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.

Lilian Moretti and Collard Thibaut have climbed Condé de choc (9a) in Entraygues. (c) Elie Guilbot

Can you tell us your background story for sending the route?
Moretti: The process started in 2023 for me. After sending, I wanted a harder project to challenge myself, and the next logical step was « Conde ». During the summer of 2023, a lot of close friends of mine sent the route (Adrian Houbron, Justin Deschamps, Quentin Guillen, Victor Guilermin, Diego Fourbet, Jules Marchaland), which was super motivating!

The route consists of two boulders (8A+ and 7C/+) separated by a good rest. At the very end of the season, I was able to pass the first boulder twice in the same session for the first time. Unfortunately, I fell at the very end of the second part...

At the beginning of the 2024 season, I was able to pass the first boulder quite quickly two times again (without a preclip this time), but once again I fell... After that, I started working in Briançon and it was over for the summer. In the fall, the road to the crag was totally destroyed and it was impossible to try the route.

In 2025, I had only one good session on the route before I injured my right leg. After that, I tried the route using only my left leg during the whole summer, but I wasn't able to send it. This year, I was pretty confident about passing the first boulder because of my winter bouldering training. On my first session, I fell again on the last boulder. The next session, the story was the same. I came back two days ago with a lot of expectations because of the incredibly good conditions. Around 3 p.m., Thibaut sent the route with a super good run.

For me, the send go was the craziest fight of my life. At 8 p.m., I started my attempt and fell on the first move of the first boulder. Then I tried again immediately and fell on the last hard move of the first part. At that moment, I said to myself, « Fuck it, try again for training ». So I restarted immediately once again, passed the first part, and fought all the way to the top!!

In the end, I did the route with the first three quickdraws preclipped, and Adam Ondra remains the one and only person who has done it without a preclip :) Tony Lamiche, who did the FA, also started with them preclipped. If you fall with the rope in your hand, you can come back to the ground. Adam said: "Clipping the third bolt is the crux."

Thibaut (in the picture): It all began with a much-needed breath of fresh air. For nearly five years, I had been pouring my energy into San ku kai, an 8c+ at the same crag. I was incredibly close to sending it early on, but the process eventually stalled: for about fifty sessions, I kept falling on the exact same move. Realizing it had become a psychological barrier, I decided to take a step back and shift my focus to something else.

At the end of last season, in September 2025, I decided to look at Cordée de choc (8c/+), which is the first half of the full line Condé de choc. The style is fierce: a crimpy 8A+ boulder problem (V12) followed by a relatively easy 7b finish. It took me just three sessions to send this finger-intensive crux. Right after the send, I did a quick exploratory lap on the upper section and managed to do all the moves of the second boulder problem, which clocks in around 7C (V9). A spark was lit: the next logical step was to link the two halves together and target my first 9a for the upcoming summer.

Winter passed, and the time finally came to return to the crag. Last weekend, I headed out to Entraygues for what I intended to be a proper rehearsal and dial-in session. During my first lap of the day, I felt remarkably strong and precise in the movements.

I decided to give it a first proper burn from the ground, without expecting much. To my absolute surprise, I cruised right through the 8c/+ introductory section and stuck the second boulder problem. Suddenly, I found myself higher on the wall than I had ever anticipated so soon. Realizing that the send was actually happening, panic set in, and I blew it on the easier finishing terrain. Despite the fall, I was ecstatic and realized that the project would go much faster than planned. Exhausted and intending to return the next day, I initially decided to call it a day.

Ultimately, I changed my mind and decided to pull on for one final « training run » with zero pressure. That’s when everything clicked. I stuck the bottom crux, floated through the top crux, and this time, knew exactly what to do. Before I knew it, I was clipping the anchors. It was a surreal, wild moment—all the more incredible because it was completely unexpected. In the end, it took just four sessions in total to clip the chains on my first 9a.

The only downside to this perfect day was that I had to leave the crag right after my send, missing the run of my climbing partner, Lilian Moretti, who has also been projecting this line for the past four years. I only found out the next day that he had sent it too! Learning that we both crossed the finish line almost together made the whole experience that much more special, and left me feeling incredibly happy for him.

The European Boulder Youth Championships were held over the long weekend in Sukoró, Hungary. Israel emerged as the most successful nation in terms of gold medals, securing two titles, and added two further medals to top the overall medal table. In the combined points ranking, however, Italy finished first, edging Israel by 41 points with a total of 6,162. The winners were as follows:

21: Tomer Yakobovitch ISR - Martina Bursikova SVK
19: Itamar Harel ISR - Jakoba Rauter AUT
17: Leonardo Donola ITA - Amelie Kägi SUI

In general, the route setters had sometimes difficulties finding the right level. In the semis for the two oldest boys categories, competing on the same boulders, 29 out of 48 made at most one zone. Complete results

Michaela Kiersch has been on a two weeks trip to Gottardo and sent ten boulders 8A and beyond including Power of Zero (8C), which she gives a personal 8B+ grade. The 31-year-old also did Hazel Grace (8B+), L'apprehension (8A+), Dulcifer sit down (8A+) and Eckzimmer (8A+). During the last five years, she has sent more than 20 boulders 8B to 8C and more than 20 routes 8c+ to 9a+. (c) Jorge Diaz-Rullo

Can you tell us more about the trip and the most memorable ascents?
I love going to a new area and trying a big range of climbs rather than focusing only on the hardest ones so this trip was really a success.

Hazel Grace was perfectly my style and I did it very quickly, I'll return for the sit in cooler weather. Power of Zero is an 8C from Diego Cameroni that it a beautiful arete with very friction dependent holds and tiny pebbles. The crux move uses a very high heel hook and I found another pebble to help me with the deadpoint to the jug so I think 8B+ is fair, maybe even 8B but it's hard to say if it's morpho to my style (for a change haha).

Sophia Hoermann, with a handful 8A+’ to her name, has sent
Room Service (8A+) in Squamish. ”Second sesh, second go today! This line made me nervous... my mind palace took some damage from the weight of expectations and doubt... just needed lovely natalia lafourcade music to get out of my head a bit and a super supportive crew to give me some confidence.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
It was my first time in Squamish this year and my trip was a blast. The location and vibes are so good there, but I put an uncomfy amount of pressure on myself over this line because I’ve seen that so many shorties crush it! After a few days of joyous romping in the forest, I had my first session. It was going downhill mentally until I discovered that a left heel hook method worked really well for me. I went back a few days later and felt some of the same expectations and pressure holding me back on my first go. On my second, I played some music on my phone and tried to climb more freely and remember where I was and why I was there. The moves still felt hard but I felt way less limited mentally and found myself holding the cut with the sounds of my friends spotting me in the background. I was psyched to share the moment with Roger (who also gave me so much beta), Toinon, Levi, and Owain. Squamish is so sick!

What are your plans for the summer?
I have an internship in the Bay Area, all summer but I’m hoping to get some weekend trips to Tahoe and Yosemite in and explore some local spots too.

Marco Müller, who in February sent his first 8C+, has done Curve Ball (8C+) in Valle Bavona, giving it a personal 8C grade. ”The boulder went down a bit to fast compared to the other boulders I climbed in Bavona that season, which is why I‘m leaning towards the lower grade for now. But time will tell.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The same day I climbed ,Captain Nemo‘, I went to check ‚La Peregrina‘, the stand start to ‚Curve Ball‘. I managed to climb the boulder the same session, and started trying the sit for fun. I soon realized, that it might be possible to climb the whole line, so I returned the next weekend and got lucky with some north wind. The boulder is super technical and friction dependent, which is why the conditions make a huge difference between the slopers feeling sticky or not climbable at all. I could climb the boulder in my third session.

What is next?
The classics at Gottardo, I haven’t climbed there much, as normally I would have switched to rope climbing by now.