Niki Rusev comes out strong from the lockdown having done his second 8c, Nepobedim Ext. 8c in Karlukovo, Video.

Things started getting better with the pandemic and now we can climb outside again. Those two months I spent at home I realized I had to train. Every day after school I did intense training. This would take up to two hours and a half. I wanted to face my friends and coaches and show them I haven’t lost my form, but even better I have become stronger after all this hard work.

A forty-five meter 8c is pretty good. Before I had made the second part which is 8b. I wanted to run it so I could have the strength to the end, and that's exactly what happened. I didn't have a single unnecessary movement, it was all in my head. I didn't squeeze them much and so I climbed it quite fresh and I toped it at the sixth try."

In the new 8a website, there are plenty of more ranking possibilities. Jan Hojer is #1 during the last month on Routes and Alex Puccio is ahead of all male in Bouldering.

Juniors: Illya Bakhmet-Smolenskyi & Oriane Bertone 40+: Rafael Puredski & Laurent Hogan

Oriane Bertone has done the FA of Satan i helvete Low 8C in Fontainbleu after a broken hold. Dave Graham did the FA of the stand 8B and then Seb Frigault added the two moves low calling it 8B+ before the broken hold.

"A perfect ascent after 11 sessions, in which I did Fata Morgana bas and Fata I Helvete who share the low section with Satan I Helvete Bas. I psyched to climb harder and harder and manage to build this last ascent. First Ascent after a broken hold in 2013. The line was called 8C for stand start (Alban Levier in 2016), but I think that with my beta its 8C from low start now." Video with detailed info such as Charles Albert has repeated it barefoot calling it 8B+ hard or 8C.

Previously, three woman have done 8C; Ashima Shiraishi, Kaddi Lehmann and Mishka Ishi.

Natalia Grossman reports on Insta that she has done the route Positive Vibrations 8c and three hard boulders; Halfway Crooks 8A+, Jeremiah Low 8B and Wheel of Fortune 8B. The 18-year-old got two silver in the Youth World Championship last year and among the seniors, she was #7 in the Boulder World Cup in Vail.

Interestingly is that five years ago she made her whole family move from California to Boulder so she could start to train with Robin Erbesfield-Raboutouand the ABC team. As a matter of a fact, her dedication came already at age 4 when she for the first time did see a climbing wall but she had to wait for her sixth birthday when she for the very first time was allowed to start climbing. Until the lockdown of the gyms she has almost only focused on competitions.

Toni Arbones the godfather of Siurana, started as an alpinist in the 80's but quickly also begun competing in the World Cup. Later he moved to Siurana where he put up many of the hardest and most classical routes and opened up a refugio. Since 2000, he runs Camping Siurana accommodating some 15 000 climbers every year. Toni has also over the years developed big walls in South America, Madagascar, Marocco and China where he currently lives.

"In the last years I have kept the motivation high to climb and explore many new places around the world. I am a passionate climber and I like to share with the community. After developing Siurana and the area of the Priorat, (Montsant And Capçanes) and positioning it like a world-class destination, I understood that my passion did not stop and I decided to build a crazy amount of routes in many different countries. In Taghia in Marrocco, I made 5 multi-pitches and a refugee for climbers in an amazing location. After visiting China for eight years putting up more than 200 pitches, I proposed to my family to move to China and try to build another world-class destination! Maybe if the situation is stable next year we will move all the family, to Le ye, Guangxi province, for bolting !

This is our future or maybe just a dream? Local government helps us to make everything easier and we take this chance... I like to keep dreaming about the vertical world, about movements and sequence of rock holds when I go to bed... I like to show the nicest places to my daughters, and build paradises, building rock destination, to make this crazy world better, more sociable, more sustainable, and easier to live in...

In the last years, I still manage to climb a lot, maybe fewer expeditions, but I live closer to the rocks and I can go nearly every day for a little session. Just before the quarantine, I climb again 8b+ and I was so closed to finish with another FA of an 8c but now after this period of confinement I need again to be used to this powerful climbing style... I hope asap I can do, but until I don’t succeed I keep dreaming about it."

Laura Rogora, who has qualified for the Olympics, reports on Insta that she has done Pure Dreaming 9a in Arco in just eight tries. "It is an endurance test. The hardest moves are after 20 meters of sustained climbing (8b+). The key to send it is to climb fast and exploit the rest point on that part in order to reach the boulder with enough power."

In total, the 153 cm tall has now done 10 routes graded 8c+/9a or harder which is most out of all females. Last year she moved from Rome to Arco.

How does the climbing scene differ in between Rome and Arco? The crags around Rome are 1.30-2 hours from the city and almost everything is already bolted. There are still a few interesting projects but in Arco the situation ss totally different. There are more hard routes and still a lot to be climbed and bolted just nearby.

Stefano Carnati has done The Party's Here 9a in Valbrona. "I first tried it one day last year when it was still a project. Then Gabri Moroni did the FA in October! Last week I decided to get back on it, despite warm and humid conditions. It was a great project to test my shape after quarantine and I’m really happy it went down!

Stefano Ghisolfi continues to show great form after the lockdown having done the FA of Beginning 9a/+ in Arco. "It is a connection between St. Anger and Zauberfee, the two historical routes." More info on his Insta. (c) Laura Rogora. Next for Stefano is to start bolting a new route which he has never done before.

Some 20 years ago, Chris Sharma added a new style to the scene by being more dynamic and by sometimes campusing the cruxes. The old school guys were not so impressed and some said that once he learned to be precise and using the feet like the older guys he would have faster progress.

Some eight years later, Adam Ondra entered the top-level scene climbing much faster then everyone was used to. Still, the pace of Ondra is unique but many more, especially the successful Japanese competition climbers, are closing in.

In the last few years we have been used to watching amazing videos by Oriane Bertone (15) who is already one of the best female boulderers in the world. Part of her success might just be her amazing flexibility and her unique spider heal hooking style. Furthermore, often she places one foot like 50 cm above her hands. This spider style seems to be the new trend and the one being most extreme is Oriane. 8A+ video by the spider women.

Jernej Kruder, Boulder World Cup winner in 2018, has done his second 9a in May, Halupca 1979 in Osp/Misja Pec. "No comps- time to crush old projects...incredible fight." (c) Suzana Aursic