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In an attempt to make space for the newsworthy ascents that occur with ever-increasing regularity, we’re launching a new weekly series in which we try to celebrate a few outstanding climbs that for one reason or another caught our attention. We hope you enjoy it.—The editors
Did Jorge Díaz Rullo just have his best week?
First, fresh off perhaps the most successful “unsuccessful” climbing season Margalef has ever seen (he sent multiple 5.15a’s and 5.15b’s, onsighted a number of 5.14’s, and FA’d a 5.15c, but didn’t send his main goal: the Cafe Colombia project), Jorge Díaz-Rullo spent eight climbing days at the great cave of Santa Linya, where he onsighted a 5.14a and a 5.14b, then redpointed four 5.14d’s, all in five climbing days
- Friday, March 31: Fabelita (5.14b) onsight
- Saturday, April 1: Ingrávids shers R3 (5.14d)
- Monday, April 3: Joe Dan (5.14d)
- Tuesday, April 4: Fabelita R2 (5.14d)
- Wednesday, April 5: Fabela pa la enmienda (5.14d)
As 8a.nu’s Jens Larsen often says, This has to be some sort of record.—Steven Potter
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Aidan Roberts flashes V14
Aidan Roberts has stayed relatively quiet on social media on his Swiss trip this spring—but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been making progress on hard projects and putting down numerous other “easier” lines. On the Careless Talk Climbing Podcast, which Roberts co-hosts with Sam Prior (and which I find delightful), Roberts has spoken about his progress on the Alphane Right project, which he considers harder than the V17 left exit, and the ultra-crimpy Midnight Project—but only on the podcast’s Patreon page have we really gotten a glimpse of what else has gone on during his trip. For instance a video of Roberts sending Jimmy Webb’s Big Kat, V14, and a short blurb (no footie) about Roberts’s flash of Momentum, a quintessentially powerful V14 first climbed by Nalle Hukkaitaval. As they say in the UK: Good effort, mate.—SP
Anna Liina Laitinen does her first 5.14d
Finnish sport climber Anna Liina Laitinen has done her first 5.14d, Escalatamàsters, in Perles, Spain. Laitinen was a relative latecomer to the sport, starting in 2007, at age 17. But she quickly became a force in the northern-European climbing world, winning her first Nordic Bouldering Championships after just two years in the sport, and later winning four consecutive Finnish National Championships. She did her first 5.14 at 26 and now, at age 32, has sent her hardest route to date.
On Instagram, Laitinen noted that she spent most of the last year training “with Escalatamasters always in mind,” adding that her “training schedule was essentially a ‘controlled mess’ with a common thread.”
Read her full comment for details about what that controlled mess actually looks like. (Sounds like her send was the product of normal things like dedication, effort, and—unfortunately less normal and therefore more admirable—a lot of honesty about strengths and weakness self-understanding.—SP
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Logan Zhang does two 5.14s and a 5.13d in a weekend
A year and a half ago, I wrote about a sixth grader named Logan Zhang who, in a single day, onsighted four 5.13a’s in the Red River Gorge and then, instead of resting like a mere mortal, sent a 5.13d the next day. Now Zhang—now twelve— is back at it, having sent Omaha Beach (5.14a), Zookeeper (5.14a), and White Man’s Shuffle (5.13d) in the same weekend.
Some backstory about Zhang: By the time he started climbing at age seven, he’d already notched a number of high-level athletic achievements. In 2017, he set the world record for the standing long jump for six year olds with 1.85 meters (6’ ½”)—a record that he still holds. Later he began competing in American Ninja Warrior competitions, placing second at the Ninja Warrior Youth World Championships when he was eight and winning the next year. Then he started focusing more on climbing and, in February 2020, at age 10, won the Bouldering Youth National Championship in his age group. In 2022, he placed second. He did his first 5.14—God’s Own Stone, at the Red River Gorge—last October.—SP
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Le Voyage sees three more repeats
Last week, we reported that the seemingly cult-classic Le Voyage (5.14a R/E10 7a) had received two quick ascents by Ignacio Mulero (fresh from his 5.14c trad FA in La Pedriza, Spain) and Steve McClure (who always seems to be climbing impressively well with his shoes untied).
This week, we’ve learned that three more people have ticked the line: Robbie Phillips, Sébastien Berthe, and Mathieu Miquel. I wasn’t particularly surprised that Phillips and Berthe had climbed the line so quickly. After all, Phillips has FA’d E10, and Berthe damn near sent the Dawn Wall last year.
But Miquel? I hadn’t heard of the 23 year old in a trad-climbing context before—he’s climbed 5.14c on bolts and bouldered V14—probably because Le Voyage was one of his first ever (!!) trad ticks. Writing on Instagram, Phillips said Miquel sent after only six days of work. What’s more impressive—or perhaps terrifying, your call—is that even after working Le Voyage, Miquel has yet to take his first gear fall. [NOTE: post publication, we learned that Sébastien Berthe actually flashed Le Voyage, as opposed to “merely” repeating it. Something must be in the water in Annot.] —Anthony Walsh