Innsbruck Hosts Boulder and Lead Events
Competition Climbing
The World Climbing Series Innsbruck 2026 (June 17–21) was compelling viewing across all four Boulder and Lead disciplines, and produced a historic personal milestone. Scorching temperatures during the day, combined with some tough sets in the Boulder semifinals dashed the hopes of some contenders, with the normally-consistent Mejdi Schalk failing to even make semis in Boulder.
In the men's Boulder final, Sorato Anraku (Japan) claimed gold once again, his fifth consecutive Boulder gold of the 2026 series season, extending one of the more dominant winning streaks in recent World Cup history. There's never been a clean sweep across a men's season in Boulder, but Anraku will now have to wait several months before the final event in Salt Lake City in September to see if he can pull it off. Rei Kawamata (Japan) and Lee Dohyun (South Korea) shared the same score with 59.3 points and were separated on count back to the semifinal. — World Climbing, Gripped
In the women's Boulder final, Annie Sanders (USA) won gold—her second boulder gold of the season and third World Cup win in under two weeks, following her Boulder and Lead double in Prague. The route setters served up a very hard set, Sanders topped only two problems in the final, but crucially scored points on all four problems, something nobody else managed. Sanders impressively flashed W2, only one other finalist was able to make zone on that problem. Only two other tops were made, one by Erin McNeice (Great Britain), who took silver with 34.8 points. Oriane Bertone (France) topped W4, but failed to even zone on the other three problems and so Oceania Mackenzie (Australia) took bronze with three flashes to zone. — World Climbing, Gripped
In the men's lead final, Neo Suzuki (Japan) claimed his second World Cup gold in Innsbruck, after also winning in 2025. He was tied on a plus score with Alberto Ginés López (Spain) but won on count back to the semifinal, where he climbed four holds higher. Hometown favourite Jakob Schubert (Austria) completed the podium with a no-plus score just behind. Fourth and fifth places were also tied just two holds lower, with last week's winner Putra Tri Ramadani (Indonesia) placed ahead of Adam Ondra (Czechia) on count back.— World Climbing Series, Climber Magazine
In the women's lead final, Janja Garnbret (Slovenia) made a rare appearance in a competition this year, but showed her dominance is still incredible to witness. She won gold — her 50th World Cup gold, by an impressive margin of six holds. Annie Sanders was again impressive in Lead, following on from her double in Prague, she was beaten only by Garnbret in Innsbruck. Chaeyun Seo (South Korea) took bronze two further places back. — World Climbing, UKClimbing
Sport Climbing & Bouldering
David Firnenburg had a personal-best day at the Gottardo bouldering area in Switzerland on June 18, sending three hard problems in a single session: Adularia (8C/V15), Stairway to Heaven sit (8B+/V14), and Hazel Grace sit (8C/V15). All three are established problems in the area rather than first ascents, but the triple send in one day is a notable performance at this level. — 8a.nu / Vertical-Life
Alpinism & Big Walls
Sean McLane and Vitaliy Musiyenko (USA) completed a probable first ascent of the south-west ridge of Balakun (6471m), Garhwal Himalaya, India, on May 27. Balakun was not their original objective; storms shut down their planned new route on Chaukhamba III (6974m) and the team pivoted to the closer peak. A third team member, Christian Black, turned back at 5400m feeling unwell. McLane and Musiyenko committed to a single-push blitz—ultra-light, no bivvy—completing the 2300m south-west ridge in a continuous 40-hour effort from base camp at 4420m. The hardest pitches on the mixed and rocky upper ridge are estimated at M5–M6, with long sections of 5th-class terrain and some extremely run-out ground. The summit (6:30pm) was followed by a night descent in a windstorm; near the base, both men reported visual hallucinations from exhaustion and sleep deprivation, though neither showed signs of AMS. They named the route Kishmish—the Hindi word for raisin—'because by the end of the climb, we felt thoroughly dried out and shrivelled.' The claim of a first ascent remains tentative: a disputed prior ascent by the Indian Border Police means Balakun is widely regarded as unclimbed, but cannot be confirmed with certainty. — Explorersweb
Dane Steadman and Cody Winckler (both USA, both Piolet d'Or recipients) climbed a variation of the House–Prezelj route on the west face of Cayesh (c.5700m), Cordillera Blanca, Peru, on June 12. Steadman had been inspired as a teenager by Steve House and Marko Prezelj's original line on this rarely repeated face, which combines vertical rock with overhanging mixed terrain and wild hanging icicles. The pair spent 20 continuous hours on the 600m route (difficulties up to M7 WI6+), with Winckler leading the crux icicle pitch in nearly two hours of delicate rock-hooking and ice work, and Steadman battling through what he described as 'a monstrous octopus of ice.' High on the ridge the team were forced into a variation right of the original line due to deteriorating conditions, reaching the south summit in the dark—a small snow bump 15m short of the true summit—before a cornice scare prompted them to abandon the final metres and descend. No grade has been assigned to the route as a standalone line; the pair regard it as a repeat attempt with variation, rather than a new route. — Explorersweb