Alex Megos, who has been appointed 8a Climber of the year, has done Dave Graham’s classic The Story of Two Worlds 8C in Cresciano from 2005. The name actually refers to the grading inflation at the time which basically stopped after Graham's statement. "I worked on it for four days I think. Day one and two were to figure out beta and to climb sequences. On day three it rained, so the second half was completely wet. I managed to get through the bottom bit and got close to sending it but fell three moves before the topout. The day after that it was dry again and I did it first try that day after warming up. We left a little after to drive back home again." (c) Alise Zvigule

On Insta he explains that he did not use kneepads and discusses ethics and the importance to also report HOW things are climbed. "There are various videos online from lots of different climbers, all theoretically climbing the same boulder and claiming the same grade- 8C. It seems like the climbing community is not differentiating at all and rarely mentioning HOW things are climbed."

Already in 2002, 8a published Ethics and Practice in Sport Climbing and we have done also presented the "How" in bouldering several times. Chatting with Megos, he also mentions that a proper sit start makes a big difference on The Story. As a matter of a fact, HOW a proper sitstart should be done has been discussed several times on 8a. One dilemma is whether shorter climbers are allowed to use the same starting holds a taller FA reached. As a matter of a fact, Dai Koyamada (165 cm), did the first repeat in 2010 but then did choose to go back in 2012 to do it again as some said he had not started in the same sitting position as Graham (181 cm) had done. Actually, Koyamada did then start laying down and said his variation was 8C+. 8a's take on this is similar to what Megos thinks. You can start anywhere you like, possibly by stacking pads if you are shorter, as long as you express this "HOW" clearly and possibly give your variation a different grade.

We also asked Megos to give further comments in regards the use of kneepads. "I think everyone can climb with kneepads if he wants to. But he should be honest whether or not he thinks it makes it easier. Some people just climb to tick a grade. So even if they find new beta or use a kneepad which makes it easier they still claim to have done a certain grade although it might have been easier. I just hope people can be honest. That's all 😊 Merry Christmas."

In total Adam Ondra spent 44 days in the Margalef and Oliana out of with 15 days was spent working and trying Perfecto Mundo 9b+.

Loic Zehani has done his 9a #20, UFO faire XXL in Calanques. "It is a connection between "UFO" 8c (one of the first 8c in France, bolted by Fred Roulhing) and "XXL" 8c +. You have to do all the hard part of "UFO" and then the bouldery crux of "XXL" with a little rest in between. It took me 5 days. I fell 3 times on the last hard movement. It's a very physical route. I think it's a 9a especially since the bouldery section is harder following the breakage of a little part of a hold. You can watch a try on my Instagram where I fall in the last movement."

Solveig Korherr has done her seventh 8c in 2020, Blue Line in Geyik bayiri. (c) Jon Shen "Two days. First Female Ascent. Ceusienne Berlin style rock after 20 meters of easier tufa approach. Happy that I was able to cram two fingers into some of the tiny pockets. Quite atypical of Geyikbayiri."

So how many climbers are around? What about Covid-19 restrictions and how long will you stay?
Turkey has been great so far! It’s getting very busy now especially with the holidays starting, so there are quite a few climbers around. It’s hard to tell because there a lot of different campgrounds and I’m in a smaller one but probably around 100 climbers. Tourist can do everything, there are no restrictions for us. I will probably stay here till mid of January.

Aidan Roberts made his breakthrough at the world scene at the end of this summer. During six weeks, he made six FA's 8B+ to Superpower 8C+. Lattice Training got his breakthrough on film and Tom Randell gives us more insight.

"Aidan is extremely intelligent/academic but at the same time climbing super hard and also crazy humble about it all... I'm going to have to shout about it for him 😂. He's studying at top UK university in a maths degree and so has to balance this with climbing performance. A kid with many things on his plate!

This film follows Aidan repeating multiple 8Bs to then establishing first ascents all the way up to 8C and 8C+ with Superpowers and Outliers. Whilst you all know these grades have been climbed before elsewhere, you may not know the context of Aidan and the Lakeland grading - he's not soft and neither are the grades! One of his FAs from Colorado established previously (Railway, 8C) has been tried by some of the world's best boulderers and yet has only had a single repeat by Matt Fultz..."

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Erin Sterkenburg, who was #33 and #48 in the Youth World Championship last year, and Christoffer Cosser have qualified to Tokyo 2021. In the African Championship, Erin was totally superior winning all six stages meanwhile it was a closer race for Christoffer.

Erin: "I started training at the end of 2019 for Africa Cup, having qualified earlier in the year, as the comp was scheduled for March 2020. Sadly, one week before the comp was supposed to happen, it was cancelled due to Covid-19. South Africa went into lockdown and this was a difficult time for everyone, for me specifically as an athlete without access to a climbing wall. Once lockdown ended and the comp was rescheduled for December it gave me something to work towards and I was super psyched to be able to train and climb again. During training motivation was sometimes low as at times we were unsure if Africa Cup would even happen.

During lockdown I was quite restricted with what training I could do because I don’t have a home wall, so I tried to work on some weaknesses like power. In general I climb about five days a week and I have been doing a lot of comp simulation leading up to Africa Cup. It’s quite surreal at the moment, it hasn’t really sunk in, but I am so thankful to everyone that has helped me get where I am right now. In the coming months, I will try my best to train as hard as I possibly can to be ready for Tokyo."

Oceania Mackenzie, who was #6 in a Boulder WC last year, did win all six races and got her Olympic ticket in the Oceania Championship. The best time in Speed for the 18-year-old was 8.45 and besides that she onsighted seven out of the eight problems as well as topped both routes.

Among the male, it was Tom O'Halloran who made it to Tokyo. He won also the qualification but in the final, it was an extremely close race but in the end, he was #2 in bouldering having done three zones in eleven attempts. Video interview. If he had used just one more attempt, James Kassay would have been the lucky one. Complete results.

Tom: "The whole story is massive, but the short version. It was a tough tough journey, one that pushed me beyond what I thought I was capable of. I nearly pulled out of the whole event 4 weeks ago. I’m so grateful to my partner and daughter for getting me through it and being the best support I could ever wish for.

My motivation was very very low. 2020 was a massive year, my home was under threat from bushfires in the beginning of the year, COVID struck and I lost my job in March, I injured 2 pulleys and a knee between April and June. Being a rock climber, I missed the crag days too and having fun with friends and having balance. I was missing time with my family too. The nearest modern style climbing gym is 1 1/2hrs away so I was spending so much time away from home training by myself. I felt guilty taking all the space in my family too. My partner Amanda is a superstar for supporting me through it all. (c) Set in Stone.