Dai Koyamada reports on Insta that he has finally done one of his dream project in Hiei, calling it probably 8C. The 42 year old did his first 8C in 2003, Byaku-dou in Hourai. In total he has now done around 25 8C's out of which around 20 FA's. Daniel Woods is runner up in the 8C FA list with around 14.

Simon Gietl and Vitto Messini wanted to see how far they could go. By climbing three big north faces, riding from one to the next. They covered 9,628 m of elevation and rode 391 km in under 48 hours. Hans Kammerlander and Hans-Peter Eisendle first linked the Ortles and Cima Grande in 1991 by fair means. North3 goes one step further – by adding the Großglockner and a further 117 km by bike. It took eight months of training, including thousands of kilometres in the saddle. Mental preparation played a big role too –to be able focus on the climbs, despite the lack of sleep. Poor weather made things harder, eventually forcing them to opt for an alternative route on the Tre Cime. North3 is more than just a project – it’s an anthem to human willpower and smiling in the face of adversity. Get the full story and watch the video here.

Luis Gerhardt reports on Insta that he has done The Story of Two Worlds 8C in Cresciano, which would be his first. (c) Felix Hoffman "I started trying it back in January but can’t tell exactly how many sessions I needed because I only tried at the weekends. So maybe around 8 - 10 sessions. The key thing was definitely the struggle with the conditions. Also did it two times in a row because I slightly touched the tree in my first try at 0.30 am. After that I felt pretty confident and was able to climb it half an hour later." The Story of Two Worlds was put up by David Graham in 2005 and the name related to the grade inflation at that time. "The new standard" of 8C was David's message which in practice down graded several hard core boulders in especially Ticino. Although many thought it was super hard for 8C in 2005, it is today considered a soft entry 8C with 14 repeats. It is also one of the most famous best boulderers out there.

1. Janja Garnbret SLO - Anze Perharc SLO 2. Mia Krampl SLO - Sergii Topishko UKR 3. Jessica Pilz AUT - Vadim Timonov RUS 4. Katja Kadic SLO - Jakob Schubert AUT 5. Lucka Rakovec SLO - Jernej Kruder SLO (c) Eddie Fowke Janja Garnbret won all three stages in a rather superior style. She did all 4 + 4 boulders in both the semi and the final where the overall runner-up Mia Krampl did do 2 + 2. Amazingly, Slovenia had seven in Top-10. Among the male, the podium was sensational. The winner Anze Peharc, #3 in the Euro CH in 2017, was #25 in the WC last year and the runner up Sergii Topishko was #23. Vadim Timonov was #25 in the WCH in Innsbruck. Interesting is that the three Top-8 in the 2018 WC, Jongwon Chon was #8, Gregor Vezonik was 10 and Tomoaki Takata was #17. The 2019 French Champion Jeremy Bonder was #23. Complete results In total 149 female and 326 male participated.

Ryohei Kameyama has done Délire Onirique assis 8C in Fontainbleau in just three sessions. Both the two first ascents were done with a figure 4 move but Kameyama opted to dyno to the small crimp instead. During the last two weeks the 22 year old has also done La Révolutionnaire 8C+ (4 sessions) and No Kpote only 9A (5 sessions), meaning the 176 cm tall and 60 kg, has set a new world standard in bouldering. All three boulders was put up by Charles Alber barefoot. (c) Ryosuke Hibino "I contacted him and I was informed about the boulders. I think "La Revolutionnaire" is the best but all boulders have cool moves. I think overhang like 100〜150° is my style. I like the rock of this boulders because they include simple difficult moves in many styles. I want to try Burden of Dream again this year. I think it is the hardest boulder in the world now but It's uncertain because this is only my opinion.

World Champion Jessica Pilz from Austria was #8 in the Studio Bloc Master with 604 points. Well in front of her were seven Slovenians with Janja Garnbret at top. Among the male, Jongwon Chon won the qualification. In total 149 women and 326 male participated. Complete results The Top-20 semifinal will be live-streamed on Sunday 11.30 and the final 16.00 based on normal IFSC rules. In the qualification, there were 80 boulders to choose from. The winners gets Euro 3 000.

Silvio Reffo andStefano Carnati, who the last month previously has done two 8c+', have repeated Gabri Moroni's Sid Lives in Arco. Both giving it 8c+. (c) Luca Bana - Reffo Silvio. "Two tries yesterday evening and three more today. Super short and super cool! Loved that pinches! Thanks Gabri for the vision! Everybody knows it’s hard to grade this kind of “routes”. I think the whole could be 8B boulder. Therefore Imho it coulde be 8c+. Climbing a 9a so fast is a goal of mine but will stay as such for now!" It should noted that Gabri did say "9a?". Further more, several have made quick ascents and set 9a personal best with Sid Lives.

The Slovenian team had a comp simulation on Boulderwelt München and Kruder did go up-side-down!

First he was assisted by his brother for two months drilling and hammering in 250 bolts. On the second trip, which lasted five months, his father was mainly his partner. Waking up at 06.00 for breakfast then walking 1.5 hour before starting climbing or jumaring to the roof. "It was the hardest process of my life to be totally focus on this project for 2 + 5 months. I feel really happy to finish this crazy project. I did not know if it was possible to climb free. I was worried about to find some impossible points for climbing. Every two weeks I had to go to Guiyang to train indoors to keep my power. It was also hard to not talk to people for a long time because the Chines in general do not talk English." Edu did his first 9a being 17 years old and he has previously done three 9a+ and Chilam Balam 9a+/b. With 14 pitches including one 9a+ and two 8c+', Valhalla is a contender for being the hardest graded multi-pitch in the world. The FA took nine hours. Some days ago, he fell on pitch 12 after a foot hold broke. More info and pictures on his Insta (c) David Lopez Campe

Martin Stráník, #2 in the World Champion in 2007, has made the first repeat of Adam Ondra’s Pata Ledovce 8C in Holstejn. In the 8a ranking game the 29 year old Czech is #3. Video "4 days this year, I have never thought that these moves are possible but it has changed this year, great climbing including power, finger strenght and technique. First repeat of some Adam´s 8C in CZ." In two weeks time, Martin will compete in Meiringen where he got the silver in 2016. (c) Jakub Konečný ”My ambition is to compete on 'Europe' world cups in lead and bouldering and in Tokyo (World Championship). I am also trying to learn speed, but not too much as I could cause I am still working full time (meteorologist).