Czech climber Jane Švecová has made the first ascent of her Tokyo project in Holštejn, Czech Republic. She grades her long-term project 8C, making her one of the few women to have successfully climbed two problems of this grade..
"The best moment of my career so far!"
For a year now, you can follow Jana Švecová's "Project Tokyo" on social media. A literal side project to her first 8C ascent, "Nova," in March 2023. Nova, a variation of Adam Ondras She originally rated »Terranova« (8C+) as 8B+, but the boulder received an upgrade from the Scotsman. Will Bosi, who classified him as 8C.
Now the professional boulderer has also conquered her side project: the line in Holštejn is called "Tokyo Drift," and Svecova suggests a grade of 8C. Five days ago, she managed to link all the crux moves and cleanly climb the first section of the boulder problem. Just a few days later, she completed the ascent.
I had to readjust my fingers on most of the moves and even slipped once, but the desire to climb this boulder in this session was greater than any slip-up or mistake. It just worked out.
Jana Svecova on Instagram
The limestone boulder is steeply overhanging and consists of difficult, crimpy moves. The first five moves alone constitute the crux of the problem. With Tokyo Drift, Švecová now has her second 8C first ascent to her name, joining Katie Lamb and Janja Garnbret as one of the few women worldwide to have successfully completed at least one boulder problem of this difficulty. In total, only nine women have ever broken the 8C barrier. According to 8a.nu, the impressive tick list of the 28-year-old Czech climber includes two 8C first ascents, four 8B+ problems, and seven 8B boulders.
In November 2024, she made the first ascent of "Supertussi Low" and proposed a grade of 8B+ – the route has not yet been repeated. Last May, she climbed "Mild Abuse of Terminology" (8B+), the hardest boulder problem in Oslo. Ondra's "Terranova" is one of Švecová's declared mega-projects, but she herself writes on 8a.nu that "hardcore training" is now required before attempting it.
We can look forward to a YouTube video on their channel about the first ascent of Tokyo Drift in the next few days!
Here's a link to Jana Svecova's YouTube channel:
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Credits: Cover image: Jane Svecova Instagram