Boyko Lalov

Boyko Lalov started climbing in 1996, when at the age of just 14 he joined the "Nepiast" caving club in Burgas. Not long after, his interest shifted toward rock climbing, with the cliffs near Aytos becoming his first serious training ground. Later, he trained under the guidance of Georgi Temelkov.

By the age of 16, he had already completed a significant number of alpine climbs in the Sliven Balkan Mountains, and in 1998 he competed for the first time in the Bulgarian National Sport Climbing Championship.

During his competitive career, Boyko became:

  • multiple-time Bulgarian and Balkan bouldering champion;
  • silver medalist in speed climbing at the European Youth Cup in Veliko Tarnovo;
  • 9th place finisher at the 2000 Bouldering World Cup in Konnitsa, Greece.

Alongside competition climbing, he established himself as one of Bulgaria's strongest sport climbers, with more than 200 ascents graded 7c and harder, including:

  • Hip-Hop 8c+ - Karlukovo
  • Pop Folk 8b+ - Karlukovo
  • Tsla 8c - Lakatnik
  • Printer Problematico 8b+ - Karlukovo
  • Amuerte to the Top 8b+ - Vratsa
  • Domatito na zvyara 8b+ - Vratsa
  • Dunera 8b boulder - Beli Iskar

He also achieved notable ascents in Spain, where in 2007 he climbed the iconic "Welcome to Tijuana" 8c in Rodellar, as well as "El Salto del Angel" 8b+.

His interests span nearly every climbing discipline - sport climbing, bouldering, trad climbing, and dry tooling. In 2011, he completed "Ali Babach" M13 in Bezhanovo, considered one of the hardest dry tooling routes in the world at the time. In bouldering, he has climbed up to grade 8b.

Over the years, Boyko has developed more than 100 climbing routes across Bulgaria. Since 2022, together with Alex Ianev, he has focused primarily on developing the climbing areas around Teteven and organizing the Teteven Climb festival.

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