Andreas Kubin shares the story about Marcel "Matrix" Remy celebrating his 98th birthday by climbing in a new climbing gym in Satigny/Geneva together with his sons Claude and Yves.

"Marcel didn’t want to climb anymore after some weeks of being in the hospital with water in his lungs. The days before he had been a bit depressed and did not want to drive his car anymore. But it didn’t need a lot to motivate him for some boulder traverses... Then two routes on top rope, which he even insisted to downclimb. The old steam engine is still working! And then one route on 4c on lead! His eyes were shining with happiness! And immediately he starts to make plans for the next summer: climbing is a Fountain of Youth! Good luck Marcel, you are such a great and wonderful example for all of us."

William Bosi does the FA of King Capella 9b+ in Siurana. "Wow, what a route, climbing the first half of Davids "i have a dream" before going left and joining "A 2 Bandas" some of the best climbing i have done including a crazy jump to a crimp. felt a full level above la Capella so makes sense to be a grade harder. time will tell"

Jon Glassberg who previously has done 32 8B's but just one 8B+, in 2017, has done his first 8C, The Nest in First Creek. With 86 kg and 191 cm, the 36-year-old should be one of the biggest climbers having done 8C. (c) Jess Talley from Louderthan11

"I’ve been climbing for 26 years and when I started in 1994, the grade hadn’t been proposed yet. In 2000 Fred Nicole did Dreamtime calling it 8C and the Story of Two Worlds in 2005 by Dave Graham became the first confirmed 8C. I imagined that grade to be reserved for the best of the best who could dedicate 100% of their time and effort to achieve the goal, definitely not for me to ever realize.

In 2017 I decided I was going to give 8C/V15 a shot and train, diet, and prepare as best I could for the one 8C that might just be “my style” and suit me well enough to go down. I thought it was “The Big Island” in Fontainebleau and I started to siege over the course of 4 trips resulting in a couple of herniated discs in my lower back and a 2-year recovery that is still ongoing. I gave up for a while, thinking my 190lb 6’3” (86 kg and 191 cm) frame wasn’t built for 8C/V15.

After a research trip to Red Rock this past December I made quick work of The Nest Stand, a V13 in its own right and thought that adding a V11 into the stand seemed like something I could train for and maybe actually do one day. I invested 3 months of power endurance training and campusing and headed to Red Rock to begin the process no matter how long it took. After 9 sessions of incremental progress, it was DONE and I was on top, in shock. I came prepared and executed without an epic and it felt good.

I knew this boulder fit me well and I am pretty good at power endurance. The climb for me breaks down into V11 into V13 so the grade certainly feels like a massive step up for me in overall difficulty but I have never been this prepared. During COVID I had extra time to train and focus on climbing so I put that new found strength to the test on my dream project and it all came together."

Adam Ondra has done the FA of Directa Bongada 9a in Margalef. "Start like Directa Rodellar, finish in Bongada. It is link-up, but honestly, as a line it is the most direct and logical one. You do all the hard part from Directa Rodillar 8c+/9a, good kneebar and all the upper part of Bongada. Unfortunately the kneebar is too good to make any harder than hard 9a, maybe 9a/+, but definitely not 9a+. 1st real try after both Directa Rodillar and Bongada, in the very last minutes of the day."

Matt Fultz has done two 8B+' and the FA of Sound of Violence 8C in Joe's Valley and Warp Speed in Taco Cave. Amazingly, he did his first 8C two years ago and now at age 29, he has done 19, including two 8C+. The 183 cm tall and 74 kg powerhouse has previously explained that nutrition is a major factor of his progress.

Stefano Ghisolfi, one of the best climbers in the world, reports on Insta that he has size 41 in regular shoes but only 36 in his La Sportiva Futura.

Please explain how this is possible?
It is painful to wear them only the very first time. I put the plastic paper that comes with the shoes under the heel to slide the heel in. But after two or three times they enter normally and from the second day it is not that painful anymore Sometimes for training, I use one number bigger to keep them on longer. Otherwise, I just take them off every attempt.

So how would it be to climb in size 39?
They would be too large and inaccurate. The feet would move too much inside the shoes.

Another example of these "Geisha" shoes is Adam Ondra squeezing in his 44 size feet into 38.5 shoes. At the same time, Ondra has said that on competition slabs and volumes you do not want that much pressure on just the toes so then he has much bigger shoes. It should be mentioned that when it comes to ordinary climbers, you will not benefit much, but pain, going down in sizes. I have 39.5 and I climb in 38.5 in La Sportiva and I even have a pair of Testarossa size 41 and the difference for me is not that big.

Christof Rauch has done Monkey Line 9a in Zillertal. This route is an extension to Hias Line 8c+, which he did one day earlier. "Psyched to finish the next project. One more session was enough to finish this beast! Adds another boulder problem followed by a 7c+ route to „Hias-Line“. Onto the next!"

The 26-year-old has previously done 810 boulders 8A and harder including eleven 8C's. Doing multiple hard routes, he basically started in 2019 and just during the last 12 months, he has done 15 routes 8c and harder as well as 18 boulders 8B and harder. Amazingly, he is working full time as an engine building technician at a water plant.

So how come you focus more and more on routes? Did you run out of good boulders to try?
Yeah, that's the problem. I would love to try some boulders in Swiss but the route climbing at home is also pretty cool and a good change.

So what could be next?
No real plans at the moment. I have to look for a new project but there is also a slightly harder exit to Monkey Line. Maybe I invest a bit of time on this one as well. It‘s called „Walk the line“, FA by Jakob Schubert last year.

Stefano Ghisolfi has done the first repeat of Silvio Reffo's The ring of life 9a/+ in Covolo from 2014. (c) EnryChris

The Italian has won five World Cups and in 2017 and 2018 he was #2 overall. Including also two 9b+' and seven 9b's, he has been one of the best route climbers in the world in the last few years. Currently, he is #3 in the 8a ranking game.