Waterproof down jackets are a rare breed. The 800+ fill power down of the Floodlight Jacket is utterly undaunted by wet weather and storm, thanks to the completely seam-taped Pertex Shield+ shell-material. The updated Floodlight also includes 20 % more RDS-certified (Responsible Down Standard) down for increased insulation, and is slightly longer at the hem for more coverage. This jacked should do the trick keeping you warm resting in between attempts in prime winter conditions.

The Youth World Championship in Innsbruck was a huge success for the organizers, IFSC and competition climbing. The new route setting style mainly based on volumes and the great live streaming made it really fun to watch. Many of the youngsters showed that they are well ahead of the seniors in Speed and maybe a dozen of them will actually make it to Tokyo. It should also be mentioned that it seemed just one climber was timed out based on the new 6 minute rule. In regards the results, the team from Japan, USA and Russia totally dominated at the same time as the mid European countries got relatively poor results. In the last two YWC Japan did get one gold each and this year they got eight golds and a total of 24 medals! USA has gotten almost as nice of progress. Improvements are possible when it comes to false start in Speed which create total anti-climax. One easy solution is to add about two seconds for a false start so some excitement can be kept. As it is called and defined as the best Combined climber, it would be better if the ranking for each disciplines were added instead of multiplied. As it stands, it is more important to be excellent in one or two disciplines instead of being very good in all three. Things that have to be fixed is to show time in Lead and also to mark up the boulders so there are no more confusing misunderstandings how to top out. (c) Eddie Fowke - Collin Duffy tops out and wins Youth B was one of the highlights. Fast forward to 1:07:30 on the video.

Marcel Remy, over 94 years old, has climbed the north-west of Miroir de l'Argentine, 450 m high, 12 pitches, 5b+with his two sons and friends. Mammut will make a video about the ascent as well as how he came down flying a dual-parapente. The film will also include climbing from Kalymnos and Leonidio where he is a frequent guest.

Logan Barber and Said Belhaj have repeated Sonnie Trotter's Cobra Crack 8c ( b+) trad in Squamish. Logan needed well over 100 sessions meanwhile Said did it in just eight days. Nathaniel Vigeant has taken the picture where Said prepares the classic one finger mono undercling.

The Youth World Championship 2017 did show that the youngsters are well ahead of the seniors when it comes to Speed climbing. Most probably at least a dozen from Innsbruck will also make it to Tokyo 2020. Here is a provisional ranking list of the kids having the greatest chances. Note, it has net been decided how many athletes from one country can participate. Most likely it will be max 2 or 3. WC results marked as B and L: PR = Personal record in Speed 1. Yushiyuki Ogata JPN: #4 and #5 in last two L & B: PR 8:51 2. Sam Avezou FRA: #11 in Lead: PR 7.51* 3. Meichi Narasaki JPN: #2 in B & #11 in L WC: PR 8.00 4. Kai Harada JPN: #5 in B and #18 in L: PR 8.08 5. Filip Schenk ITA: #22 in Lead: PR 9.65 6. Kai Ligthner USA: PR 8.03 7. Carlos Granja: PR 6.53 8. Keita Dohi JPN: PR 8.10 1. Ashima Shiraishi USA: #5 in Lead: PR 11.98 2. Claire Buhrfeind USA: #16 in Lead: PR 9.17 3. Elena Krasovskaia RUS: #33 in Boulder: PR 9.19 4. Margo Hayes USA: #6 in L and #6 in B: PR 13.29 5. Brooke Raboutou USA #10 in L and #9 in B: PR 11.00 6. Laura Rogara ITA: #6 in Lead: PR 13.34 7. Laura Stöckler AUT: #21 in Lead: PR 10.52 8. Iuliia Panteleva RUS: PR 9.82 * It should be noted that Sam Avezou is the best Speed climber in the world out of the ones performing on a world class level in at least two disciplines. Sean McColl who has won many senior Combined titles has a personal record of 8.83 seconds.

Climbing has made an interview with Adam Ondra who did not have trainer nor did he follow a program when when he was a teenager. He just climbed and he did not want to sacrifice anything. "I think many kids these days have climbing programs when they’re young. That adds pressure and takes away fun. I didn’t have that; I just climbed with my feeling and fun and developed an approach. It’s much more important to develop the right climbing technique, which only happens when a kid is having fun. With more climbing more power will happen."

Sam Avezou from France won the Combined Youth in a dramatic final climbing faster than Filip Schenk to their scoring 37+. If Filip, who started last, had controlled hold 38, he would have won. Sam is, among the ones performing in all three disciplines, the world's fastest Speed climber, 7.51 and a contender for a medal in Tokyo 2020. 1. Sam Avezou FRA 3 * 7 * 2 = 42 2. Filip Schenk ITA 15 * 1.5 * 3 = 67.5 3. Peter Ivanov BUL 6 * 3 * 4 = 72 Complete results It should be noted that in Youth A, the Top-20 from all disciplines competed as it was also a qualification for the Top-13 to the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina in 2018. In the Olympics, the Combined event will finish with a final with Top-6 from the semifinal. (c) Eddie Fowke.