Tallinn Boulder fest 2025
Here we go again—TBF2025 at Kivi Climbing in Tallinn, Estonia!
After last year’s event, where we apparently made a good enough impression, Jaakko and Eelis were invited back to join the setting team. That was an opportunity we couldn’t turn down. Soon enough, the bags were packed and we were on the move once more.
Last year’s intense setting days with an international crew and world-class boulders left us wondering whether the same level of quality could even be recreated. Maybe—but the bar was sky-high.
This year’s setting team, assembled by the one and only Shingo (the mastermind behind Kivi), brought together eight talented setters from across Europe. Alongside our own guys, Jaakko and Eelis, the full team looked like this:
Shingo – Owner of Kivi
Loïc Pirotte – Almost-certified national setter from Belgium
Joel Frans – Long-time route setter from Tromsø, Norway
Ruben Blom Karlsson – Head setter at BLX Bouldering in Stockholm, Sweden
Jaagup Kaiv – Local up-and-coming setter from Kivi
Alexandru Fritz – Romania’s very own bag of sunshine
Our mission: create 35 qualification blocs for the expected 180 participants. The top six women and men would progress to an IFSC-style final. And the field? Absolutely stacked—World Cup athletes, national champions, international powerhouses. The challenge was set, and we were ready.
Setting Day 1
The goal was simple: put all final boulders on the wall, test them, tweak them, and be done. Jaakko took on the role of head setter for the women’s round, while Eelis led the men’s round—mainly because they knew the competitors best and could streamline decision-making.
Day 1 result: Smooth sailing. All final boulders up, tested, adjusted, and an early finish. Bliss.
Setting Day 2
Not quite as smooth. The challenge was to set all 35 qualification blocs in a single day. The walls filled up quickly with good ideas, but visually everything looked messy and incomplete. Some sections needed major reshaping. The memory of last year’s stunning qualification round weighed heavily, so we got to work.
We transformed a few blocs into true head-turners—the kind that catch your eye and make your palms sweat. That’s how the yellow overhanging beauty and the blue volume monstrosity were born. Just look at them.
Setting Day 3
We woke up confident—the round was going to be good. We had a sauna booked for the evening, which added a bit of time pressure. But the morning was crazy efficient. One after another, the team kept putting bangers on the wall. By 5 p.m., everything was set, tested, and fine-tuned. We looked around and felt genuinely proud. The team had crushed it.
Competition Day
Qualifications went smoothly, and the climbers were stoked. The vibes were sky-high, and the feedback was fantastic. It took a strong performance to secure a spot in finals.
After quals, we began stripping the walls to make space for the final problems. A huge team of volunteers jumped in to help—massive gratitude to all of them.
With the finals back up, we had about an hour to make any last-minute changes. Nothing major, but both rounds saw a few small tweaks that ended up being the right calls. This part is always nerve-wracking—you can make or break the round with the tiniest adjustment. It’s part luck, part educated guesswork.
The finals themselves were an emotional rollercoaster. A few boulders suffered from some painful beta breaks, but they still made for an incredible show. The immediate reaction was to disappear into a dark corner and never return, but the smiles in the crowd made it all feel worth it.
In the End
Mistakes were made, lessons were learned. This was once again one of the most educational experiences we’ve had. Head-setting isn’t something we’re deeply familiar with—we usually work in teams we know well, which makes the head setter role less demanding. This time, we were pushed. And we’re grateful for that.
Thank you, Shingo, for trusting our vision.
Thank you, team—you absolutely rock.
Another year, another wild ride at TBF… and trust us—
we’re already hungry for the next one.
