In the new Age & Gender Bonus ranking, Chuck Odette (60) is #3 and his partner Maggie (46) is #26. It is very interesting that they both did not start pushing hard until they were 40. Maggie has just done her second 8b+ and Chuck has just done an 8b but his ambition is to get back on 8b+ level. They are both on lookout for the next project to get inspired by. Chuck: "I need more rest and more yoga than I used to. And I have to continue working my weakness, which is power, while focusing on climbs that suit my strength, which is endurance." Maggie: "For training, we spent most of the winter bouldering in Moe's Valley and Marioland, both in southern Utah. We plan to continue that program, taking about 3 months every year to boulder for training power, which is our biggest weakness. In some places we've also been able to hang gymnastic rings or a pull-up bar for reps at the end of climbing days."

Climbskin has helped us out with some skin care advises. Chris Sharma is one of their ambassadors. - "It is a great product, it moisturizes and rebuilts your skin. It is not like the waxy or oily materials, you can actually put it on before you climb which is one of the most amazing things. Climbskin is gonna change people's climbing. It is by far the best product on the market".

Kinga Ociepka-Grzegulska, the Youth World Champion from 2001, has sent Sprawa Honoru 9a established by Bogdan Rokosz in 2008 in Mamutowa Cave near Krakow, Poland. Kinga is the very first Polish female climber to do such a hard grade. - It's very hard to say how many session, really a lot, because it is an combination of 3 hard routes in a cave I have done every of them before and also some other combination. I am climbing there from years, it's my home crag which is 15 minutes from my house and now when I have two children I don't have possibility to try so hard routes in other places. Maybe few months through 4-5 seasons.

Sprawa Honoru 9a - Kinga Ociepka-Grzegulska from Wojtek Kozakiewicz on Vimeo.

Isabelle Faus, #1 in the 8a ranking game, is featured in a really interesting interview in Climbing. “I know I’m one of the best and anyone who really likes climbing knows that too,” she said, “but when it comes down to it, sponsorship companies would rather put money into cookie-cutter Barbies and CrossFitters. I’m a rock climber and I don’t fit into their box, so they simply aren’t interested.” The fact is that Isabelle, the female who's putting up the most hard core FAs in the world, actually does not even get free shoes, etc. (c) Chad Greedy - FA of Microkline 8A+ (B) in Rocklands, last month.

Daniel Woods has done his third 8C+ FA, Creature from a black lagoon. His wife Courtney says it has been a long summer project. We got the pic from Paul Robinson, who also got it on video. The first 8C+ FA was Hypnotized Minds, which Daniel set up six years ago as an 8C but there were upgrade suggestions, first by some world class boulderers who could not repeat it, and in 2016 also by Woods. In 2015, he also gave 8C+ for FA The Process. Overall, including 22 8C's, the 169 cm tall has the most impressive Boulder ticklist in the world. In 2010 he won the Boulder World Cup in Vail. On Instagram, Daniel explains the process and comments the grade. " We are left dumbfounded to realize that the same level in bouldering has maintained from Fred Nicole, Bernd Zangerl, and Klem loskot a decade ago until now. We can either acknowledge what is a level up from the standard of 15 (based off of consensus over the years) or continue climbing v15 (8C) for another decade."

Mark Anderson from Rockclimbers training manual has done his first 9a, Shadowboxing in Rifle. It took the 39-year-old 28 days of projecting and it is all nicely explained in the blog. (c) Mike Anderson "Physically, I was able, but mentally I was not prepared to accept that I was good enough to climb such a hard route. Overcoming that barrier and sticking with it to the end was the most mentally difficult thing I’ve ever done—harder than the Cassin Ridge, finishing a marathon off the couch, Boot Camp, or the endless drudgery and starvation of high school wrestling. Never have I had to persevere through so much persistent failure, so many setbacks, over so many days and multiple seasons. So many times I could have quit, and I would have been well-justified in doing so. But I kept going. Each off-season, I looked at fat Mark in the mirror and wondered if I’d be able to regain my form in time for the next season. Each time I did. The day of the send was a microcosm of the entire campaign. So many things didn’t go perfectly, so many moments of doubt or indecision crept in to derail my focus. But I kept moving towards the goal, and I was rewarded for it."

Daniel Fuertes and José luis Palao, in the picture by Javi Pec, have done Autoengaño 9a in Rodellar. In total, Daniel has done six 9a's just in 2016 and for José it was the second one as he also did Siempre inconformistas last week.

Martina Cufar Potard, the World Champion 2001, has done her second 8c, Max Power in Bionnassay. "Hard for me (crux being a long move)!!! I didn't count the tries...but I knew the moves before I even tried it, when belaying Nico 5 years ago (pregnant) when he did the FA. He told me I am supposed to do the first female ascent...it took me one summer of serious tries:-)" The Slovenian did her first 8c in 2005, at the same time as she finished her very successful competition career, which started some 20 years ago. Martina was the first world class competition climber from Slovenia. It is also interesting that she just climbs and does some campus only once in a while. In total, she projected the 8c for some 20+ sessions but now she says will be back on onsight mode again.

Bouldering in Rocklands 2016 from Thilo Schröter on Vimeo.

Anam Cara 8B+ by Chris Rauch from Karoline Sinnhuber on Vimeo.