Pepa Šindel, who last month sent his first 9b, has done Proces (9a) in Višňové. ”With wet holds and without kneepad. So many tries. Not my style at all. When I started trying it 3 years ago I was not able to do most of the moves then after so much time I did the harder variant with kneepad. Today I came full circle and did it honestly.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Proces is an old-school, groundbreaking route in Višňové (Slovakia) FA’d by Juraj Repčík in 2004. It’s the closest 9a to my home, and I’ve spent so much time on it.

It’s an ultra-physical climb in a cave with good holds, huge moves, and a boulder problem in the middle and at the top. Last year, I fell six times on the last jump move, which is a complete comp-style dyno to a jug. I gave up on the move and first did the harder variant, called Procesor 9a/9a+, which skips the final jump. This year, I returned and promised to myself and to my dad that I would do it the original way, without a kneepad. On my first day back this year, I did it without a kneepad and with some of the holds being wet.

What are your summer plans?
I will start my summer trip in Frankenjura where I want to finish Black Label 9a from last year. Then my plans are still open but I will also definitely visit some crags in Dolomites:)

Sorato Anraku, who has won the first four Boulder World Cups of 2026 and the World Championship in 2025, secured the overall title by also winning in Innsbruck. Once again, the 19-year-old won all three rounds. In total, he has now won 17 World Cup events, including 10 in Lead.

Annie Sanders, who got the gold in Prague two weeks ago, won all three rounds in the Innsbruck World Cup. ”Innsbruck is one of my favourite places, my European home, so to win gold here is really cool. I feel really good about my shape, I had a ton of fun out there on the mats, and I'm super psyched right now! I'll definitely enjoy this medal, have a nice rest day tomorrow and watch the boys, support Colin, before thinking about Lead. I'll get some sleep, chill, and maybe get some ice cream, they have good ice cream here!"

David Firnenburg has had a personal record day up at Gottardo sending Adularia (8C), Stairway to heaven sit (8B+) and Hazel Grace sit (8C).

The 31-year-old started out as a route and competition climber. He won a couple Euro Youth Cups and in 2016, he got the bronze in the Combined World Championships. By 2020, the German had climbed 21 routes graded 9a or harder. He later shifted his focus more toward bouldering, and in 2025 he completed his second and third 8C boulders. (c) Clem Lechaptois

Can you tell us more about your great sending day?
So, Andrea [Kümin] and I started the day early at Mätteli sector where Adaluria is located. These days you can find good conditions until around 12 a.m. We met our friend Marco Müller and later Nina Arthur and Clem Lechaptois joined us. Andrea worked the stand start and made decent progress. She made the heel hook move look easy on which I struggled the most coming from the sit start. Marco was the first to send Adaluria. Looked very in control and precise. I sent the stand start two weeks ago, so this was my first time trying from the sit. I quickly found my beta and went through the first part into the stand. However, I struggled with a right heel hook where you to place your finger precisely on a kind of mini horn in order to have enough space for the heel. After around 4 times falling there, the heel finally sticked and I didn’t fall at the last physical moves anymore. Back to back send with Marco! Great support from the crew!

Then we went on to the king line of the entire area, Stairway to heaven. It was crazy windy up there. Usually you wait until the sun is gone but it was sticky enough to try it in the sun. I quickly tried the climb two weeks ago but after half an hour we got rained out. This time I had no stress, worked the upper part on the rope, made some tick marks and then tried from the bottom. Alois Remund and Beni Blaser, two other good Swiss friends joined us. Again pretty good vibes! I mostly struggled with the first two left heel hooks on the slopy arete. Once they stayed on, I sent the problem. Such a nice mixture of physical compression, technical heel hooks, friction, height and good mental game!

Alois got us excited to try the sit with him. He had sent the stand before. Marco was actually trying Child of Hell (8C) just next to it but came over to us to join. He was again the first to send the sit of Stairway which motivated me to do the same. Again, he made it look really in control. Inspiring! Alois, Beni and I made shifts on the boulder. Alois and Beni also had promising tries. Funny and acrobatic how we flew off the arete onto the uneven landing underneath! Luckily, we had enough pads to make the climb feel safe despite its height.

The difficulty of the climb remains the same, the heel hooks. The sit adds four hand moves and two foot moves, though. I made progress try over try and then fought my way up to the top. Some power screams were needed because I started to feel tired. A couple of tries on Adaluria in the morning which consists of around 12 steep moves, more tries on Stairway stand afterwards (9 powerful moves) and then some more on the sit (15 moves). Actually I thought the day was over and that I would support Andrea working Hazel Grace.

At Hazel we teamed up with Nina and Clem again. A bit later Jorge Diaz-Rullo joined us. The boulder is the whole day in the sun and only climbable in the evening. Nina and Andrea worked the stand, the boys the sit. I sat down and had some snacks. I actually told myself to end the climbing day with a sweet success on Stairway sit and the other climb I had sent. But then I changed my mind and thought I should at least give it some tries because the conditions were good, my skin wasn’t too bad and I wanted to be very tired when sitting in the office next Monday morning😊 Watching the others climb made me excited, too. I had my first session on the stand the day before sending it. I knew how to do the upper part and in the end of the session I figured out how to do the moves from the sit. I had a good first go climbing into the stand and felt surprisingly good again. Maybe it was because of the nuts and chocolate I had eaten before. I just had to do the second move of the stand start a tiny bit differently coming from the sit. A bit more bouncy and dead-pointy. That’s what I did on my second try, felt good on the slot holds, didn’t need the intermediate for the cross move and strong on the last moves which are easier but hard enough to fall on every move. I was surprised standing on top. A bit surreal.

Overall, probably my best bouldering day so far when it comes to sending. A good mix of a motivated and supporting team, beautiful landscape, fresh air, beautiful lines and own ambitions. Also cool to see that I am still progressing after so many years of climbing. I am still very motivated to try hard and climb as much as possible. I also have the drive to discover new areas and travel when I find the time besides work. I am also healthy and didn’t face any big injuries in the past which is a gift. And I’ve got a loving girl friend and family which is the most amazing thing. Very grateful for all of that!

Noah Wheeler, who the last month sent his third 9A boulder, has in just three days up at Upper Chaos sent two 8C+ boulders. In the VL ranking game, the 23-year-old is the runner-up after Zach Galla but just ahead of Adam Ondra.

Brace for the Cure (8C+): ”2 sessions this year - tried a sesh or two last year with no chance on the full line. Jade move is atleast the 2nd hardest move on this line. Stuck it maybe 15 times in a row in order to send. Contender for one of the most purely finger-strength dependent climbs in the world!”

Creature From the Black Lagoon (8C+): ”Maybe an hour total on the boulder with 3 start rips over 2 days (was mostly trying Brace). Fell on the topout twice which made the double-kneebar assisted sent even sweeter! A good benchmark for the very low end of the grade. Climbs amazingly.” (c) Francois Lebeau

Can we have a longer write up of the ascents?
Tried Brace once last year in and was able to do all the moves, but with much pain in my fingers. Figured it would go as a 3+ sessions project this year. Came back and climbed into the V9/10 end move on my first session, falling on what felt like a like punt. That same session, I was hanging out with Austin Hoyt under the Creature cave and impromptu decided to pull on the crux sequence (generally considered 3/4 moves of V15 [8C]). To my surprise, I linked through it and into the stand.

The next session, I sent Brace after maybe 2 hours - longer than I wanted. I pulled on to Creature from the start and climbed all the way into the topout of the V11 [8A] stand pumping out to such a degree it did not feel like a punt at all. At that point it was too late and I was too tired to try again.

The next day I fell getting my foot up on the headwall in my first go, then sent my second. The crux sequence was so weirdly in my style that I never fell on it, so the climb did not feel too difficult. It was definitely an endurance end crux for me.

Tyler Thompson has repeated Cameron Hörst’s Martial Law (9a+) in Mt. Charleston. ”After falling a handful of times on the shared RP crux above the hole it felt just awesome to stick it. Ultimately I think knees, especially the one joining this route and AD dropped the intensity enough for me that I’d suggest a 9a/+ biased off my experience. Certainly the hardest in the cave and a great endurance challenge!” (c) James Lucas

Can you tell us more about the ascent and which route it shares the crux with?
Martial Law is an alternative start to Arrested Development (8c+) where you come in from the deepest part of the cave and join that route right at the start of the difficulty. I’d say it’s around 14a [8b+] to get into the start and quite intense and tiring. I spent my first session just focused on the first bit of climbing and linking into AD. On my third session I made it through the crux of AD and on my fourth I fell on the shared redpoint crux, which comes after another kneebar but is super tricky and easy to drop. I had two more sessions falling high on the route before doing it on my 7th day.

What rebolting have you been involved in lately?
I had the opportunity to participate in a few rebolting days thanks to Arcteryx! First in Jilotepec, Mexico and more recently in the NRG where NRAC is doing an extensive rebolting effort. I only did one working day there where I got to help put fresh hardware in an FA of mine which had 30 year old bolts. It was a great learning experience and I definitely plan to do more in the future!

Laura Rogora, with 45 routes 9a to 9b under her belt, out of which 15 the last year, has done Hades (9a) in Götterwandl and Volo d'acquila (9a) in Potrich. The 25-year-old is on a break from the World Cup circuit and will not compete in Innsbruck or Chamonix. The Crimp Films picture is from Punt'X (9a).

Can you tell us more about those ascents?
Hades was a route I had wanted to try for quite a while, but I had never had the chance to climb in Austria. Last Saturday, I went to Nassereith with a friend, and from my very first attempt I felt good on the route. On my second go, I refined the beta a bit through the crux. On my third attempt, I felt confident, but halfway through the crux one of my feet slipped and I thought I was going to fall. Fortunately, I managed to regain my focus and ended up sending the route.

Volo d'Aquila is a beautiful route that was first ascended by Stefano Folgarait in 2020. Yesterday, on my first try, I studied the moves. Then I gave it two more attempts, but I was feeling tired from the previous days and couldn't climb well, so I had to refine the beta a bit. On my fourth attempt, I felt much better right from the start and managed to reach the chains.

Mike Foley has repeated Connor Herson’s Midnight Way (9a+) in Squamish, an extension of Spirit Quest (9a), which he FA’d in 2021. (c) Ben Harnden

Can you tell us more about the special day and what went into completing it?
A lot of things were not lined up well on the day. It was raining on and off all day. I almost didn’t make the drive to Squamish from Vancouver because it was raining so much in the morning. It was very warm and humid all day. On my previous session on the route I had blown a hole in my shoes so I just wore a pair of older shoes I only use for training in the gym. I didn’t feel amazing on the send go and felt like I was getting pumped easily. However, managed to recover well on the route and locked in where I needed to and got it done.

Not sure on the total number of sessions but feels like a lot. It’s an extensions to Spirit Quest (9a) which I FA’d in 2021. Didn’t climb on the wall at all for a few years following that then really started trying the route last fall before the season ended. It was a nice motivator for winter training having this route in the back of my mind.

Interestingly, this time last year, I was just starting to climb again after a major shoulder injury that required surgery following a bike crash. I couldn’t even hang from a bar with one arm. Cool to see the progress over the last year!

What are your summer plans?
No big plans for the rest of the season. Just trying to get out climbing as much as possible locally and take advantage of feeling fit.

Giovanni Giachino, with two 8c+ under his harness, has completed Trainspotting (9a) in Val Tanaro. The 22-year-old is also focusing on comps and has twice this year made it to the final in the Italian Cup.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and what went into completing it?
Trainspotting is one of the three hardest routes in the crag “La Stazione”, recently bolted by Carlo Giuliberti and Lorenzo Bogliacino. The route is at a 40° angle, made of small incut crimps, with relatively good footholds and pretty fun to climb, in my opinion; it could be divided into three sections: the first one being an 8a+/b 10-meter route, the second one is an 8-move-long boulder around 8A/+ and the third section is another 10-meter-long route graded 7b/c.

I started projecting Trainspotting on the 23rd of September 2023, when it hadn’t even been freed yet. After 10 sessions on the route I got halfway up the crux, without successfully climbing it for another 11 days, therefore I stopped trying it in May of 2025. I started this comp season motivated to finally tie up loose ends with Trainspotting, and after months of training and competing both in bouldering and sport climbing competitions, with the guidance of my coach Federico Galli, I went back to the crag last weekend to get back to projecting the route.

On Saturday, after a first try to refresh my memory, on my second try I finally got past the crux I fell off 11 times before and clipped the chain of my first route in the 9th grade. I am very satisfied with the results, but above all I am more satisfied with having climbed my first 9th graded route in this valley, where I spent my childhood and where I discovered, through family members, the world of climbing. Additionally, right there in Valdinferno, I freed my first 8b boulder “Luçe” in 2024.

I really hope this valley will get the spotlight it deserves and that more climbers will come and explore it, because it really has a lot of climbing potential. It is the perfect gateway from the chaos of the city into nature.

What are your summer plans?
There's some 9a in my mind that I want to try, like "Prima classe" in the same crag of "Trainspotting", "pornographie" in Ceuse and mybe another one in "Ailefroide", but I don't know if I can try all of three. I also want do to have one week at Gottard pass in Switzerland and try "Hazel Grace" and like 10 days in Sardinia trying some new routes in Ulassai.

Vojta Trojan, with four 8B+’ and two 9a+’ under his belt, has repeated Simon Lorenzi’s Power of now direct (8C) in Magic Wood.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Took a short trip to Magic Wood to recharge a bit in the middle of the busy setting season. Managed to tick off a bunch of easier classics that had been on my list for a while, and also returned to the direct start of Power of Now. I climbed the original line last year and never felt much need to come back, as the direct start shares most of the climbing and seemed almost like the same boulder. But after some time I was happy to return and spend some time on this amazing moves once again.