Enrique Beltrán Blasco, with seven 9a’s under his belt, has done Victimas Perez (9a) in Margalef.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I have always wanted to do 9a in Margalef and the conditions and my job allowed me to go further from home (Huesca) this season.

I looked for a route that motivated me and that was a real challenge, for that the Finestra sector is perfect. The process was not very fast since there were days when I could not climb because my skin was so bad

The most difficult part for me was take care the skin and rest two days when I go to the project. I really liked the process because many friends came and I met others there.

There is still motivation and the real thing is Gancho Perfecto (9a).

Adam Ondra, who the last few days has repeated Soudain seul (9A) and flashed an 8B+ and an 8B, reports on Instagram that he has flashed Imothep du sol (8B+) in Fontainebleau. (c) Petr Chodura

Ondra says that with his size the Camille Coudert problem just might be 8B as he did it, ”with a bit of margin”.

Then he tried Coudert’s potential 9A+ sit start project. ”I could do all the moves, too, and I completely fell in love with this boulder. It is just incredible 👊”

It should also be mentioned that Coudert has spent more than 100 sessions on the 9A+ project and today he finally unlocked the second move after borrowing Ondra’s shoes.

The breakdown on the very steep arete with a great focus on the right heal is according to Coudert,
Sit start; 2 moves 8B+ and 4 moves 8B
Stand start: 2 moves 8B/+ and 8 moves 8A

Adam Shahar reports on Instagram that he has completed the fourth ascent of Daniel Woods’ The Process (8C+) in Buttermilks.

The 19-year-old, who was #7 and #12 in his two last World Cups, has previously during the last six months sent his first five 8C’s. His current big project is Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) and after a good session last week, he sent Squoze (8B+).

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
I started my process on the line at the end of 2024 flashing the bottom portion. Didn’t end up coming back to it until the end of my trip then when I did the top portion in a short session. After a short hiatus in Salt Lake City I returned to bishop with the sole intention of completing the line. After struggling with weather conditions i finally got a session in last weekend. Monday morning after having some great attempts the session prior I knew it was my time. After rehearsing the top V13 link from the flake to the top I was ready to give it my all. Had another couple of great goes and then suddenly it all clicked! On the go I sent I used Austin’s beta, coming into the left hand Gaston before setting myself up and committing for the last hard moves. Wow it felt amazing to hold that swing from the bottom! Had a gnarley topout experience numb as a mf on the v6/7 outro boulder. Tried probably the hardest I’ve ever tried on a v2 move and it was simple walking from there!

Meant a lot to join a list of the incredible athletes who have topped this one out. Hoping to keep the ball rolling into this new year.

Zach Galla had an amazing summer in Rocklands sending Monkey Wedding (8C), The Finnish Line (8C) and The smile (8C).

Matt Fultz, with eight 8C+’ under his belt, has done Desesperación (8C) and The Hangover (8B+), video, in Hueco Tanks (TX) .

Can you tell us more about the trip and these ascents?
We travelled to Hueco Tanks last week and were unfortunately greeted with record high temperatures. I was a bit disappointed but still used that week to learn some of the movements on both Desesperacion and The Hangover. Then on the first cool, windy day of our trip I was able to send both back-to-back!

Desesperacion is a more difficult entrance into the end of the famous Esperanza. Martin Mobraten made the first ascent in 2019 and called it 8B+, stating that although it was harder than Esperanza it didn't feel a full grade harder. I believe I made the second ascent, and in my opinion it's at least one grade harder! So I think an 8C grade is fair. Either way, it's a great addition to the cave and I'm hopeful the video beta will inspire other people to try it.

The Hangover has a funny history. "Martini on the Rocks" broke in 2005 (I believe) and hadn't been repeated since due to the now outrageous distance between the holds. I found that I was able to reach the holds with my 195cm span, but only barely. After a couple of days of effort, I figured out the trick to the move and was able to start sticking it consistently. Then I added a lower start to the original problem (and more logical in my opinion) for the first ascent. This problem's difficulty is very dependent on wingspan, but for my morphology it felt around 8B+.

Laura Rogora, who during the last five months has sent nine 9a’s, has onsighted American Hustle (8c) in Oliana. The 23-year-old has previously onsighted two 8c’s and her ticklist is superior among the female. (c) crimp.films

Can you tell us more about the onsight?
I am in Oliana for one week. On saturday I tried Papichulo (9a+) but I got a really bad split and yesterday I felt really bad on the route so I decided to switch on something easier. I didn’t start with the idea of onsighing it but then change my mind and I decided to give it all. It was a long battle😆 the route is perfect for onsight because there are some boulders divided by good rests.

Alizee Blass, sister of Theo Blass, who sent a 9a at age 12, has done Guère d'usure (8c) in Claret. (c) Laurent Dormont

Her father Vladimir Arnaoudov gives us the background story of her send. “Guere d'usure is the king line of Claret - one of the most beautiful and esthetic lines in the South of France. It is about 30 meters long and has two distinct parts: a 7a+, approach to a very good rest and then a beautiful overhanging prow with 3 hard sections. The last hard section is the crux. The beta that grown-ups use is too reachy for kids. Alizee's brother Theo found a different beta when he did the route 4 years ago consisting of about 15 moves mostly on bad pinches and vertical sloppers with very bad feet. The moves are quite dynamic and precarious and require a lot of precision.

Alizee is 11. She has been climbing since she was 4 - she started at the same time as her brother Theo. She first tried Guere d'usure last winter when she was 10, just for fun, without expectations. We knew that the moves were doable as her brother had done the route when he was shorter than her. She quickly managed to do all the sections and started trying to redpoint the route. She got very close last March, but then got injured and could not climb for a couple of months. She started trying the route again this winter (the crag is south facing and unclimbable on warm sunny days) and got very close to sending it a few times but given the precarious nature of the crux, she kept falling because of small mistakes, imprecisions or foot slips. In January this year Alizee had a bad fall on a warm up route and injured her foot, She could not put climbing shoes on for another 3-4 weeks. When she finally recovered she was more motivated than ever. Last Sunday, after a quick warm up on a 6b+ she sent the route on her first go.”

Adam Ondra reports on his website that he has repeated Soudain seul (9A) in Fontainebleau, in just five sessions. The next day he flashed Ubik assis (8B) and La Ligne de Bête (8B+). (c) Petr Chodura

”5th session I felt perfect. It was cloudy and windy day and the rock felt very sticky. I was close on my first two tries, but not enough. On my 3rd try of the day I put up some of the most memorable fights and made it to the top.

I feel very happy and proud about this send, it means particularly a lot to me especially after the last few seasons when I always felt very close to doing some relevant ascents, but it never really quite happened. Sending this in 5th session is the icing on the cake!”

Shauna Coxsey has repeated Jun Shiba’s Mito sit (8B+) in Sintra after just two sessions. The 31-year-old, with eleven World Cup golds under her belt, has done five 8B+’, out of which four the last year. (c) Ed Robinson

”Mito is one of the most impressive lines I’ve ever seen! The boulder was so much bigger and much steeper than I expected and the holds so much smaller! It’s a striking line straight through a steep face on a huge boulder, the start moves are on holds that are so small they only just work.

It took me a few hours to figure out the start moves. They are super feisty! I had a few link goes but was a bit too tired to piece it together. After a good warm-up on my second session, I got close on my first go from the start but fired off one of the easier moves towards the end. It was a good test for my composure and focus to send it but luckily it came together a few attempts later. And just in time as my skin was suffering! Sintra bites!”

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