While travelling between competitions, Will Bosi found time to fit in a quick tick of Chris Sharma's Practice of the Wild (f8C) 8C - his first of the grade - in Magic Wood, Switzerland.

En-route to Kranj, Slovenia from the Adidas Rockstars event in Stuttgart, Will opted to stop off in Magic Wood. The line was suggested to him by strong Russian competition and outdoor boulderer, Vadim Timonov. Will told UKC:

'I decided to try Practice because we were speaking to Vadim and he said he wanted to try it. I thought 'why not?' as I knew it would be fun to climb with Vadim and get to know him better. We were both working it on Tuesday until two of my fingertips started bleeding and Vadim tore a ligament in his knee with a very loud bang!'

Will made good progress and felt he was getting close that day, so he decided to rest on Wednesday before returning the following day when his skin was good enough to complete it on his fifth attempt. Will commented:

'I've never really been on a hard bouldering trip, so I didn't have expectations as I really didn't know how I would get on! It was a very interesting trip from a learning perspective. This is also why I took 8C, as it's what the majority of people have taken. I don't have the experience of bouldering at this level to be able to grade for myself!'

Will's ticklist for the whistle-stop trip also included a 7C flash and an 8A tick. It's been a busy month for the 19-year-old: at the World Championships in Innsbruck, Will placed 20th in the Combined event (Speed, Boulder, Lead) and made semi-finals in the Adidas Rockstars invitational event a few weeks later. Following his ascent of Practice in the Wild, he placed 9th in the Lead World Cup in Kranj - just one place short of finals.