Janja Garnbret has won every youth comp she has entered and in the two World Cups she tried, she was both times #2. Slovenian coaches have deliberately held her back in order to try not to put any pressure on her. "It is all about having fun!"

Lebanon has always been a blank area on the map of sport climbing. But with the help of local climber Jad Khoury, Austrian superstar David Lama has recently changed this and did the first ascent of Baatara Gorge Sinkhole near Tannourine, 75 kilometers north of Beirut. Due to its surreal landscape with waterfalls, natural arches and a combination of blue and orange rock mixed with green plants, which reminds of the movie ‘Avatar’, David Lama and his supporter, Jad Khoury, agreed on the name Avaatara’ (9a) for the cascade route descending into Mount Lebanon. © Red Bull Media House David did his first 8a when he was 10 years old and being 16 he won the European Lead Championship and the year later the European Boulder Championship. He is also famous for the FA of the Compressor route on Cerro Torre.

EPICTV SHOP continues to develop their webshop and this Verto Micro Vest goes at Euro 126 including free delivery and then you also get some Euro 6 credit for your next buy. If you become an EPICTV member, the prices drop even more. In general, you can buy outdoor products with at least 15 % discount compared to any other shop. Link to climbing gear at sale

Alex Khazanov has done Ill thrill 8B+ (C) in Magic Wood. (c) Eddie Fowke "Ohhhh yess!!! Moments like this are a big part of the reason why I climb. I tried it for a few days back in the summer and came back today praying for it to be dry and it was! I set down to try it and boom! Couldn't do almost any move, after a some more tries, just before i was ready to give up, it happened. After a biggg fight and almost falling on every move I found my self on the top. This problem is my hardest to date for sure and I am totally not sure about the grade of this one but this not why we climb. We climb for those special moments. So so happy right now!

Ichimiya Daisuke is a new 8a member who has added to his scorecard one 8B+ and Dai Koyamada's Shambala 8C, which took him just four days to do. Ichimiya has only been climbing for six years and only the last three years outside, and he has no trainer. Three weeks ago, he became a father of Kazuha. The Japanese trains 4-5 times a week and sometimes with a bag as heavy as himself, doing pull ups etc. Now he is projecting some further 8B+ and 8C. Video of his hardest boulders.

Urko Carmora, world champion with one leg, has done his second 8a+, Paideia in Rodellar, which is 35 meters long. Urko started climbing when he was 14 and lost his leg in a traffic accident when he was 16. He continued climbing directly after he left the hospital and at the beginning he used a prosthesis. "I did a lot of multi-pitch climbing. But now when I sport climb it is much better to just jump with one foot." © Manabu Yoneyama.