Elan Jonas McRae, who was #12 in the Arco World Cup in 2017, has done his first 9a+, Sacrifice in Echo Canyon. It was bolted by Evan Hau who got the first repeat this summer after Adam Ondra's FA in 2018.

"The route has a lot of subtle complexities and for me, the easiest part was actually climbing it. It is always wet in the bottom crux so it’s necessary to dry the holds before each attempt and often times it’s just too wet to climb. It is also a big commitment just getting to the cliff as it is straight up a mountain for 75 minutes. I started working the route last summer and put in about 2 weeks of effort before injuring my knee on a heal hook down low on the route. My first few sessions were with Evan Hau and he really helped me get psyched to try it early on. The route was very wet last season however so most days were just spent trying the dry different holds.

This year, I avoided Sacrifice for most of the summer in order to avoid re-injuring my knee but was eventually drawn back in. Progress was quick and I sent it after a few days! On the day I climbed it, the route was the most wet it’s been all season after a heavy rain storm."

Jorge Diaz-Rullo has done the FA of Las meninas R2 9a+/b in Rodellar. It is an extension to a 9a+ FA he did two weeks ago. In total, the 20-year-old has now done 29 routes 9a and harder which put him close to the All Time Top-10 list. In the 8a ranking game, based on his ascents the last twelve months, he is #1.

Due to recently discovered Aboriginal heritage in Grampians, Taipan Wall, Spurt Wall and a section of Bundaleer have been given a "Temporary Protection Zone" with no public access permitted. Taipan and Spurt Walls are the two most popular crags in Grampians in the 8a data base and part of the sport climbing history in Australia. More info

Simon Carter, a local famous photographer, comments on Insta,"...a despicable move by the Victorian government and Parks Victoria in-particular... Parks Victoria have claimed that they consulted with climbers groups about this, that is an(other) absolute lie."

Over the years, many climbs have been given offensive and abusive names by the first ascender that later have been spread to guide books and databases. It is about time that such climbs are renamed especially when climbing is getting mainstream and more children are getting outside. First of all the FA should be given a chance to rename his climb but if this does not happen, the local community should try to get together with the topo producer and start the process. There are thousands of bad names out there that give us climbers bad reputation.

1. Ai Mori (16) - Hidemasa Nishida (17)
2. Akiyo Noguchi - Satone Yoshida (16)
3. Miu Kakizaki - Shuta Tanaka
Interesting is that Tomoa Narasaki was fourth beaten by Satone Yoshida who never has done any World Cup. Miu Kakizaki is also a new name on the scene. There are still no climbers from Japan scheduled to compete in the Briancon World Cup.

Here is the first 8a grading article published 2001. "Rating is based on individual subject suggestions and confirmed by facts and results by the climbing community."

I agree with everything Adam Ondra says in his video and if you want to understand more in detail, check the picture in regards - Time Comparison Grading.

Jana Vincourkova has done her second 8B, Rustam Direct in Holstejn. In total, the Czech has done eleven boulders 8A and harder since May. More pics on Insta and here is the video.

Noteworthy is that Jana restarted climbing 20 months ago after a two years break. "I started with climbing when I was about 6-7 years old and from the beginning, I trained too much. After a few years, it wasn't even fun for me with all the training, competitions, stress, no fun so I stopped climbing. I also didn’t have any climbing partners or some climbing group and it just didn’t make me happy. I knew I would get back to it, with an open mind and without putting any stress on my shoulders simply by climbing, the things that I like the most. Now I have a boyfriend who climbs really hard so I try to climb on the same level and at the same time, he knows how to keep me psyched for training because I do not like the “boring” routines of dead hangs, pullups, campusing and so on. I would rather just climb,😁."