Birte Gutmayer, with two 8c’s under her belt, has completed Coma Sant Pere (8c+) in Margalef. ”7B+/C Boulder, nohand, 8c route with 3 parts. The 1st part is the most dynamic, the 2nd the most power enduring and the 3rd the pumpiest. It was the biggest project of my life so far. It taught me a lot about myself, my climbing and my training. All in all a great experience I don’t wanna miss.” (c) Benjamin Gutmayer

Can you tell us more sending your biggest project of your life?
The real challenge for me wasn't just having enough peak strength to consistently climb the boulder, but maintaining that strength over the entire course of projecting. On every climbing trip, I tend to gain endurance quickly—but usually at the expense of my maximum power. That led to the following story.

I first tried the route in the fall of 2022. Back then, I managed to work out some solid sequences, but the boulder gave me serious trouble. After a focused winter training block, I came back in spring 2023 and could finally do the boulder—but the long endurance sections felt impossibly hard. That year, things didn’t really come together for me in general. But by summer 2024, I started to feel strong again, and decided to give it another go that fall. The trip went really well—I had one solid redpoint attempt where I fell on the final hard move just before the chains, missing some crucial details in the beta. After that, the boulder suddenly became an immovable barrier again. I headed home knowing exactly what needed to train.

This year, back in Margalef, I felt right away that I was ready. This time, I added short but intense pull-up sessions on small crimps on a portable hangboard at the end of each projecting day. That way, even on the seventh day on the route, I was still able to send the boulder while having enough endurance left for the final moves. Even though it took two days longer than expected, I knew from early on it was only a matter of a few more tries until I’d clip the chains. So many variables can influence a send, both positively and negatively. Sometimes it just takes time for enough of them to align in a single attempt.

One of the things I’m most proud of this time is that I was able to consistently climb the boulder on every try. The fear of suddenly not being able to do it anymore—like what happened to me in 2024—was constantly present. I'm incredibly relieved to have wrapped up this project successfully. The final sequence of the route was a real battle against the pump, one I’ll remember for a long time. Still, I’m not entirely satisfied with my climbing—or my mindset. I thought I was at a solid level technically and tactically, but this project exposed the areas I haven’t fully mastered yet. And maybe that’s the biggest takeaway from these last few years: the closer you climb to your physical limit, the more room for growth becomes visible. I especially want to climb more decisively, commit more fully to hard moves, and loosen up enough to take calculated risks on individual sequences.

Even at 35, I truly believe there’s still more potential to unlock—as long as I keep seeing ways to improve. And climbing offers those opportunities not just in strength, but in so many different aspects of the game.

Any idea why there are relatively so many females having done it? The four latest ascents in the database are logged by girls?
Good question. I think just because it has no too reachy move?! And sometimes one woman does a route and than another thinks that it is a doable route for woman and so on…