In late December the Slovenian woman, 28 year old Martina Cufar climbed an 8c, Vizija at Misja pec, Osp, in Slovenia. This is Cufar's 150th route of 8a or above and she joins a small band of women to climb the magic grade of 8c. She spent most of the year working the route, a 35m monster that starts with a hard boulder problem involving long reaches between crimps with poor footholds. She said of the route,

"When I clipped the anchor I felt the joy that I had never felt before; because I never had had one route in my mind for the whole year. And now I can say that all the efforts, tears and torn skin were worth this route. I learned to be patient and never to give up."

Cufar has a long CV of impressive ascents including the first female ascent of the 300m route Hotel Supramonte (8b) in Sardinia. You can read more at Martina's website.