The international bouldering elite are currently cavorting in the Swiss sun parlor - from Woods to Graham, they are all there. This high density of strong climbers is also reflected in the fact that numerous classics have been repeated, hard boulders have been projected and new lines have been climbed for the first time.
The bouldering pro Nicolo Ceria repeats the Raboutou line Off the wagon low (8C+). He climbed the original line nine years earlier. Just like back then, the strong Italian didn't let anything get in the way and cracked the sit start version surprisingly quickly.
Persistence pays off
The Bielefeld Stephen Hochbaum succeeds in Cresciano Story of Two Worlds (8C). When he tried Dave Graham's test piece for the first time, he came very close to cracking the boulder. In the next session, however, the line let him down. A few days ago everything fell into place and he was able to get through his project. "Perseverance has paid off once again," says Stefan Hochbaum.
Impressive gentle program
Michaela Kiersch stayed in Ticino at the beginning of February. During her short trip she cracked Fake Pamplemousse (8A), Entwash (8A), Frogger (8A), Pamplemousse (7C+), Teamwork (8A), La Boule (8A), Frank's Wild Year (8A+), Forever More ( 8A+), Pause Cervelas (8A), Black Pearl (7C+) and Molunk (7C).
Even if her tick list would make many climbers more than happy, the strong American had hoped for more from her Ticino trip: "I had sore muscles every day. My body couldn't recover no matter how much I ate, rested, or tried any level of difficulty."
“I felt conflicted when I was there because I knew I was fit enough to climb some harder lines but really didn't feel like it emotionally. So I decided to limit myself to climbing for fun and to take it easy.»
Michaela Kiersch
On the hunt for classics in Val Bavona
The strong crew around Marco Müller and Philipp Geisenhoff has paid a visit to the Val Bavona and repeated difficult boulders, including Heritage (8B), Momentum (8B+) or Zingaro (8B). Marco Müller edited her bouldering trip into an edit worth seeing.
Progress in the currently most difficult boulder in Switzerland
Daniel Woods projected into Chironico currently alphanes, the 9A line of his compatriot Shawn Raboutou. And it looks like the strong American is making steady progress. He recently reported a new "high point" in Switzerland's first 9A boulder. The 33-year-old started his stay in Ticino with an inspection of Ninjutsu (8B+).
Bosi's 8B Flash as a video
Not missing in this compilation Will Bosi. Hard lines fall pretty much every time he travels to Ticino. His ascents of Dreamtime (8C) and Big Paw (8B+) and his Flash ascent of Flash Flood (8B) are a bit back. The video material of his "Swiss lines", on the other hand, is almost fresh as a dew.
Tomato spaghetti in brione
Ticino local Giuliano Cameroni secured the second ascent of Spaghetti al pomodoro (8B) in mid-February. The line was first climbed in Brione by Simone Tentori.
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Credits: Cover picture Niky Ceria