Alexey Rubtsov, Boulder World Champion in 2016, has done the FA of Iordanit 9a in Lietlahti Park. It was bolted in 2015 by Sergey Shaferov and Rubtsov has projected it for a total of five days, out of which three this spring. (c) Nikita Tsarev

How did you train during the lockdown? I spent 8 weeks in a house 200 km from Moscow with my family in the forest, next to a river with no neighbors. I trained every day, without a climbing wall, but I had holds for pull-ups and boards. Honestly, it was a very productive period, and after returning to the gym I climbed all my projects in the first training session despite a long break in climbing. Sometimes it’s good to be alone with yourself. Now I have the opportunity to climb on rocks in Russia. Quarantine still exists, but I can travel to some regions.

Moritz Welt, who previously has done six 9a's, has done two 9a's in Frankenjura;
Nice Freshly Baked, FA by Alex Megos: "Nice addition to Shangrila! Lots of tries last year, 1 session 4 tries this season." (c) Lars Decker
Working class, FA Markus Bock: "Too many tries in 2018, 3 tries today. Doesn't feel like 9a... basically some easy warmup climbing into an 8-move 8A+ boulder."

The 19-year-old has furthermore since April done six more 8c+' in Frankenjura and he is #1 in the 8a last month ranking.

How were you able training during the lockdown being in such good shape now and what is next? I'm living in the middle of Frankenjura so I was able to do a lot of bouldering alone and climbing with my family. Yeah, recently trying Corona 9a+ here in Frankenjura and planning to spend some months in Ceuse this summer!

Eva Hammelmüller, who made two podiums in the Euro Youth Cup last year, has had three great weeks having done three 8b+'and three 8c's including the FA of Covid-20 in Weyer Neu. "I’ve been trying this route since I was 14 years old, and having it done now is unbelievable. The route is steep, powerful, and feels amazing to climb." More comments on her Insta.

So how is it possible to be in the best shape in your life so short time after the lockdown?
Maybe some quality time with the beast maker wasn‘t too bad for me😋

Laura Rogora, who has qualified to Tokoyo 2021, reports on Insta that she has done Underground 9a in Arco. (c) Sara Grippo In total, the 19-year-old has now done 12 routes 8c+/9a and harder which is most of all female. Her first she did four years ago.

Filip Schenk, has done two 9a's in Arco; Pure Dreaming and Underground. (c) Alessandro Larcher

The 20-year-old lives in the Dolomites and started to climb in the mountains around Val Gardena since he was six years old. During the last six years, he has won eleven Youth Cups/Championships including one World Championship in Bouldering.

"During the lockdown, I had quite good possibilities to train also on a climbing wall at my home so I was able to continue with my training. Now when we can travel again in Italy I spend a lot of time on the rock and so I am feeling in really good shape on the rock at the time. This year I will spend as much time as possible outdoors and I am looking forwards to go to Céüse this summer if we are allowed and maybe also to Spain this autumn."

Anak Verhoeven, one of the best female competition climbers since 2013, reports on Insta that she has done the FA of Kraftio 8c+/9a in Belgium after five days of projecting. In total, the 23-year-old, has done ten routes 8c+/9a and harder which puts her #2 in that list. (c) John Janssens

"I have given the route a name: ‘Kraftio’
When you read it out loud, it sounds like ‘Graftiaux’. 
Chloé Graftiaux was a Belgian climber who died in the mountains almost 10 years ago. She was 23 years old when she died, which is my age now. The name of this route is an homage to her.

During the lockdown I trained at home on a small wall in a garden shed. It’s not high, but I was so glad that I had the possibility to keep training. When the confinement ended I didn’t feel too much out of shape and I quickly felt strong again."

Jana Vincourková, who restarted climbing 18 months ago after two years break, has done the FA of Conquistador 8B in Sklapsko, video. During the last five weeks, she has now done eight boulders 8A and harder including three FA's. (c) Martin Švec

"We found this boulder last week in the forest, so we created a couple of easier problems on it and the two FAs I wrote you last time, but this obvious line from the very bottom remained unclimbed but tempting to be tried soon. The conditions remained cool and windy so we went to try it yesterday and today as well. It ads up probably a 7C+ boulder problem into an already existing 8A+. The second last move in the 8A+ is the hardest and adding this to it makes it just brutal. But somehow during the four days of projecting it, I got it into my muscle memory and managed to send it. The style really suits me and the line is just awesome.

I started with climbing when I was about 6-7 years old and from the beginning, I trained too much. After a few years, it wasn't even fun for me with all the training, competitions, stress, no fun so I stopped climbing. I also didn’t have any climbing partners or some climbing group and it just didn’t make me happy. I knew I would get back to it, with an open mind and without putting any stress on my shoulders simply by climbing, the things that I like the most. Now I have a boyfriend who climbs really hard so I try to climb on the same level and at the same time, he knows how to keep me psyched for training because I do not like the “boring” routines of dead hangs, pullups, campusing and so on. I would rather just climb,😁. Anyhow, after the winter when we spend 4month of training maybe 8-10times a week, I have to say that the “boring” routines worked and I am begging to like that style of training too. I feel that motivation will last for a long time."

Illya Bakhmet-Smolenskyi, who did his first 9a in 2018, has done two 8c+, out of which one FA in Turkey. The 15-year-old has been in Turkey since before the lockdown when he also did three 8c's and one 8c+.

"I've been homeschooling since the first grade, I only visited the school for some small parts, starting with 5th grade, which could count as 2 years overall. My parents are working in IT, so they are working at home. I wanted to compete in the European cups, but since corona virus is rising up, we are thinking about rock climbing this year."

FA of Shades of grey in Okuzini: "The beast line going on crimps only. Has two cruxes with a rest in-between and both super crimpy. On the main, first crux you are forced to climb 5 powerful draws without a chance to even shake! Thanks a lot Tobias Haug for such an amazing line and the opportunity to FA it!)"

Rock Erotic in Geyik bayiri, Video: "Suppose that it can be 8c+/9a. Did a different line from the first ascent by Mumin, so it could even be counted as a brand new route. Currently, there are two betas: going along all the bolts(mine) and going higher above them using completely different handholds. Maybe the second beta will be turned into a different route, and then this ascent will turn out to be the first ascent of the line."