"One more time so happy ! Today I sent le Surplomb de la Mée sit start 8b+"
This means that the 21-year-old has done three 8B+'s and three 8C's in just two months. Posted by Alban Levier on Friday, January 29, 2016

Adam Ondra has joined up czech rope producers - TENDON. "Follow your Quest" is a challenge they started last year to motivate fanatic climbers to overcome their limits. "Describe the process of realization and let us share your experience." Follow your Quest video. The winner will fly to Flatanger and climb with Adam Ondra for one day. He will give advises for your climbing project or you can just chill out with other great climbers in a beautiful Norwegian landscape.

Alban Levier, the winner of one World Cup last year, who just did the FA of a 9a boulder route and two 8B+'s, has done the 3rd ascent of L'alchimiste 8C in Fontainebleau. The FA was done some 20 years ago by Marc Le Ménestrel as an 8B but some ten years ago someone broke several holds with a hammer. Nalle Hukkataival made the post chopping FA last autumn. Alban thinks it is an 8C and said that according to Bleau.info Nalle had suggested 8C/+, which made the Finn comment on Facebook. "I never proposed a grade for L'Alchimiste for the reason that I spent a long time trying it and then climbed it very quickly after discovering the easier way. Trying it with the wrong the method for weeks skewed my perspective so I chose to leave the grading to future repetitors. Well done!!"

Based on some 3 000 unique votes from the poll "Best Climbing Shoes 2016?", La Sportiva keeps their extreme dominance and Tenaya increases from 3 to 5%. In the first poll we did in 2009, La Sportiva had 47%, Five Ten 31% and Evolv 8%. In 2010, Scarpa did get 7% and and Boreal 3%. (in brackets, the result from the 2015 poll). 47% - La Sportiva (47%) 15% - Five Ten (15%) 15% - Scarpa (13%) 9% - Boreal (10%) 5% - Tenaya (3%) 3% - Evolv (4%) 2% - Mad Rock (3%) 4% - Other (Ocun and Red Chili mentioned most often)

Cathy Wagner, who started climbing in 1986 and had her most productive year in 2015, has started this year up really nice with six routes 8a and 8a+. Last weekend the 50-year-old did two 8a's in her second go in Gorges du Loup. During the last 12 months, the grand lady has done 60 routes 8a to 8b and in total she has done 527 of them. Maybe it is time to step up to 8b+ before turning 51!