Keenan Takahashi: The Leavenworth Compendium from Kevin Takashi Smith on Vimeo.

Nice video of Ignacio Mulero climbing some new problems up to 8B+ FA's in a brand new area in La Pedriza, Spain. Video by David López. La Pedriza is one of the biggest crags in Europe that still remains relatively unknown. New areas keep being devoloped every year, making La Pedriza one of the best granite destinations in Europe, and just 40 min from Madrid airport. The Pedriza Bouldering Guidebook updated 2nd Edition is coming up in 2018 by local boulderers Talo Martín & Roser Giralt, teamed up with Vertical Life, compeling 80 sectors and over 2500 boulders, including kids sectors and many more, making the Albarracín-Pedriza combination a serious option to consider. La Pedriza is mainly known by the unique character of its 4000 routes, where technical slabs up to 8c+ get along with face and overhanging sport climbing, 8c trad, 8b multipitch and A5 in aid climbing.

Thomas Dauser has done his second 9a, The Essential in Frankenjura which took him a total of eight days. (c) Ole Koenig "In a major battle, I climbed "The Essential" (9a) on Saturday. After my foot slipped twice at the last move to the jug, I finally climbed it in the 6th try on this day... and impressed myself. More exhausted than the previous tries, but very focused... seems like a rare moment where the mind wins over simple physical power."

The Essential (9a) - Climbing in Frankenjura from Thomas Dauser on Vimeo.

Florian Schmalzl, who previously has done two 8C's, has done the FA of a stunning line called Sierra Madre in Zillertal. In fact he did not give it a grade but talking to his friends who had tried it they all think it could be 8C. "All in all, cleaning it, finding the beta and climbing it, it took me ten days."

1. Akiyo Noguchi 44 JPN - Kokoro Fujii 33 JPN 2. Miho Nonaka 33 JPN - Sean McColl 23:2 CAN 3. Stasa Gejo SRB 13 - Alexey Rubtsov 23:5 RUS Complete results (In order to simplify, 8a presents the results as points and if needed the number of attempts.) Japan was ahead in Chongqing and that counts especially among the female where Akiyo Noguchi and Miho Nonaka were superior also in the semifinal. Kokoro Fujii was last one into the final and won in a kind of boring final with one problem too hard and one too easy. It must be mentioned that #1 and #2 in the female WC in 2017, Janja Garnbret and Shauna Coxey, as well as #1 among the male, Jongwon Chon did choose to not participate. Chon will be back next weekend in Tai'an. In the Speed, Mickael Mawem was best among the top boulder guys with 6.81. Kokoro Fujii was fourth with 7.83 as his best in the qually just some 90 min before he started the boulder final. It should be noted that Sean McColl who has been doing Speed events for several years had more than ten boulder specialists in front of him. Among the female, only a handful boulder specialist participated and Akiyo Noguchi was best of the top boulderers with 12.43.