We're starting a weekly summary of noteworthy ascents from around the globe. It's been an unusual summer for rock climbing with countries in different stages of lockdown. Despite this, there have been some impressive ascents, most notably from climbers who would usually be in the middle of their competition season, or even getting ready for the Olympic opening ceremony this evening!
Hard Boulders for Brooke Raboutou and Alex Puccio!
At the end of lockdown, we reported that both Brooke Raboutou and Alex Puccio had made hard ascents in Coal Creek Canyon, including Raboutou's first Font 8B+ with an ascent of Muscle Car. Both have continued their run of form by ticking off multiple 8Bs. A few weeks ago, Raboutou climbed Automater (8B), whilst Puccio repeated it for the second time.
More recently, the pair spent some time at Upper Chaos Canyon in Rocky Mountain Park. Raboutou spent a session working out the moves on Wheel of Chaos (8B/+), before climbing it on her first attempt in the next session. Both climbers went on to tick Doppelgänger Poltergeist (8B) on the same day.
Laura Rogora climbs The Bomb (9a)
The 19-year-old Olympic climber climbed a pumpy 9a called The Bomb in Collepardo. According to 8a.nu, the Italian climber has now ticked 13 routes that are graded 8c+/9a or harder.
In June, she redpointed her first 9a+ - Pure Dreaming Plus – making her the fifth woman to climb the grade. She is certainly one to watch out for in Tokyo and perhaps even Paris in 2024.
Staša Gejo & Karoline Sinnhuber on Jack's Broken Heart
Two climbers that are usually associated more with competitions have been in Magic Wood, Switzerland, where they both made ascents of the classic Font 8A+, Jack's Broken Heart.
The problem was Gejo's first of the grade, which is surprising for such an accomplished competition climber, although she rarely climbs outdoors. She is now back in Munich continuing her training for the European Championships in November.
For Sinnhuber, Jack's Broken Heart was her 11th of the grade – a fine alternative to her cancelled trip to South Africa.
Font 8C's for Alex Megos
At the start of July, Alex Megos made the first ascent of a well-known project in the Frankenjura and named it after the Beyonce song 'Upgrade U'. It took the German around ten days of effort and a lot of beta refinement. Commenting on the difficulty, Megos said: 'I believe it's the hardest boulder in the Frankenjura at the moment.'
He also ticked Felix Knaub's Half Life (8C) – the second ascent of the problem. Megos found slightly different beta and used a kneepad: 'The first ascent of this boulder was made without knee pad (and with slightly different beta too), which means I cheated. Therefore, I won't claim any grade.'
We're not sure a kneepad constitutes cheating these days, Alex!
A productive trip to Austria for Adam Ondra
Adam Ondra spent a couple of days in Austria bouldering and sport climbing. Most climbers would be happy to achieve his ticklist over the course of a lifetime, but it's pretty standard for Ondra these days. On day one, he flashed a Font 8B called Zwerg Bums di, before switching to bolts and ticking Walk the Line (9a) on his third attempt.
The following day he went to Schleierwasserfall and made the second ascent of a 19-year-old Alex Huber 8c+ called Orca, which he promptly suggested was 9a. He then onsighted a new 8c/+, calling it Warme Dusche.
Foundation's Edge (Font 8C) for Dylan Chuat
19-year-old Dylan Chuat climbed his first Font 8C with an ascent of Dave Graham's Foundation's Edge in Fionnay, Switzerland. Before lockdown, the Swiss climber had just climbed his first 8A+ and to progress to 8C in less than five months is extraordinary. It took Dylan ten sessions to complete the problem and he became the fourth person to climb it.
Watch the nail-biting video below:
Video of Drew Ruana on Box Therapy (Font 8C+)
Earlier this week, we reported that Drew Ruana had made the second ascent of Daniel Woods' Box Therapy in Rocky Mountain National Park. Mellow have just released footage of his ascent:
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