Jorge Diaz-Rullo has made the second ascent of Muerte por Asfixia, 8C+, in La Pedriza, Spain.

The boulder, which received its first ascent at the hands of Pablo Zamora in January, adds a low start to the 8B boulder Flor de Loto.

With roughly twenty hand moves through a roof, the boulder is a test of endurance for both the fingers and the core, whilst also requiring precision and good sequence retention. As such, the boulder seemed well suited for Diaz-Rullo, who is better known for his sport climbing ascents - having climbed two routes at 9b+, and a further nine at 9b - than he is for his bouldering.

Speaking on social media, Diaz-Rullo had the following to say:

'I still can't believe I did my hardest boulder ever! In my third session and taking advantage of a window of good weather in midsummer'.

'Very complete boulder problem, demanding, with that spice of endurance at the end and also, with its special particularity of climbing very close to the ground in some of the moves. Really a boulder that I considered my style and one that I liked a lot. La Pedriza never ceases to amaze me!'

'About the grade, I am aware that part of its difficulty is about not doing [a] dab on the stone. This gives me a bitter taste because I know that the difficulty doesn't come all from the moves themselves, but it still seems to me something original and special about this boulder. On the other hand, I have no references on these grades, but it definitely seems harder to me than the 8c's I did before'.

'Now, I am very motivated to look for more references on these levels in boulder and of course, try harder things in the future'.

'Muerte por Asfixia has not been just climbing my hardest boulder to date. For me, it has been very special because leveling up is always a good moment to go back in time, see all the progress and see that all the effort and training pays off'.

In making the ascent Diaz-Rullo becomes just the fourth climber, after Adam Ondra, Sean Bailey, and Jakob Schubert, to have climbed both a boulder at 8C+ (or harder) and a route at 9b+.

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Check out the video below to see Zamora making the first ascent of the boulder, his first at 8C+, in January this year.