Andrea Gennari Daneri from Pareti Magazine has conducted an interview with Alfreddo Webber, who at 49 years old is developing into a 9a climber. Last year, he has done four 8c's, including Reini's vibes 8c+, Video, in Arco. "I’m close to 50 yo and now I work full time in a quarry, five days a week, 8 hrs a day. I wake up at 7am, breakfast, then 20 kms drive to the quarry. Back home at 6pm. Two days a week I have training on my wall at home. It’s a 1h 30’ work, basically long sequences, with intervals of some harder moves; then some hangs on crimps. When I’m projecting something hard for Sunday I have to rest on Friday and Saturday, otherwise I get weak. I’m less powerful than 20 years ago, but now I know myself better and I manage better my energies. How’s that you reached the top at 49 and not 25 years ago? Because I broke up with climbing at the age of 26, but I figure out that, if healthy, I have still some chances of improvement. (In 2013, he had a bad accident doing a big pendulum in Arco. It is just recently he removed the last steel from his leg.) Aged climbers usually prefer slab climbing? I like overhangs because I’m very short (1,59) and I need to find different betas for some sequences. I like slabs, too, but on lower grades.

One week ago, IFSC made this announcement: "IFSC has signed a 3-year deal with US-based streaming company Flosports to bring IFSC Climbing World Cup events to its Floclimbing platform." After the climbing community and athletes heavily protested the proposed USD 20 monthly subscription fee, IFSC has now changed their mind. "A mistake was made and we apologize for that. The live streaming for IFSC will remain free of charge, the same as it was at the 1st World Cup in Meiringen, Switzerland and in previous years. The deal - despite having been announced - has not been signed and thus has not been concluded. Any possible future variation of this policy will be discussed inside the IFSC and subject to the approval of our key stakeholders. Let's keep climbing together."

Jon Cardwell reports on Instagram that he did Papichulo 9a+ in Oliana on his last day before returning back home. The American has spent two months in Spain including actually extending his trip waiting for his project to dry up. (c) Javi Pec Last year Jon did his first 9a+, Biographie, and explained to 8a how he had become a better climber. "I think in the last year, I really improved as a climber. Mostly in my ability to climb with less hesitation - in the last year I really focused more on onsight and flash and I think these forms of climbing really help that, more than physical challenges they are almost the best training for one's climbing mind! You must make important decisions quickly, without self-doubt, and when you make a mistake you're often finished. This really helps your mind act without emotion - which often gets in the way of hard redpoints - "is this the try?" "Are conditions perfect" etc....once I realized thoughts like that didn't help, I moved with more confidence and was able to perform to the best of my ability (still far from the super stars we see today) but definitely at a higher level than last year."

The athletes' commission, including 13 athletes, has written an open letter to create awareness and explain their stance on media communication. Jorg Verhoeven has said in the forum that he can answer any questions regarding AC's position. "The last few days have been dramatic - never before has the climbing community been so vocal and united in opposition to a decision involving our sport. The IFSC rightly states that it values good governance and transparency, and that its athletes are included in decision making processes at all levels. However we would not be where we are today if this were completely true: - rule changes have been introduced with little communication or debate, and in our view without proper consideration of the consequences; - the media rights for our sport have apparently been sold with no consultation, and with no apparent consideration for the effects on athletes, sponsors, organisers or the community that ultimately makes climbing the sport we love. We are saddened that the IFSC has chosen not to be open, not just with us but with the climbing community at large. To us, this is opposite of the spirit that defines our sport. We are speaking up now because we are disappointed and frustrated; we feel that we have reached a dead end in trying to influence the IFSC quietly from the inside. If we believed that it was too late for the IFSC to act in accordance with its stated values we would not be writing this, but we have to call for a change in behaviour. We are concerned that the IFSC will try to manage its way past this crisis and then go back to business as usual. This is not a course of action that we can agree with. To make our voices heard, starting at the Meiringen World Cup, we have asked the athletes to withdraw cooperation with the livestream media until changes are made. Our aims are to have: - effective consultation on (rule) changes that effect the athletes; - a free livestream on an IFSC platform indefinitely. We are speaking out publicly because we believe that the IFSC and its board members will rightly be judged by their action or inaction. We hope our actions will help the IFSC hold itself accountable, not to us, but to the climbing community at large. As athletes, we want to see our sport grow and prosper, but success must be measured in more than financial return."

Hatalmas hír söpört végig a facebookon szombat este, Márk harmadik megmászását könyvelhette el (Urbanics és Farkas után) a Zed is dead nevű 8c/+ útnak, mely Magyarország jelenlegi legnehezebb sportmászó útja. A Zed "kiegyenesítését" Áron projektelte hosszú évekig - s a fokozatot félig meddig kérdőjelesen hagyta. Az első ismétlő Tamáska szerint "Nagyon specifikus út, ami 175cm alattiaknak inkább 8c+, de a magasabbaknak 8c! A fokozattól eltekintve a teljesítmény szenzációs bravúr. De nem csak Geriben füstöltek az alkarok: Simon Bence Szlovákiában megmászta a Morálna kríza 8b-t! Benke Balázs pedig befejezte a Szilfidet érdekes kommenttel fűszerezve azt: meglepetés megmászás. ezennel fel is fokoznám 7c/c+-ra. az eleje boulder van olyan nehéz mint pl a molyoló manoló, márpedig az 2 méter... A Retek 7c pedig a hosszú ideig sérülésekkel bajlódó Miskó Róbertet emelte a kilences fokozat világába. A kis utacska már számos fejtörést okozott a fokozatát illetően, de néha kell hogy valami mindenki első útja legyen. Ilyen a Retek, ilyen a Lélekharang és ilyen a Sarlatán is. Grat a megmászóknak.

Gonzalo Larrocha, who previously has done five 9a's, has repeated the classic Estado Critico after just some ten tries giving it a personal 8c+ grade. The high class route was put up by Ramon Julian Puigblanque as a 9a in 2004 but later it was down graded. In 2010 a hold broke and since then, everyone has said 9a although several have done it quickly and commented: soft. Gonzalo does not think the route got that much harder with the broken hold as you still can do the same dyno. Further more, "The people who did the route before did a harder traverse than the traverse, one meter higher up, that I used." In 2013, Alex Megos onsighted it as the first 9a in the world, which should be the official grade as of today. Anyhow, Gonzalo's personal grade once again shows that the grades are not set in stone.