Oriane Bertone has set a new standard in bouldering by doing Golden Shadow 8B+ in Rocklands. Including a 7C+ flash yesterday, the 12 year old is #2 in the ranking game once it is added to her scorecard. EpicTV is preparing a video and an interview to be released later today. The previous 8B+ youngest world record holder was Ashima Shiraishi who did the same boulder when she was 13 years old. Among the boys, Mirko Caballero is youngest also 13 years old when he Medow Lark Lemon 8B+. Adam Ondra on the other hand was 15 years old. It should be noted that some have said Golden Shadow is soft and five out of the 27 ascents have marked it as 8B so it is border line to be reported as 8B (+). Nevertheless, as Ashima did the same boulder it is in any case a new record. Including the 8C by Shiraishi when she was still 14 years old and Angy Eiters 9b last year, we can once again say that climbing is unique when it comes to gender and age equality for physical sports.

Paul Robinson comes with the great news that one sector in Hueco Tanks has been reopened. (c) Keith Allan - A new map of hell 8A, FA Fred Nicole 1996. "Fred Nicole was climbing in this one area in Hueco Tanks on east mountain more than 20 years ago. it was a small area called the 5 bimbos area. There are a few established climbs there. At the end of last season they reopened the area to climbing. They closed it to erosion i believe but they now have anti erosion measures in place and the boulders are back open! I bet there is potential for about 5-10 new climbs."

"My Updates" in the left column list the ascents from Scorecard and Crags you are interested of. Just go to your friends scorecard and add it and the same you can do with crags, where you also can specify which grade filter wanted.

The first big climbing competition in 2018 was hold in Milan and the winners in Lead were Adam Ondra and Mina Markovic and in Boulder Anna Stöhr and Gabriele Moroni. Runner-ups were Laura Rogara and Stefano Ghisolfi and Kilian Fischhuber and Katha Saurwein. The World Cup 2018 starts in Switzerland with Bouldering 13/4.

ADVERTORIAL - Margalef, March 2018. Rockbusters invite you to join a unique climbing masterclass with Adam Ondra, Patxi Usobiaga and Pablo Scorza. Redefine your limits, stay injury free and enjoy years of sustainable progress. Adam Ondra’s coaching in Margalef focuses on specific OS/RP strategies and attitude required for success in hard routes. You’ll identify your strengths and weaknesses and work on immediate performance improvement. Patxi Usobiaga’s indoor training workshop details advanced exercise protocols which allow climbers to go far beyond their preconceived limits. You’ll learn how targeted training translates to success on the rock. Pablo Scorza is a physiotherapist specializing in the bio-mechanics of climbing. You’ll gain an understanding of the cumulative effects of climbing and training, learn about injury prevention and maximize the efficiency of your movement. Join the event at Rockbusters.net

Many think flash and onsight are most fun and it is also what counts in competitions. The dilemma is of course that instead most of the time you end up with projecting redpoints. The easy way to have more fun and get better training indoors is to create new climbs by mixing up different colors of harder climbs or simply just add a specific color for your feet. This is also a good way to reduce some of the frustration for the kids who often do not reach making a climb impossible or just totally wrong graded. On the other hand, you can also select new rainbow challenges by mixing colors but take out some specific jugs. The possibilities are endless and it will sure have a great impact and you will get out of the grade focus. Remember that back in the old days, the boulder walls were covered with holds and you had to create and execute different moves in every sessions.

Max Bertone has for the third year in a row done an 8A, Dirty Epic in Rocklands. If he wants to stay on par with his two year older sister Oriane, he needs to do an 8B within a year. Bear in mind that climbers normally avoid the 30+ temperature in Rocklands during the summer, meaning they can only climb very early and very late during the day. In between, the children have schooling. Do not miss the great video!