Michaela Kiersch reports on Insta that she has done Green in the Face 8B in Castle Rocks and in went down during the first session. The 152 cm, who was #18 in her last Boulder WC in 2018, has been one of the leading rock climbers in the world in the last few years in spite of finishing her University studies and now doing doctoral students.

How can you explain being in such peak performance with your hectic life?
Since the gyms have been closed I’ve been climbing outside in the evenings after school and over the weekends. I follow a really detailed schedule with school, climbing, and mental breaks to keep balance in my life. I think that challenging myself academically makes me work harder in the other areas of my life too.

Giorgio Tomatis, who did his first 8c+ in 2017 and who was #3 in the Euro Championships last year among the 16-year-old's, has done his second 9a, Mistero in Andonno.

”It was graded 8c but after the break nobody had been able to climb it in the last 20 years. Trying it, I broke another hold making the route even more difficult. It is a very intense route of 40 movements with an uncomfortable rest. I had a lot of fun trying it. It’s a very fun climb and it took me a month to close it.”

Oriane Bertone, #2 in the female Bouldering ranking game, has done the FA of Panonoramix et les cyclopes 8c+ in St Léger. ”Incredible connexion between "Panonoramix" (8c) of Antoine Maire end the third hard section of "Le Mur des Cyclopes" (8b/+). I pre-clipped first two quickdraws because of the dangerous and hard start. Logically it could be 8c+... to be confirmed.”

Marine Thevenet, #7 in the Boulder WC in 2014, reports on Insta that she has done the third ascent of Stage Divers 8B in just four sessions. It was opened by Tony Lamiche in 2005 and (c) Clement Lechaptois got the first repeat last month. Previously, Marine has done some 40 boulders 8A and harder.

"The first session I only did the stand start (7B) and tried to find the holds of the sit start; the 2nd session I tried to keep the position but I was unable to do a single move! In the 3rd session I did All the moves; I did some good links and that was the first time that I thought it could be doable. So the following friday, after work, I managed to climb the boulder during a night session."

How did you train and stay motivated during the lockdown? I rested a lot! And then I did a lot of stretching and smartboarding! I tried to focus on my weakness to take advantage of this period ; It was a little bit hard to put on my climbing shoes again, but after two or three sessions it was ok!

Max Bertone has flashed his second 8b in just three days, Le mur des cyclopes in St Léger which actually most have recorded as 8b+ in the 8a database. "Thanks to my friends Liliy Abriat and Sam Richard to have put the quickdraw and explained the beta and details about the holds. Very happy to flash this long and beautiful line!"

Loic Zehani, who previously has done 18 routes 9a to 9b, has done the FA of À contre courant 9a in Orgon. "It is an old 8b bolted by my father over 15 years ago, which had chipped holds. I noticed that it would be possible to pass without these artificial holds by shifting the line a little. With the agreement of my father, I filled all the chipped holds and that gave a very pretty 9a (or 9a/a +), almost completely natural but two at the very start. First, there is a really hard section of ten movements approx 8A+ on small holds in a steep overhang (with a hard-clipping in the middle!) Then directly after a dozen hard movements. It is the most beautiful and natural hard route in this sector. It took me 3 or 4 sessions to do the movements and 2 more to do the route."

James Squire has done his second 8C FA at the Biblins Cave, Ambition, Video. The pic is from his first 8C FA and was taken by Mark Davies.

Would it be possible to add some bolts on top and get a 9a+ or so route? Biblins Cave is in a protected area so you are not allowed to use bolts. If you want to climb higher, the only solution is to bring more pads!

"Ambition is a project I have had for a couple of years. I did all of the moves last season but ran out of time to finish it as Biblins Cave is only open from May-September. The Coronavirus lock-down has forced all climbing walls in the UK to temporarily close so I had to get creative and built a home woody. This was great for short boulder problems but made it hard to train stamina. Luckily outdoor climbing was recently allowed again in England so twice a week my friends and I would climb at Biblins. This boulder breaks down as a 8B+ into a 7C/+ with the redpoint crux being the very last few moves. A few holds at the start also seep after heavy rain making it a frustrating process of finding a day where you feel strong and also having the rock in good condition. I had about 8 sessions last year and 7 sessions this year before finally being able to complete this mega project. Very happy!"

Matteo Soule has done the FA of Dieu Merci 8c+ or 9a in Gorges du Tarn, which was a 15 year project tried by many top climbers. The 13-year-old, who previously has done two 8c's, needed six days to take down the 50 meter route. (c) Mélanie Cannac

It should be mentioned that Matteo did not suggest a grade instead it is a suggestion put forward by Fanatic Climbing, source of the news.