Paul Jenft, who was #10 in Briancon, has beside his first 9a, done his third 8c+ during the last four weeks, Il n'est jamais trop tard in La Balme.

"It is a route bolted by Philippe Mussato in La Balme. Mathieu Bouyoud did the first ascent of this line last year and he motivated my to try the route. It is composed by two sections where the first is powerful with big moves. Then there is a good rest with two kneebars. The second section is more technical. It begins with a crux with a jump to a crimp and then there are pumpy moves until the top. I needed six attempts during two sessions to take it down."

Adam Ondra has given personal grades for hardcore routes for more than ten years, which makes him unique. The dilemma is that he is the best climber in the world especially when it comes to onsight, meaning that he often does not base his personal grades on the best possibly beta. When Ondra onsights a route listed as 8c in the topo and says it felt like 8c also for him, this should not be used as he confirms the 8c, just that he used sequences that felt like 8c for him.

The guys who should confirm grades are the ones who have worked it so much so they have found the very best sequences. If I spend ten sessions on a route I will most likely be able to do 7b+ or 7c, if it is a route that fits me. If Ondra, or another top climber, onsights it and suggests 7c+. The topo producer should not pay so much attention to this as he most probably did not find the best solutions.

Eva Hammelmüller has done Der Seewächter 8b+, (c) Andre Costar, and Gondor 8c in Ötztal. In total, the 20-year-old has now done six 8c's in 2020 and she is #5 in the 8a ranking game.

"Gondor felt really hard when I tried it for the first time, but I made good progress from each try to the next. I struggled a bit on the lower crux, so I changed my beta slightly. On the next go, I climbed through these hard moves and could send the route straight away! As university starts again in October, I will climb a lot in Ötztal, but I would also like to go to Arco and maybe Tessin or Magic Wood on long weekends. Definitely a lot of outdoor climbing!"

Cathy Wagner has during the last six weeks done eight 8a's and two 8a+;
Campagne in Arudy, "Small sector of great quality! Exceptional route very overhanging in a compact pebble! Climbing sections and knees to temporize, all I can do! In agony in the heat of Thursday, almost "easy" in the fall conditions of Saturday. In 3 days."

Quand la folie des hommes gronde in Revilla, "Magnificent route mainly on colos, and about twenty movements, which leans very strongly like all the others in this sector to the right. A saving knee separates the 2 sections for which I had to do my own way because Seb's methods are classy and beautiful to look at from the bottom but just ultra-physical ..! In a pure fight 🤪 to my 4th climb in 3 days."

The 55-year-old has now done 777 routes 8a to 8b, which should be most in the world for a female. Interestingly, Cathy has performed more or less the same during the last twenty years. It should also be noted that around one third of her ascents are done second go so there should still be room for an 8b+ personal best if she started to project one.

Aidan Roberts reports on Insta that he has done the FA of Super Power 8C/+ at the LandStones, which is a sit start to Manpower 8A. He started trying it four years ago and in total it took him some nine sessions. (c) Sam Pratt

" In terms of pure difficulty and minimalism, this one takes the top spot and undoubtedly barges it’s way to my hardest climb to date whilst also aligning perfectly with my style. Steep, body tension, wide moves and small crimps and, from my experience, possibly one of the best of it’s style I’ve come across."

In regards why he did not go for 8C+, he comments Insta, "I’m not yet so willing to commit to this new territory with so little experience so, despite it’s slightly lame nature, will propose the annoying slash grade of 8C/+. Perhaps some more clarity will arise once I’ve developed a little more experience of cutting edge climbing."

It should be noted that the 21-year-old one month ago did the FA of Outliers 8C at Trowbarrow and one week ago did the FA of Copperline 8B+ in the Coppermines. Five years ago he won a Euro Youth Cup and among the seniors, his best result is #19 in the World Cup.

Aris T, aka Mr Kalymnos, reports on Facebook that he, together with Claude Idoux, Dimitris Titopoulos and Kostas Grafanakis, have started to develop a new "dream crag" 40 minutes north of Leonidio. "It is located 200m from the beach with just 5 min approach from the car. We plan to open 40 routes up to 55 m long. One of the best crags at grades up to 7a and it is in the shade after 12.00."

They hope to finish the work in 15 days. The bolts have been financed by Aris and the local authorities. Possibly, the new crag "Arcadia" will be included in the new topo for Leonidio that will be released later this autumn.

In regards Kalymno new routes have been opened lately and Heroes is a new big sector above Skalia. Aris says that although 80 % of the hotels and restaurants are open, there are like 20 - 30 % as many climbers as normal, mainly from Greece and Italy,

"We need to remain vigilant, but no talk of generalized lockdowns or anything like that. Climbers are just as welcoming as always, just they should take precautions. Indeed masks are required everywhere indoors. The staff at restaurants wear masks even outdoors."

Alex Garriga, has done his second 9a+ in 2020, Seta ibérica in Cuenca which Jorge Diaz-Rullo put up last year. (c) Alfonso Martinez

"It is a link-up of the hardest part of Seta negra (8c+) and the hardest part of Circo Iberico (9a/+). There is also a resistance traverse for connecting them."

William Bosi, who did his second 8C two weeks ago, has done his first 8B flash, Isla de Encanta in Trowbarrow quarry. (c) Band of Birds. (Thankfully it turns out our desire for funky lighting didn't seem to bother Will's ability to climb really hard problems really quickly).

”Isla de Encanta has been one of the lines which has caught my eye since I was a kid. When stopping off at Trowbarrow on my way back from Edinburgh, I was keen to give it a go. I waited until night for the best conditions and everything fell perfectly into place first time. It was a really short stay here but I am keen to come back up to the Lakes and explore some more areas soon!