The 9 Biggest Developments in Climbing This Year

Every year, our sport grows. The grades get pushed. First ascents stack up. And new destinations, climbers, and creative projects emerge.

This past year, we were excited to see some massive headlines out of Yosemite, international stoke out of the Summer Olympics, gnarly new routes in the far reaches of the world, and some big wins for women climbers.

From the many headlines of 2024, these are the nine developments in the climbing world that stuck with us—and pushed the sport forward.

1. Babsi Zangerl became the first person to flash El Cap

We are beyond stoked that the Lynn Hill quote “It goes, boys!” is once again having a moment, thanks to Barbara “Babsi” Zangerl. In November, this Austrian climber became the first person ever to flash a route on El Capitan in Yosemite.

From November 19-22, Zangerl cruised up Free Rider (VI 5.13a/7c+), covering 3,300 feet of granite wall without a single fall. She climbed the route with her longtime partner Jacopo Larcher, whose own attempt at a flash was foiled by a single fall.

This ascent cemented an incredible season for Zangerl, fresh off her redpoint of the Yosemite trad crack Magic Line (5.14c/8c+). It also reinforced just how well-rounded she is, with bouldering ticks up to V13, and sport climbs up to 5.14d.

Free Rider is perhaps best known as the route Alex Honnold free soloed, and Zangerl found his beta helpful. “There was a moment when I felt I couldn’t go any further, I was so exhausted,” she remembers, “and then I leaned out of the crack like [Alex] told me, and it worked.”

As the first person to free climb El Capitan, Lynn Hill was excited to see another first claimed by a woman in what was once “a man’s world.” Hill called Zangerl’s flash an “inspiring” milestone for women, adding, “I would be proud of that.”

2. Oh My Quad: The Yosemite Triple Crown got a glow-up

Michael Vaill and Tanner Wanish might just be the undercover crushers of the year, having smashed the speed record on the Yosemite Triple Crown (a link-up of Yosemite’s three largest formations: El Capitan, Half Dome, and Mt. Watkins) in just 17 hours at 55 minutes.

Then, a week later, the Utahns who can send V5 “on a good day,” returned. They repeated the Triple Crown, then added the South Face of Washington Column. This amounted to 9,000 feet of climbing and 86 guidebook pitches in 22 hours. They dubbed their effort the Yosemite Quad, taking Valley speed climbing to new levels of creativity.

Now, who’s got five in ‘em?

3. The sport of climbing gained global momentum at the Olympics

The Paris Summer Games felt like yet another monumental leap in our sport’s development. This is in part because the debut of climbing at the Tokyo Games felt like a bit of a false start. There were the challenges of pulling off the Games during a pandemic. Then there was the weird Combined format, requiring each climber to compete in Boulder, Lead, and Speed. While some of us are all-arounders, few are that well-rounded.

So the 2024 Summer Games felt like climbing had truly arrived. The sport was still subjected to a Combined format, but at least Speed was teased apart from Lead and Boulder.

The Paris Olympics also reinforced just how specialized comp climbing truly is. Some of the best climbers in the world, like Adam Ondra, failed to medal. He was quite open about what that experience was like emotionally.

And as the entire world now knows, Slovenian climber Janja Garnbret cemented her position as one of the absolute fiercest climbers of all time. Where will she go from Paris? We can’t wait to see.

We’d also be remiss not to shout out the competitor that nearly gave Garnbret a run for her muscles in the bouldering comp: American Brooke Raboutou. We’re excited to see where she goes next, too.

A couple other memorable moments, among many? Sixteen-year-old Japanese climber Sorato Anraku put up an amazing performance in Lead. Underdog Veddrix Leonardo of Indonesia took home a game-changing gold. And British climber Toby Roberts snagged a gold in Combined, then went on to send 5.15a in Spain.

4. Michaela Kiersch became the first woman to send 5.15 and V15

She is brawny, she is grace. And she just became the first woman to send both 5.15 and V15. Originally from Chicago, Michaela Kiersch racked up this world record in one year, too. The 5.15: Victima Perfecta (5.15a/9a+) on a spring trip to Spain (she also previously sent La Rambla (5.15a/9a+). The V15: Dreamtime (V15), ticked off on a solo trip to Switzerland.

Did we mention climbing isn’t Kiersch’s full-time gig? She also has a career as an occupational therapist, holds a master’s degree, and doesn’t have a personal climbing coach. But she does have a refreshingly balanced approach to training and nutrition (give a listen to this interview she did on The Struggle podcast). All of which leads us to wonder: Is Kiersch the most well-adjusted climber of our age?

More women also entered the 15er club this year. Janja Garnbret sent two V15s, and French climber Marine Thevenet sent V15 in Spain. On the 5.15 front, Belgian climber Anak Verhoeven sent La Planta de Shiva (5.15b/9b) in Spain this year—twice. Only three other women besides Verhoeven have climbed 5.15b to date, but we’d bet more names will be added to that list in 2025.

5. British boulderers had a banger year

Preface: A few Americans (we’re looking at you, Mr. Bailey) also had standout years on the blocs.* But Aidan Roberts (England) and Will Bosi (Scotland) set the bar even higher. Bosi continued his V17 tour, nabbing the long-awaited second ascent of Daniel Woods’s Return of the Sleepwalker in Red Rock and informing Climbing that he didn’t think it was all that hard.

Shortly thereafter, Aidan Roberts—who’d previously climbed Alphane (V17) and numerous V16s—went out and did two V17 first ascents: the five-move power boulder Spots of Time, near his home in the Lake District, and the ultra-crimpy Arrival of the Birds, in Ticino, Switzerland. Of course, it wasn’t long before Will Bosi began driving down to the Lakes. After nine days of work, he eventually repeated Spots of Time, becoming the first person to climb four proposed V17s.

Meanwhile, retired British comp superstar—and new(ish) mother, more on that below—Shauna Coxsey sent three V14s this past spring. And another British Olympian, Hamish McCarthur, began his North America road trip by flashing Fool me Once, a.k.a. The Megg (V14), which is one of the world’s more technical boulders of that grade.

*American Sean Bailey went on a rampage this year, dispatching first ascents of Devilution (V16) on the Grandpa Peabody Boulder in Bishop and Shaolin (V17) on the Trieste Boulder in Red Rock, before heading across the sea to repeat Floatin’ (V16) in Mizugaki, Japan, and Alphane (V17) in Chironico, Switzerland.

6. A British-Slovenian team snagged first accent of Gasherbrum III’s West Ridge

As far as big-mountain ascents go, Tom Livingstone and Aleš Česen’s first ascent of the West Ridge of Gasherbrum III (7,952m) in Pakistan’s Karakoram mountains is a clear highlight. We wouldn’t be at all surprised if this route—dubbed Edge of Entropy (M6; 1,000m)—is awarded a Piolets d’Or next autumn.

Livingstone and Česen brought a high degree of commitment to their ascent, packing just one 7.7mm half rope, a Beal escaper, and a single set of cams and nuts up this highly technical high-altitude ridge.

In our story about the ascent, contributor Owen Clarke reported that the pro was sometimes of “little use.” On one of the hardest pitches, at 7,890 meters, just below the summit, Livingstone remarked: “It had no gear, about 70 feet of difficult climbing, traversing away from the belay. You just had to switch off your brain and do it.” Congrats to this team for getting up and down safely.

7. A brave team put up the baffling first ascent of Ryu-shin in Greenland

One climb that we truly think went under most people’s radars this year was the first ascent of Ryu-shin (5.13d R A2+; 1,000m) on Greenland’s famously sheer Mirror Wall. Lots of folks heard about the route, to be sure. But the level of commitment and athleticism that Seán Villanueva-O’Driscoll, Pete Whittaker, Sean Warren, and photographer Julia Cassou displayed is truly admirable.

Why? The section of the Mirror Wall that Ryu-shin tackles is nearly blank. (Like, Dawn Wall blank.) And Villanueva-O’Driscoll, who can’t say no to a “proper challenge,” decided that the team would at no point drill a bolt ladder—or even drill two consecutive bolts.

In practice, that meant an absolute ton of onsight, runout face climbing, gunning for discontinuous features like cracks, seams, or crimps, from which Villanueva-O’Driscoll could hang on a sky hook and drill a bolt. He estimates there were pitches up to 5.12d/5.13a that had ankle-breaking potential—a notable risk considering they were at least a week’s walk from where their little boat had dropped them off.

8. Women continued climbing past the baby crux

Clearly, 2024 represented a banner year for women in the sport. But besides breaking barriers, women in climbing started to shape another major narrative this year: How to continue climbing through pregnancy and motherhood.

While some pro climbers have continued their careers after becoming moms—from Lynn Hill to Beth Rodden—they’ve also been vocal about the challenges and the double standard that exist.

This year, we saw several prominent professional climbers proactively share their lives not only as climbers, but as mothers. Beth Rodden published her memoir A Light Through the Cracks, which in addition to recounting how she dealt with the trauma of being kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan, wrestled with the topic of motherhood and how it changed her. Emily Harrington put down her first big multi-pitch project since becoming a mom two years ago. Paige Claassen and Alex Puccio both got real about climbing through pregnancy. Shauna Coxsey demonstrated how she continued her journey from competition climber to outdoor boulderer after becoming a mom in the short film First Mama Ascent—snagging some V14 first female ascents along the way. And Hazel Findlay shared the beta on climbing through pregnancy.

While having a baby undoubtedly changes the game, it’s awesome to see more pro climbers openly sharing their stories, returning to big goals, and continuing their careers after becoming mothers.

9. Climbing in the Wilderness became legally protected

After a year of anxiety over a possible fixed anchor ban in US Wilderness areas, things really turned around for the climbing community in the eleventh hour.

In the final weeks of 2024, the National Park Service (NPS) withdrew the policy proposal it originally issued in November 2023 to classify fixed anchors, pitons, tree slings, and any other climbing gear left on the wall as illegal “installations” in Wilderness areas. This ban would have threatened climbing on 50,000 routes across 28 countries, including iconic areas like Yosemite, the Black Canyon, Joshua Tree, and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Then, less than 24 hours after the NPS backed down, Congress passed the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act (under the EXPLORE Act umbrella). This bipartisan act resulted from the hard work of the Access Fund, the climbing industry, countless members of the climbing community, and a coalition of elected officials that included Democrats and Republicans alike.

This marks the first time in history that climbing in Wilderness areas will be legally protected. It’s safe to say climbers in the US are ending the year on a high note.

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