Just under a year and a half ago, when we interviewed Jorge Díaz-Rullo about his mind-boggling Finestra ticklist, he told us that there were two routes in the world that he dreamed of climbing more than any others.

'Right now' he said, 'the lines that I have in my head, and that I would most like to climb, are the two projects I have: Bibliographie and Café Colombia'.

Six months later, Jorge made the fifth ascent of Bibliographie, 9b+. In doing so, he joined Adam Ondra, Sébastien Bouin, Jakob Schubert, Alex Megos, and Stefano Ghisolfi on an exclusive list of climbers to have climbed two routes at 9b+ or higher, the other being his first ascent of Mejorando La Samfaina, in early 2023.

Whilst Café Colombia has continued to elude him - for now - Jorge has wasted no time in diversifying his experience at 9b and above. This summer, he visited Flatanger for the first time, and quickly threw himself into two of its hardest routes, Change (9b+), and Move (9b+). He found success on both, and after ticking off Little Badder (9a) and The Illusionist (9a) for good measure, he left Flatanger with his sights firmly set on the remaining part of that initial goal.

We caught up with Jorge after his Flatanger trip, and in the run up to his next season trying to take down Café Colombia, here's what he had to say:

Jorge - congratulations on an unbelievable year of climbing! You seem to have made a big step up recently, climbing a 9b route (Sleeping Lion (9b)), two routes at 9b/+ (Change and Move), and a route at 9b+ (Bibligraphie) all in the past twelve months! How does it feel to be climbing so well?

What can I say... I still can't assimilate all this, I'm living a dream, a dream I never thought would come true. I like to give my best, to train, to focus on each fight, sometimes I don't care about the result because I enjoy what I do, but when things work out, it's even more reason to be motivated, to keep going and to set myself even bigger goals. 

I have learnt a lot in the last year, I see myself as a better climber, not only physically but in general, I have more confidence in myself and I see myself as a more experienced climber. I am sure that all this will help me in future projects.

You recently shared an extended period of time in Flatanger with a strong team of truly world class climbers, including Seb Bouin, Stefano Ghisolfi, and Alex Megos - what was it like to climb, and project routes, alongside such an experienced group of climbers, and what did you learn from climbing with them?

I am one of those people who believe that to improve you have to learn and that everyone can teach you something new, regardless of your level. The special thing for me about climbing with Stefano, Seb and Alex is that they are climbers that I admire a lot and for me they are among the best in rock climbing. They each have their own style and it's very interesting to see, I hope to meet them more often, it's always much more fun and motivating to share a project with someone.

The style of climbing that Flatanger has to offer seems very different to that of Margalef - how would you describe the climbing in Flatanger, and is it a style of climbing that you enjoy?

Yes, Flatanger's style is completely different from Margalef's style. In Margalef the routes are very physical and normally you don't have to think so much about being efficient or finding the best methods for the boulders. On the contrary, Flatanger is more complete, you have to think more, try to be more efficient, more technical... I like this style much more and I am certainly much better at it.

Flatanger is a very special place, I've never climbed anything like this before. The rock is a perfect granite with many different types of holds, from crimps and slopers to cracks, which makes the routes very complex and different. The routes are long and resistant, but at the same time with hard and technical cruxes, which means you have to spend a lot of time deciphering the moves, like it was a puzzle.

Did you have any time to look at some of the other hard routes in Flatanger? Which ones are you most excited to go back for?

Yes, after sending Change and Move, just before I left, I took the opportunity to try the harder routes, I was very tired at the time but it was an experience to be able to try Silence (9c), Move Integral and B.I.G. (9c).

I would love to come back and try those routes, but I am also aware that I need to be stronger in every way. Choosing such a difficult project on the other side of the continent is a big commitment and I don't know if I'm ready for it yet. But I hope to come back one day, and not only for these hard routes, there are also many things I would like to climb in Flatanger.

You've decided to go back to dedicate time to Café Colombia for a fourth season in a row - was it an easy decision to come back for another season on Café Colombia, and what is it about the route that keeps bringing you back?

Café Colombia has become not only a personal challenge but also a dream. When you have been chasing a goal for so long and failing over and over again, it is very hard to decide to try again, I know that for this route I have to be 100% in all aspects and I know how hard it is (something I didn't feel in any other route).

But something that I have learned in all this time, is to enjoy this process, this has been the key to keep going forward in this, whatever happens in the future my real goal will be to put my 100% again and do everything possible to give my best version and be a better climber, this is my goal this season, if I get this, for me I have won.

Talk us through your current approach to training for the route?

I plan it with my two coaches, Ekhioz Alsasua and Pedro Bergua. Normally we train everything to improve as a climber in general, although for a route like this there will be many specific things, in that sense it's a complicated route because it requires a lot of strength but also a lot of endurance. And although I'm not in the best shape to come back after Flatanger, I hope I will be soon, because I can't stop thinking about the route and its movements.

For a closer look at Jorge's time in Flatanger, check out the Flatanger video series on his YouTube channel - the first two videos in the series are live now: