Gripped Magazine
Michaela Kiersch Flashes V12 in Vermont
Michaela Kiersch is not letting the summer temps stop her from crushing outdoors. On a recent trip to Vermont, she flashed Mindstream V12 (8A+), one of the hardest flashes ever achieved by a woman.
“A nice 80-degree afternoon climbing around Smuggler’s Notch, VT,” said Kiersch, before listing her sends of the day. Her ticklist on that warm summer afternoon was as follows: Mindstream V12, Impossible Sit V11, May It Be SDS V11, Bloody Sunday V10, and Cull the Meek SDS V8
Only a handful of women have flashed V12, including Ashima Shiraishi, Charlotte André, Janja Garnbret, and Brooke Raboutou. Raboutou may have set a new benchmark in 2023 when she flashed Nascondino (V12/13) in Ticino.
Kiersch is an incredibly well-rounded boulderer and sport climber, and is at the top of the game in both disciplines outdoors. She became the first woman to climb V15 and 5.15a when she made her ascent of Fred Nicole’s Dreamtime V15 in November 2024. Before climbing Dreamtime, she already held the record as the first woman to climb V14 and 5.15a. Kiersch has topped many hard boulders, including Tigris SDS V14 and New Base Line V14 in Magic Wood. Earlier this year, she went to Oukaïmedon, Morocco, where she established several climbs, including Tardine V13 and some highballs: Atlas V11, Aphrodite V6, Artemis V8, and Athena V9.
Just last month, she went on a sending spree in Gottardo in Ticino, Switzerland. She topped Power of Zero V15 (8C), Hazel Grace V14 (8B+), two V12s, and six V11s over the course of her two-week trip. In May, Kiersch made the first female ascent of Dolby Surround 5.15a in Austria’s Zillertal Valley. Other 5.15a sends of hers include La Rambla in 2023 and Víctima Perfecta in 2024. In September 2025, she made history with her first ascent of Mad Lib 5.14d in Lone Rock Point, Vermont – this was the hardest sport route to ever be established by a woman in North America. Two days later, she made the FFA of Livin’ Astroglide 5.14c in Rumney, New Hampshire.
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