessions over two years.

”When I first saw footage of Mystic River a couple of years ago, I remember being amazed by the beauty of the rock and the complexity of the moves. I remember saying to myself how I would love to try it one day... I had no idea how big of a part of my life it would actually become. I first looked at the boulder on a family bouldering trip in Switzerland. I'd not been back to Ticino for 15 years, and I was excited to explore some of the new developments, in the hope of finding a project to work on. I tried a lot of really nice boulders on that trip, including ‘Unison’, Poison The Well’, and even ‘Alphane’, but it was Mystic River that really grabbed my attention. Back, then the landing was pretty bad. There was very little sand and pebbles, just a gentle slope of river washed, granite, leading into a cold deep pool. It was difficult to try the boulder without a spotter, and I remember thinking that if I wanted to try this seriously, I might need to get creative.

We returned the following year and this time I started to invest serious time into Mystic River. I was already making good links on the boulder and hoped I might finish it. The river had deposited a nice beach of sand and pebbles underneath, and I started to feel confident trying it on my own. There were still a couple of exciting moments, where I would spontaneously dry-fire horizontally off the boulder when I tried to build my feet up high for the crux move, but I never quite made it to the water! By the end of that trip, the skin on my left hand was destroyed from the singular sharp crux crimp, and my right heel was throbbing from the intense hooks! I had started to regress and knew I'd have to come back for it. Yet, by the time I could get away again, I had some friends send me photos of the river, which was already way too high!

From that point, my obsession with this boulder really began. Sending messages to anyone I knew, who was in Brione, who could potentially check the height of the river for me, planning ways that I could potentially build up the landing, so I could try it again, even if the water might be unseasonably high. In January of this year, I took the chance to head down for a couple of days on my own. Normally the height of the river swells during the summer months and decreases over winter, but as I arrived in Brione, I could see that the river was high, and as I made my way down to the boulder, I found the remnants of a tiny landing. Perhaps enough to try a couple of the moves with a spotter, but no way near enough for me to try on my own.

Luckily, the river had left a huge bank of sand and pebbles just on the right, so I grabbed a small spade from the van and in a couple of hours I’d fashioned a nice flat landing. I had one great session on the boulder, where I fell on the last move and made it consistently through the first half of the problem. By the end of that visit, I knew I could do it... I just needed a bit more time. I don’t enjoy being away from Caro and the kids, yet I was so invested in this boulder, that I was desperate to go back. My plan was to go back to Ticino just before the school holidays began so I could finish it off, and be back in time to do some fun things with the kids. I said goodbye and drove the 10-hour journey to Ticino, alone. I headed directly to Mystic River, and found the lovely flat landing I had left behind, on my last visit, now submerged under 20 cm of water! Two days of digging later, I managed to move enough rock and sand from elsewhere in the riverbed to make a small beach just big enough for my crash pads! It was backbreaking work, but the only option... well, actually, the sensible choice might have been to enjoy any one of the thousands of other amazing boulders in Ticino, but by this point it might be clear that my relationship with this boulder was anything but sensible.

For the next week I lived and breathed Mystic River as I tried to unravel its mysteries. Some sessions felt great, and in others I could barely pull on. Some attempts I fell on the last move, and on the next go I would fall off the first or second. Never have I tried a boulder that is so hard to climb! Whilst the individual moves themselves are not particularly difficult (at least in comparison to other boulders around this grade) they are all, without fail, extremely easy to fall off of. The river polished granite allows for no mistakes in placement or movement, and dry fires and foot slips are never far away. Little by little, I whittled away and began to feel like I could do it, but it was almost time to get back to France and I had to make every session count. The session I climbed, Mystic River was a perfect example of everything. I love and hate about this boulder. When I arrived at the Boulder, I'd all but decided not to climb as I thought the conditions would get better later in the day. Then randomly, a young Italian climber named Pietro Vidi, turned up and asked if I minded if he tried it with me. I still wasn't convinced by the conditions, but thought it was worth a try anyway, as it would be nice to actually climb with someone else for a change.

Pietro is a great climber. He's in his early 20s but has already bouldered several 8C+ boulders, and repeated Tribe, one of the world’s hardest traditional routes. He also happens to be great at knee-bars, and I was pleased to watch him discover a more secure way of using the crucial right knee-bar, that made the middle section feel a little more controlled. I made a really good first try, falling on the final move and a then a few more goes, falling with an unexpected hand or foot slip each time. Everything started to fall to pieces. I spent four or five attempts falling on the first or second move, incapable of making the right heel hook stick. I thought this might be the end of the session... Perhaps the conditions had changed, or perhaps, I was just simply too tired after almost a week of trying the same moves. I almost gave up, knowing that this would probably be my final session of the trip, but decided to take a long rest, change my shoes, and try a few more times... Then I did it on my next go! The successful attempt wasn't any different to many of my previous attempts. I didn't feel particularly solid, or locked in, but either from luck or practice I made few mistakes. Still, it was almost a surprise to actually catch the hold on the last hard move, and you can even hear my delayed scream in the video when I realise I'm still hanging on. Really happy I practised the last slab because even though it's not very hard, I could imagine falling up there with legs as shaky as mine were. I topped out the boulder in a state of disbelief. I'm not sure if the amount of work I had to put in to climb this thing was objectively worth it... But it sure made that moment feel pretty amazing!”

Adam Ondra flashed El Elegido (8B+/C) two weeks ago. He had flashed a couple of 8B+'s before but in his usual honest style, only Jade (8B+) was not given a personal down grade.

Laura Rogora, who started her one week trip to Oliana by onsighting an 8c, has redpointed Papi Blau (9a) and onsighted Gorilas en la niebla (8b+), China Crisis (8b+) and Crimptonite (8b+). Laura mentions that the latter two share the same relatively easier start. Over the last year, only a handful of male climbers have an equally impressive onsight tick list. (c) crimp.films

Can you tell us more about the trip and the most memorable ascents ?
I was there for one week, six days of climbing. I had not specific plan in mind, just climbing and enjoying some rock. I tried Papichulo (9a+) a bit but already on the first day I got a really bad split on my finger which hurt a lot on the last crux so I decided to skip it and climbing Papiblau. Obviusly keeping climbing on it, it only got worse. I should have taken a few days off for attempt the full route but I wanted to climb so I enjoyed some easier routes. For sure the onsight of American Hustle (8c) was the most memorable.

Eva Hammelmüller completed Hades (9a) last October. "Hades is powerful, steep, and requires strength endurance - all qualities that I thought I lacked. Perhaps that’s why, back in 2022, I decided to give it a try. Even though I thought I was close at that point, I now know how far I was from sending. In 2023, I mainly focused on indoor training for competition; however, I realised how much I missed rock climbing and spending time outside. This autumn, I decided to reactivate project Hades again and, after two sessions, I felt confident on the moves. I was really psyched to start doing send tries, but neither my skin nor my health were too keen to operate. A flu and 2 big flappers later, I gave it another go - and found myself on the top of the route! Mabye sending this route was so important to me because I desperately wanted to prove myself wrong, to demonstrate that I can be a powerful and physical climber. I am really proud of the progress I made with each try, and I managed to enjoy the process even at a point where I knew I could/had to send the route. "

Ga-eun Kwon, who sent Southern Smoke (8c+) at age 10, has together with her father Younghye completed La Fabelita (8c) in Santa Linya. Both ascents are shared on YouTube, Ga-eun and Younghye. The 53-year-old, who last year won the Ice World Cup in Korea, gives us their story.

"The climbing trip was planned for Santa Linya during my daughter's winter vacation. We chose La Fabelita as our first project. She solved all the moves on her third attempt and, after a rest day, sent it on her second try. In total, she sent the route on her fifth attempt. I figured out the moves faster, but it took about ten attempts due to my weaker stamina. Haha. Ga-eun also completed "Rock Fucks" 8b+ on her fifth attempt. Since there are many routes graded 8b+ and above here, we plan to climb more difficult routes in Oliana and Margalef next time."

Stefano Ghisolfi has repeated Alex Megos’ The full journey (9b) in Margalef, after projecting it for nine days. (c) Sara Grippo

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I was projecting The journey (9a+) and also tried the last part (the full journey). But I was struggling a lot on the 9a+ crux and I couldn't do it and I fell few times before the 9a+ anchor. Today I passed for the first time and then I kept going and did the full journey, the very first time I could to the 9a+.

What is your next focus and how long will you stay?
The focus is now on Sleeping Lion (9b)! We haven't planned how long the trip will be, until it's too warm!

Eva Hammelmüller has during the last week flashed Bon pied, mon oeil! (8b) in Mollans and De Picos Pardos (8b) in Oliana. ”Half-flash, half OS :D Spent nearly to much time in the crux to figure out the moves, but managed to hold on. The upper part is pure pleasure. Again, can’t get much better than that.”

Then yesterday she redpointed Esclatamasters (9a) in Perles & Canelles. In total, the 24-year-old has sent 62 routes 8b+ to 9a and she is #2 in the annual female ranking. ”This route is just PERFECT. Enjoyed every single try on this 40m beast. From tired shoulders in the steep tufa part to sore forearms and fingers in the technical upper part, this route has it all. The nice people I got to know and climb with made it extra-special. Thanks guys!! 8c+/9a imo.” (c) Felix Mast

Can you tell us more about the trip and the most memorable ascents?
As I focused my winter training mainly on bouldering and building up max power, I used the first three days of this trip to gain some endurance again, and I could climb some amazing lines in Mollans and St. Léger. I am especially happy about flashing 2 8bs and making quick work of some routes graded 8b+/8c. When we arrived in Oliana, I couldn’t decide at first which route I wanted to try, but as soon as I hiked up to „Esclatamasters“, I was totally psyched to climb this amazing line!! I spent two days checking out the moves in great conditions, but then it started to rain and we spent a day in Oliana. When I came back to „Esclatamasters“, the sun was out, there was hardly any wind, and I realised how good the conditions in my first two days on the route were. Nevertheless, I started doing repoint tries, and it actually went really well!! I was pretty close to sending on my third day, but I struggled a lot with the warm temperatures.

As the weather forecast predicted clouds for the next day, we decided to climb instead of rest, even though it was our 3rd day on. However, the forecast was completely wrong, and I considered not trying after all. At the same time, I also didn’t want to hike down without even attempting, so I tied in and gave it a chance. I struggled quite a bit to see my footholds in the sun, still managed to do a new highpoint, but split my fingertip in doing so...

After that, I was convinced to call it a day. We chilled at the crag, hung out with nice people, and enjoyed the sunny weather. We were still there in the afternoon, and Felix wanted to film some sequences, so I decided to do another training go. I taped up, tied in, and started climbing. Everything felt really good, I climbed well, and suddenly I was at the jug two quickdraws before the top!!! I really could not believe it. Clipping the chains was so unexpected and felt absolutely amazing!! I really enjoyed the process in this route (climbing basically 2 moves further in each send go :D) and sharing this experience with so many nice people made it extra special!

Antoine Maire, who the last 12 months has done seven 8c+’, has completed Casi mono (9a) in Courchon. The 28-year-old has written short essays for nearly all of his 2,500 recorded ascents, and here is the Google translation of his first 9a.

”Yo my Bro, originally, I’m known in the eigth grade, In Bleau, they worship me like a king on his throne, In Courchon, I crush the mono and become an icon, It’s at the highest level that I shine like Ramon.

In the Nanogone, I land my biggest KO, I stand by my words, that’s my greatest gift. Since I’ve been gone, I feel like I’m in lockdown, This dream gives me the crown, I finally go pro in sports.

Today, I can become an athlete on Insta, With one-arm pull-ups, that and a three-way plan, Just need to get sponsored by Sephora And post 200 videos a month.

I’m sorry, but in a thousand years, When you read my comments on my 8a account, You’ll throw it all away, thinking that Antoine Maire Actually had everything to be admired.

You got it right, I’m a fan of alexandrines, For a 9a, I would’ve sold my own hand, I can thank Seb Bouin’s first ascent, Without him, I’d still be a rookie tomorrow.”