Old Projects, New Champions & The Pull of the Impossible
Some Lines Just Keep Calling. Some projects refuse to let go. This week, Stefano Ghisolfi and Will Bosi return to Flatanger with Silence firmly back in focus, while new routes and first ascents continue to appear from the Eiger to the Karakoram. At the same time, Laval crowns European champions and Para Climbing takes another important step towards its Paralympic debut.
The Stories That Defined the Week
Will Bosi and Stefano Ghisolfi heading back to the cave where Silence still waits for its first repeat, while European Championship action in Laval delivers a dominant performance from Erin McNeice and another huge weekend of international bouldering. Far from the competition wall, Thomas Huber, Miquel Mas and Víctor Sans report the likely first ascent of Biacherahi Central, and the fight to keep public lands public gathers momentum in the US.
Likely First Ascent of Biacherahi Central in the Karakoram
Thomas Huber, Miquel Mas and Víctor Sans opened Wild Soul (7a/A2+, 600 m, 21 pitches) in early August, most likely the first ascent of the 5,700 meter peak in Pakistan.
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Black Diamond Wants One Million Signatures for Public Lands
The brand is going on the offense ahead of National Public Lands Day, collecting a million signatures to deliver to DC and statehouses. The message is simple: public lands should stay in public hands.
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Erin McNeice Wins European Lead Gold with the Only Top
McNeice led every round in Laval and was the only climber to top the final route. Heloïse Doumont took silver with 52, and Lucka Rakovec bronze at 51+, one hold short of second place.
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Will Bosi Is Heading Back to the Cave for Silence
Nine years after Adam Ondra's 9c, Silence still has no second ascent. Bosi is returning to Flatanger with Stefano Ghisolfi already on site, planning more links through a crux he reckons is V16.
View post →IFSC Names Zélia Avezou Athlete of the Week
A crack boulder decided the women's final and Avezou came out on top, earning Athlete of the Week. The men's boulder final delivered again, with Anraku, Lee and Schalck trading turns at the front.
Read article →New Ground and Unfinished Business
Alexander Megos leaves Norway with the first ascent of Schattenspiel 8B+ and a possible upgrade for Svanesjøen, while Louna Ladevant repeats the 410 metre Egoland 8c/+ on Marmolada and Zélia Avezou takes down New Base Line 8B+. Fay Manners opens a new route on the Eiger North Face, Alex Honnold keeps exploring the Swiss Alps, and Stefano Ghisolfi discovers that the moves on Silence are still there.
Alex Honnold Climbs Excalibur on the Wendenstöcke
For their last Swiss mission Honnold and Josh McCoy climbed the ten pitch Excalibur (6b) on a wall with a reputation for some of the best rock in Switzerland. Hot, tired from the Matterhorn the day before, and still a good time.
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Honnold's Eiger Traverse from Sunrise to the Train
Honnold left Grindelwald at sunrise, climbed the east ridge, met McCoy on top, then descended the south ridge and crossed a glacier to the station below the Jungfrau. Around 11,000 feet of vert, plus a wingsuit pilot in jean shorts.
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Ghisolfi Is Back on Silence and Moving Well
The crux is coming back quickly, foot jam sequence included, and he hopes to link the whole thing soon. Conditions were poor for the first days in Flatanger, but the forecast is finally improving.
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The Tightest Squeeze Chimney in the World?
Liquid Sky at 5.11, climbed with Alex Honnold during the Sufferfest enchainment of 45 desert towers by bike. Whether the grade fits depends mostly on how much of you fits inside.
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Megos Repeats Svanesjøen 8A+ in Norway
Proper board style climbing in a small sector that had likely seen no second ascent since the 2021 first ascent. A broken starting hold made it harder, so Megos came back two days later and finished it. He suspects 8B.
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Schattenspiel 8B+ Is a New Megos First Ascent
A couple of hours of work on a tricky heel hook and the line went down. Sustained, technical moves on a steep wall with sketchy heel and toe hooks, from a tip that paid off.
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Louna Ladevant Repeats Egoland on the Marmolada
After seven days working the lower section, Ladevant repeated the 410 meter 8c/+ on the south face of the Marmolada on 13 August, belayed by his brother Tristan.
View post →Fay Manners Opens a New Line on the Eiger North Face
'What If Everything Were Possible?' is Fay Manners' new route on the north face of the Eiger. She talks UKClimbing through how the line came together.
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Zélia Avezou Sends New Base Line in Magic Wood
Avezou has climbed the 8B+ New Base Line in Magic Wood, adding another significant female ascent in one of the most storied boulder fields in the Alps.
Read article →Laval Belonged to the Champions
Erin McNeice controls every round before becoming European Lead Champion, Alberto Ginés López takes the men’s title ahead of Giovanni Placci, and Petr Zemliakov wins a razor close Speed final. Para Climbing produces a remarkable medal haul for athletes from the US, Austria and Spain, while the qualification system for its historic LA 2028 Paralympic debut is now taking shape. For Adam Ondra, fourth place closes the competition season with motivation rather than disappointment.
Petr Zemliakov Is the New European Speed Champion
Zemliakov beat Marceau Garnier in the big final, 5.00s to 5.06s, with the Frenchman taking silver in front of the home crowd. Ivan Zemliakov took bronze after the fastest run of the round, 4.86s in the quarters.
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Aleksandra Mirosław and the End of an Era
Climbable marks the end of an era in women's speed climbing with a tribute to Aleksandra Mirosław, whose world records have defined the discipline for years.
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Adam Ondra Takes Fourth at the European Championship
Illness cost him a week of climbing shortly before Laval, and he still felt in his best comp shape of the season, fighting hard on an extremely difficult semifinal route. The final did not go his way, and a few mistakes cost a medal.
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Ten Para Climbing Medals for Team USA in Laval
Gold for Melissa Ruiz, Brayden Butler and WanYing Morningstar, three silver medals and four bronze made for a big weekend for the US Para athletes in Laval.
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Five Medals for Austria at the Para Climbing Europeans
Jasmin Plank, Angelino Zeller and Daniel Wiener all climbed to gold in Laval. Lilli Marie Laschitz took silver on her championship debut, Linda Le Bon bronze, and Markus Pösendorfer finished fourth in AL1.
View post →Spain Takes 14 Para Climbing Medals in Laval
The Spanish Para climbing team came away from Laval with 14 medals across the European Championship and the World Climbing Para Series.
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Giovanni Placci Takes European Lead Silver
Placci finished second in Laval behind Alberto Ginés López, while Erin McNeice won the women's title. Camilla Moroni added a bronze medal in bouldering for Italy.
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Para Climbing Qualification for LA 2028 Confirmed
The International Paralympic Committee has set out how athletes will qualify for Para climbing's Paralympic debut at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Read article →New to climbing?
Start with our guides
Plain English explainers on gear, grades and skills, so every edition makes sense from the first read.
All guides →Small Details, Real Differences
Sometimes better climbing comes down to what happens in your hands. Daniel Woods and FrictionLabs turn months of testing different textures, conditions and rock types into a new chalk blend built around precision, while EDELRID gets practical with multipitch belaying from the anchor. And away from hardware and technique, Mellow shows that climbing culture can still feel right at home on paper
Mellow Magazine Volume 03 Heads to Print
The team thanks the brands backing the magazine and shares a few favourite ad spreads from the first two issues. Volume 03 ships at the end of September, Volume 04 in early 2027, with rolling subscriptions coming.
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How to Belay Your Second from the Anchor
A short Edelrid walkthrough of belaying your second directly from the anchor point on a multipitch, one of those small details that keeps a long day running smoothly.
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Daniel Woods and Friction Labs Launch Precision Grip
A new chalk blend built around skin type, climate and rock type, tested over three to four months of prototypes in real conditions. Woods brought the experience at the limit, Friction Labs the chemistry.
View post →What Climbing Leaves Behind
Peter Habeler’s extraordinary life in the mountains is being honoured with a Piolet d’Or for lifetime achievement, while Nathaniel Coleman shows how a few millimetres can separate impossible from possible on No One Mourns the Wicked. There is also a first glimpse of a new Dawn Wall film, a call to protect America’s public lands, and a reminder from Sonnie Trotter on Tasmania’s Totem Pole of just how spectacular the places behind these stories can be.
UIAA Sends a Letter of Support to Nepal
The UIAA has written to the Nepal Mountaineering Association with a letter of support, publicly backing one of its member federations.
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Sonnie Trotter on Tasmania's Totem Pole
Patagonia shares Cameron Maier's shot of Sonnie Trotter high on the Totem Pole, the slender sea stack that has become one of the most photographed pieces of rock in Tasmania.
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Millimeters Between Impossible and Possible
Nathaniel Coleman walks through the sequence behind No One Mourns the Wicked, showing the tiny details hidden inside a world class ascent. Taken from the full Mellow film.
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Peter Habeler Honoured with the Piolet d'Or
A career that rewrote what was possible on Everest and brought him back to the Eiger north face at almost 75 now earns the lifetime achievement Piolet d'Or. His story also tells of a fundamental shift in alpinism.
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The Dawn Wall by Your Side: The Trailer Is Out
First images from the film about the Dawn Wall ascent and the Yosemite adventures around it, directed by Soline Kentzel. A premiere screening opens the new Camp de Base gym in Brussels on September 1.
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UKClimbing's Reader-Voted Top 10 Photos
A strong user voted selection this week, from a roof on Deep Space to Stormbreaker and the Pluto Traverse pitch. The winner is a leap of faith at Big Air.
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