Dag Hagen, editor-in-chief on a Norweigian magazine says that black soles should be forbidden to use in a climbing gym just like in any other sport. (c) Daniel Gappmaier, from a newly opened Boulder gym in Oslo.

Andrea Gennari Daneri from Pareti Magazine has conducted an interview with Alfreddo Webber, who at 49 years old is developing into a 9a climber. Last year, he has done four 8c's, including Reini's vibes 8c+, Video, in Arco. "I’m close to 50 yo and now I work full time in a quarry, five days a week, 8 hrs a day. I wake up at 7am, breakfast, then 20 kms drive to the quarry. Back home at 6pm. Two days a week I have training on my wall at home. It’s a 1h 30’ work, basically long sequences, with intervals of some harder moves; then some hangs on crimps. When I’m projecting something hard for Sunday I have to rest on Friday and Saturday, otherwise I get weak. I’m less powerful than 20 years ago, but now I know myself better and I manage better my energies. How’s that you reached the top at 49 and not 25 years ago? Because I broke up with climbing at the age of 26, but I figure out that, if healthy, I have still some chances of improvement. (In 2013, he had a bad accident doing a big pendulum in Arco. It is just recently he removed the last steel from his leg.) Aged climbers usually prefer slab climbing? I like overhangs because I’m very short (1,59) and I need to find different betas for some sequences. I like slabs, too, but on lower grades.

Outside Online has published something that could be called Beth Rodden autobiography. The 8c+ trad climber really comes clean, giving her story about having been married to Tommy Caldwell, been in a kidnapping situation and fighting hard with many personal battles, as well being the first trad climber to have done 8c+.

Black Diamond has, free of charge, published a 33-min documentary of Nalle Hukkataival doing the FA of Burden of Dreams 9a in Finland. The documentary is about fanatical dedication in its purest and finest form, coming close to insanity as Einstein says. Nalle says he usually can do all the moves on any of the hardest boulders in the world in one session, but Burden of Dreams took him ten sessions. Hukkataival, who previously had 8C (+) as his personal best in max 13 days, does not comment on why he suggested it to be the world's first 9A, besides using this time comparison. "So if you compare 13 days with 80+ days, that is a pretty major contrast." (Not counting indoor replica sessions). Besides that, the documentary talks a lot about all of the factors that have to be working together like conditions, working out beta with friends and just pure luck when everything come together. In practice, these variables are the same as presented by 8a in 2008 for the Time Comparison Grading theory, see the second picture.

Alizée Dufraisse has done the first female ascent of Estado Critico 9a in Siurana. Including five previous 8c+ or harder, four 8As and several top competitions results, the French woman must be considered as one of the best female climbers in the last ten years. (c) Jacopo Larcher Full story on on her blog: "Last year, I spent quite some time on it, I was very close. As I chose to take part of the World Cup circuit of Bouldering, I had to leave without the ascent and I was very sad, but choices are like that, we can t have everything all the time. This year I realize that climbing outside is my priority and this is the reason of my climbing."

Alizée Dufraisse elkönyvelhette magának az első női megmászását az Estado Critico 9a útnak Spanyolországban. Alizée évek óta csűri a helyi hardcore utakat, mászott már 8c+/9a-t, de ezzel a mászásával végleg felírta magát a közé a maroknyi leány közé akik elérték a 9a mágikus fokozatát. (c) Jacopo Larcher Teljes sztori a csajszi blogján: "Tavaly már elég sok időt töltöttem ezzel és elég közel is voltam hozzá. Mivel úgy döntöttem részt veszek a boulder világkupa sorozatban, meglehetősen sok idő ment el a megmászás esélye nélkül, ami miatt nagyon szomorú voltam - dehát a döntéseink ilyenek: nem kaphatunk meg mindent egyszerre. Idén realizáltam, hogy a mászás kint a sziklán számomra a fő prioritás és ez az oka amiért mászom."

Estado Critico 9a, Siurana, Alizée Dufraisse from Stéphane Hanssens on Vimeo.

One week ago, IFSC made this announcement: "IFSC has signed a 3-year deal with US-based streaming company Flosports to bring IFSC Climbing World Cup events to its Floclimbing platform." After the climbing community and athletes heavily protested the proposed USD 20 monthly subscription fee, IFSC has now changed their mind. "A mistake was made and we apologize for that. The live streaming for IFSC will remain free of charge, the same as it was at the 1st World Cup in Meiringen, Switzerland and in previous years. The deal - despite having been announced - has not been signed and thus has not been concluded. Any possible future variation of this policy will be discussed inside the IFSC and subject to the approval of our key stakeholders. Let's keep climbing together."

Jon Cardwell reports on Instagram that he did Papichulo 9a+ in Oliana on his last day before returning back home. The American has spent two months in Spain including actually extending his trip waiting for his project to dry up. (c) Javi Pec Last year Jon did his first 9a+, Biographie, and explained to 8a how he had become a better climber. "I think in the last year, I really improved as a climber. Mostly in my ability to climb with less hesitation - in the last year I really focused more on onsight and flash and I think these forms of climbing really help that, more than physical challenges they are almost the best training for one's climbing mind! You must make important decisions quickly, without self-doubt, and when you make a mistake you're often finished. This really helps your mind act without emotion - which often gets in the way of hard redpoints - "is this the try?" "Are conditions perfect" etc....once I realized thoughts like that didn't help, I moved with more confidence and was able to perform to the best of my ability (still far from the super stars we see today) but definitely at a higher level than last year."

IFSC and Flosports have signed a 3 year contract hoping to get some good money to both parties, based on a 20 USD a month deal for live-streaming of World Cups. For some reason, IFSC did not bother to communicate and explain the rationale neither internally nor externally. Because of the extreme criticism from the climbing community, Meiringen was streamed free of charge on Youtube. On Wednesday, "Various possibilities for the live streaming of IFSC events will be discussed throughout the week with the stakeholders to make sure the IFSC continue to promote both Athletes and Events in the best way." IFSC has signed a contract which means they can not just break the deal with Flosports without paying a penalty. The only way for the community to break the deal is to not pay the USD 20, making Flosports understand they will loose money in the long run. Even the athletes have been discussing refusing being interviewed in the live-streaming. Even so, it is important that somebody in IFSC takes the blame and steps down, as otherwise, the organisation can not be trusted to make other bad decisions in the future.

The athletes' commission, including 13 athletes, has written an open letter to create awareness and explain their stance on media communication. Jorg Verhoeven has said in the forum that he can answer any questions regarding AC's position. "The last few days have been dramatic - never before has the climbing community been so vocal and united in opposition to a decision involving our sport. The IFSC rightly states that it values good governance and transparency, and that its athletes are included in decision making processes at all levels. However we would not be where we are today if this were completely true: - rule changes have been introduced with little communication or debate, and in our view without proper consideration of the consequences; - the media rights for our sport have apparently been sold with no consultation, and with no apparent consideration for the effects on athletes, sponsors, organisers or the community that ultimately makes climbing the sport we love. We are saddened that the IFSC has chosen not to be open, not just with us but with the climbing community at large. To us, this is opposite of the spirit that defines our sport. We are speaking up now because we are disappointed and frustrated; we feel that we have reached a dead end in trying to influence the IFSC quietly from the inside. If we believed that it was too late for the IFSC to act in accordance with its stated values we would not be writing this, but we have to call for a change in behaviour. We are concerned that the IFSC will try to manage its way past this crisis and then go back to business as usual. This is not a course of action that we can agree with. To make our voices heard, starting at the Meiringen World Cup, we have asked the athletes to withdraw cooperation with the livestream media until changes are made. Our aims are to have: - effective consultation on (rule) changes that effect the athletes; - a free livestream on an IFSC platform indefinitely. We are speaking out publicly because we believe that the IFSC and its board members will rightly be judged by their action or inaction. We hope our actions will help the IFSC hold itself accountable, not to us, but to the climbing community at large. As athletes, we want to see our sport grow and prosper, but success must be measured in more than financial return."