Christian Core's exceptional cover photo is the best representation of this past 2025, and the best way to open the Yearbook dedicated to it.

More than in previous years, it's clear how the limits have been pushed even further: the girls are now definitely one step away from the all-time tops achieved by the boys, with 8C+ bouldering, 8c+ on-sight, 8c/9a flash and 9b+ redpoints at the crag, 8c+ trad, and exceptional big wall ascents.

The same could be said of the boys, with the first 8C flashes in history and the first 9A in a day on bouldering, with Adam Ondra reaching the all-time top in every vertical discipline he attempts, and our own Pietro Vidi following close behind. Not to mention epochal mountaineering ascents like the north face of Jannu Est by Védrines and Jean, or the Patagonian winter ascents by Della Bordella/Majori and Haley. Just to mention a few of the most notable.

What seems most obscured, however, is the "human" component behind the numbers, records, posts, and news stories through which these grandiose exploits are shared with the community. While the world of mountaineering is still surviving, the most athletic vertical disciplines—bouldering first and foremost—seem to have been reduced to mere "sports," where only numbers are taken into account.

This is clearly not always the case, but the decline has become more evident year after year. This is precisely the hope represented by the cover. Christian once told us with sparkling eyes about the discovery and ascent of Gioia, and now, with the same enthusiasm and emotion, he tells us about his anxious departure for Mallorca to photograph Es Pontas, his dreams of how it would go, his doubts, his enthusiasm, his heart brimming with happiness at having captured that magical moment.

Also new this year is the Indoor section, exploring a vertical world that often develops parallel to what happens on the rock, but frequently finds exceptional intersections with it.

Finally, a must-have is our usual collection of reports of new mountaineering routes on rock, ice, mixed climbing, and crags, so we can always draw fresh inspiration when choosing destinations suited to our "visions." A fundamental contribution, as every year, was made by the many climbers and photographers who helped us collect the material published here, and for this we sincerely thank them.