Sungsu Lee, who two weeks ago did his seventh 8C in 2024, has repeated Daniel Woods’ The Process (8C+) in Buttermilks. ”It was an incredible experience. I spent five sessions sending this problem. It was my first 16, and I want to thank everyone who helped me.”

Moritz Welt and Nicolai Užnik have done From Dirt Grows The Flowers (8C) in Chironico. It was established by Dave Graham in 2005, and all 18 people who have rated it have given it 5 stars.

Can you tell us more about the trip and the ascent?
Welt pictures: We are in Ticino for 10 days and I had 'from dirt..' as my main project in mind. I tried it twice quickly before and knew it would suit me. Had one session working the moves on the 27th and some sending tries on 31st :) Half of our trip is over and weather is still great so I am really syked to try something else now!

Užnik: I checked it out cause I got a split on my finger trying Alphane and I thought this one could be better to try with tape on. I checked out the moves and the tricky mantle quite fast and came back the next day to finish it off. It’s a cool line, but I didn‘t enjoy it as much since the first few holds were kinda painful on the skin… 😅

Noah Wheeler started 2025 by sending Return of the Sleepwalker (9A). During the last six months, he had previously sent eight boulders 8B+ to 8C+.

Can you give us the full 9A story including the number of sessions needed?
I first tried Sleepwalker stand 2 years ago, but barely had any time on it because of weather. I had 4 goes last year for stand, 14 on the sit last year, and 2 this year. So about 20 sessions for the full thing. I was getting to the last hold in around 8 of these sessions.

After sending Sleepwalker last December, I had about 4 sessions on the sit before heading back for school. In that time, I made far better progress than I expected, sticking the sloper on my last session. A month later, I decided to take a few weeks off of school and travel back to Red Rocks to finish the process. I made quick progress in my first 4 or 5 sessions, eventually progressing such that I stuck the sloper consistently from the bottom, falling on the last left hand throw to a shallow pinch almost every time. For the next 6 sessions left in the trip, I would get to this spot multiple times a day, falling at the throw every time. There was one day where I got to the last move 6 separate times - effectively having climbed a v16 6 times with nothing to show for it. This process was extremely difficult mentally because I had figured the climb would go soon after I began sticking the sloper consistently. It took a while to admit to myself that the last move was the crux.

Therefore I left empty handed, mentally defeated, but very close as the same time. My time away from the boulder was great for my mental, wherein I ignored videos or discussions of the boulder until I began training for it specifically.

In the spring, I specifically trained underclings with weightlifting. In the fall, I set long, undercling-oriented climbs on the Tensionboard with left-hand finishes. Coming back this year, I was far more confident in my ability to send, as I felt far stronger, especially in the fingers and with concern to tactics and flow. In my first session, I fell on the throw move from the start, glimpsing at the mental defeat of the year prior. In the second session, asserted in my ability to send but possessing a tactically empty disposition towards actually sending, I took the climb to the top. ROTSW has undoubtedly felt like my hardest process yet, mentally and physically. But coming back this year, I felt surprisingly strong in both respects relative to the climb.

Tereza Širůčková, who was #14 in the Euro Boulder & Lead Championship last year, has completed La Rubia (8c+) in Villanueva del Rosario.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
La Rubia is a 50-meter route with 145 moves, located in the Chillam Balam sector, which I visited for the first time. Initially, I had my eyes set on a different route, but La Rubia was the first line that caught my eyes on our first day there, so I decided to give it a try.

It was the first route I attempted that was harder than 8b+. After working out the moves, I felt like I’d never be able to climb it. The route is full of pinches, and there were maybe three holds that were really my type. I was ready to give up, because it seemed pointless to keep struggling on the lower boulder section (around move 60). Instead, I wanted to climb easier routes to explore the area as much as possible and enjoy the process of discovering new rock and moves, which I love.

But my coach (Petr Klofáč) laughed at me, saying I just didn’t know how to project properly. That motivate me to keep trying and I gave it a chance. The first time I climbed through the lower boulder, I thought I could fall on any of the following moves. I fell “just” four moves from the top, which was so frustrating, but also gave me hope that it was possible. In the end, I sent the route on the 8th climbing day and my 16th attempt. I still can’t quite believe it!

What is your climbing background?
I’m a member of the Czech national climbing team and a university student. Right now, I’m mainly focused on competition climbing, but I absolutely love climbing on rock. Whenever training and time allow, I try to get outdoors as much as possible. I usually manage to find time for a bigger climbing trip (a week or two) about twice a year. Then I’m happy if I am possible to visit my homecrag, which is the Moravian Karst, or go for weekend trips a little farther away.

Nathaniel Coleman, who got the silver in the Tokyo Olympics, repeated Daniel Woods’ Defying Gravity (8C) 14 months ago. The Ben Nielsen excellent mini-doc captures Coleman’s process adding a 8B sit start and making the FA of No One Mourns the Wicked (9A).

Noah Wheeler has repeated Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Black Velvet Canyon and the 22-year-old moves to #3 in the ranking game. ”An athletic coming-of-age. Pulled on the last move of SW [Sleepwalker] freshman year as a ridiculous “what if?!” Sent the sit senior year.”

Jimmy Webb made the FA of Sleepwalker (8C+) in 2019 and then two years later Woods added a six moves 8B sit start establishing the second 9A in the world. Last year, Will Bosi made the first repeat. Comments from Noah to come.

Jan Štipek, who in 2024 won a Euro Youth Cup in both Lead and Boulder, has done Mr. Big (9a) in Margalef. The 16-year-old first made an onsight attempt, then fell on his second go before clipping the chain on his 3rd try.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Climbing Mr Big was actually a spontaneous decision. My original plan for this trip was to focus on Wild West (9a), but when I tried Mr. Big, I instantly fell in love with the route. It has powerful and dynamic moves, which are exactly my style, so I decided to give it my all.

How come you did not send any hard routes in 2024?
As for 2024, I had a very long competition season, which didn’t leave much time for outdoor projects. However, even during that time, I managed to climb a few 8c routes here in Margalef, which kept me motivated for this trip. I will log them now.

What are your plans and ambitions for 2025?
My plans are both on the rocks and in competitions. I’ll be competing in the World Cup, but I’ll keep my goals there to myself for now. On the rocks, I definitely want to climb more 9a routes, an 8C+ boulder, and also something hard back home on sandstone.

Pietro Vidi has made the second repeat, after James Pearson, of Jacopo Larcher’s Tribe in Cadarese. None of the climbers have chosen to suggest a grade but based on their comments and how much effort they put in, 9a is a possible speculation. The 22-year-old Italian, who was #14 in the European Boulder Championship, is #3 in the ranking game including having done two 8C+’. (c) Camilla Moroni

Can you tell us more about the ascent and how dangerous it is?
I already checked out the route at the end of last season and immediately got hooked! As soon as the temperatures dropped I immediately went back to it, made some good progress and thought it wouldn’t take long. Turned out the route is incredibly condition dependent and gets really wet, this with a technical and low percentage crux made for a real battle that lasted way longer than I expected!

The route is actually pretty safe and the crux is well protected, but there are still some no-fall zones like the 7a intro or right after the crux where you place 2 ballnuts that I still don’t know if they would catch a fall, you probably wouldn’t hit the ground tho.

About the grade I really respect Jacopo decision [to not grade it] and the route was much more complex for me than a simple grade can express but I can definitely say it was one of my biggest fights and had a pretty hard time on the second boulder!

I got a reel on my profile of the fall from the last hard move I took many times, around 8 meters or so I think. For protecting the crux I used a grey C4 and an offset alien, placing gear was pretty pumpy for me and opted for a faster placement that popped once, so I switched back to the same placements as Jacopo and James 😅.

Did you first work it on top rope and how did you clean it before each redooint attempt?
Yes, but just for 2 sessions I think, it’s actually pretty annoying to work some of those moves with top rope, once i could make decent link I tried the crux with previous laced gear and the pretty soon started with red point attempts.

Definitely pretty annoying to jug up every time and clean it with the static rope, but is just part of the process of trad climbing I guess.

Allison Vest, who last week sent her 15th 8B, has done Meadowlark Lemon Stand (8A+) in Gateway Canyon. In September 2023, she got a hand injury [Dequervains Tenosinovitis] and it was not until five months ago she could start climbing on jugs.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I tried this boulder a bunch last year, not realizing how bad my hand was and feeling frustrated that it was feeling out of reach for me. Stoked to have returned healthy and feeling like myself!

For 23 years, we've published our "Climber of the Year" list, drawing from the best available information and reporting. We give extra credit to climbers excelling across multiple disciplines, both in competitions and on the rock. First ascents, trad climbing, multi-pitch routes, and deep-water soloing (DWS) are also taken into account. This list is highly subjective, so we welcome your suggestions and additions. (c) IFSC

1. Janja Garnbret SLO: Olympic gold and #1 in all 5 WCs she entered. 8C and 8B+ boulders
2. Laura Rogora ITA: Six 9a or 9a+, 8c OS and two Euro Championship gold
3. Adam Ondra CZE: #1 in VL Combined ranking, #6 in Paris, Prague Boulder and Chamonix Lead
4. Alex Megos GER: Two 9b+', #2 in only WC done #13 in Paris.
5. Jessica Pilz AUT: #1 overall in Lead WC, #3 in Paris and Papichulo (9a+)
6. Michaela Kiersch USA: Victima Perfecto (9a+), 8b+ OS and seven boulders 8B to 8C
7. Toby Roberts GBR: Olympic gold and #1 in Lead WC overall
8. Jorge Diaz-Rullo ESP: #1 in the Vertical-Life route ranking game
9. William Bosi GBR: #1 in the Vertical-Life Boulder ranking game
10. Colin Duffy USA: #4 in Paris, winning in Chamonix and three 8C's

11. Aidan Roberts GBR
12. Jakob Schubert AUT
13. Seb Bouin FRA
14. Anak Verhoeven BEL
15. Katie Lamb USA
16. Chaehyun Seo KOR
17. Jonathan Siegrist USA
18. Martina Demmel
19. Brooke Raboutou USA
20. Zach Galla USA, Stefano Ghisolfi, Pietro Vidi ITA, Gio Placci ITA, Mejdi Schalck
Sean Bailey USA, Ainhize Belar ESP, Eva Hammelmüller AUT, Barbara Zangerl AUT, Katie Lamb USA, Sorato Anraku JPN, Moritz Welt GER, Sera Gearhart USA, Caroline Sinno FRA, Tanguy Merard FRA, Natalia Grossman USA, Oceania Mackenzie AUS, Dave Graham USA, Anastasia Sanders USA, Molly Thompson-Smith
Tomoa Narasaki JPN, Mattea Pötzi AUT, Meichi Narasaki JPN, Shion Omata JPN
Shauna Coxsey GBR, Jack Palmieri GBR, Gonzalo Larrocha ESP