Cathy Wagner is having her best year ever, although being 50 years old she has done 57 routes 8a and harder. Two days ago she did En mémoire des mutants in Pic st Loup giving the confirmed 8b a personal grade of 8a. " Perhaps 8b for those climbers who still use no knee bars and...have no brain. Basically second go."

Alex Puccio seems to be back stronger than ever just three months after her knee surgery and can know add her hardest flash ever, Mysterious Wayz 8A (+) in RMNP. (c) Chris Motta "As much as I would like to say I flashed my first V12 that moment will have to wait a bit longer. This Is a fun short power climb! :) Definatly completely my style and thanks to Joel, Chris and Josh for going out early today!

Lars Gilberg has used the new Kalymnos guidebook with the free App for a week and he says it is the best topo ever. "If in need for guidelines in life, some people turn to the Bible. Others go to bed reading the Kalymnos guidebook. The new edition was presented in Massouri a week ago. So many climbers were gathered at the Wild Sport climbing store that even the Norwegian best selling crime author, Jo Nesbø, was impressed. He just came to Kalymnos to climb after speaking to 4000 of his fans in Athens. I've spoken to a number of climbers using the new guide during the last week, and so far they have all been full of praise. Considering the number of routes has increased by a 1000 since the last edition, it’s amazing the books size is up only from 340 to 448 pages. They’re all packed with useful info, presented in a delicate and user-friendly way. In fact, this should be a manual to every club around the world on how to do it. Unfortunately, there are so many guidebooks that are not giving info on essential facts like length of routes or when the sun hits. Aris Theodoropoulus is the man behind all the kalymnian guidebooks, and also the man behind a big percentage of all the routes on this island with all the biblical references, from the crag Prophitis Andreas to the summit of the Island, Prophitis Ilias. Of those two, I have to admit, I know the latter one best. It is a stunning running destination. Theodoropoulos himself raises the Q in his intro of the book: Is it sensible to make a printed book in our digital age? His answer: Many climbers say they love to have a book coz it has a soul that a digital topo does´t provide. However: This time Theodoropoulos has included a free app for tablets and smartphones for everyone buying the book. Lots of my friends have been using both the book and the app the last week. One of the smart features with the app is that it will be updated regularly. It also has GPS coordinates for the crags. I don´t have any factual backing for saying this, but I guess the younger generation might feel that the app is all they need, whereas oldies who grew up with paper books and printed newspapers like to own the book. I’m afraid I belong to the last group. I have been coming to Kalymnos to climb every year since 2001, when Aris convinced me about the richness of rock over a dinner in Tonsai. Now that I’ve been 17 times to Tonsai and 15 to Kalymnos, one of the differences I experience is this one: In Tonsai there is not much left to climb, but in Kalymnos the number of unclimbed routes is increasing from year to year. Just look at this timeline: First edition of the guidebook came in year 2000 with 200 routes. Second one in 2003 with 500 routes. Third in 2006 with 850 routes. Forth in 2008 with 1100 routes. Fifth in 2010 with 1700 routes. Sixth in 2015 with 2700 routes. According to the author, this is probably the last time that all routes fits in one book. This time he has left out a few not so popular crags to give place to new ones. I should probably not finish off this article without touching the issue that a lot of climbers were discussing before the book came - and after: Which routes are downgraded? I have found examples of routes sliding from 7c to 7a+ over the last two guidebooks, but there is also a lot of routes that has been upgraded, som even with two grades. This is a natural process, I guess, not only because some stalactites are breaking, but also because grades are nothing like exact science, just numbers meant to guideline people who want to play. To sum up: I have around 20 guidebooks from all over the world in my bookshelf at home, and this is the best one so far.

Sachi Amma, who has done nine routes 9a to 9b in 2015, reports on Facebook that he has done New Baseline 8B+ in Magic Woods. "I sent New Baseline 8B+ on my third go!!!!! Unbelievable!!!!! I expected that it is possible to climb in a day. But not that fast.

Petr Blaha, who started climbing in 1994 and did his first 7c+ when he was 31 years old, is peaking with Abyss 9a in Gorges du Loup, being 39 years old. During the last year, he has done three 8c+'s out of his total of six and all in Gorges du Loup. (c) Yoann Estepa How do you train? There are no shortcuts for progression, train hard, rest regularly, stay motivated, avoid injuries. Do that and you will progress. Training, up to 30 hours a week. Weightlifting and the calisthenics Monday plus Wednesday, twice a day. Tuesdays and Thursdays are dedicated to finger strength training, campusing or fingerboarding in the morning, two or three hours in climbing gym at the evening. Friday is a rest day, I spend Saturday and Sunday at the cliff all year round, I try do spend some time Sunday night on campus board. Three weeks of training, one week rest.

Sean McColl is one of the very best competition climbers in the world and also the only male who sometimes competes in Speed. However, as the best run up is the 15 meter high 6b in around six seconds and McColl usually covers it in 8 - 9 seconds, i.e. he is 33 - 50% slower, he finishes among the last. IFSC has suggested that the Olympic format will be based only on the Combined results of Lead, Bouldering and Speed. The Speed world record of the is 5.60 by Danyil Boldyrev. This is very impressive and these guys have been training specifically for several years. To have Adam Ondra competing next to Danyil would be embarassing for everyone involved. I mean it is like forcing the world's best 3 000 meter runner to compete against Usain Bolt in 100 meters. For me the best "combined" format is to select DWS as the Olympic format as this tests the Lead, Bouldering and Speed skills in a fun and understandable way. If "combined" Climbing makes it into the Olympics in 2020, IFSC has to change the WC format in 2019. Imagine how big impact this will also have at the national and youth level. How many of the best athletes are willing to skip maybe 20% of their power and endurance training and just start running on a 6b route instead? I mean, this speed focus will also have a negative impact on their rock climbing performances, beside it being dead boring to train for.

Ethan Pringle reports on Facebook that during a night session he did Thor's Hammer 9a+ in Flatanger. "YAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!! I SENT THOR's!!!!' AAAAAGGGGHHHHH! I climbed through the first crux section on my third go of the night and somehow managed not to fall on the latter 3/4 of the route! I was SO nervous and pretty convinced that I was going to fall everywhere but I had it so dialed that I could machine through it pretty mindlessly, on autopilot. My toes were TOTALLY numb and frozen on the second half of the route and I couldn't see the feet becuause it was pretty much DARK but I just kept trucking and fought to the top!!! Holy SHIT, SO PSYCHED!!! I screamed until my voice was horse. Thanks so much to Dave Graham for this hilarious pic, the belay and eternal stoke! Surprise surprise!!!

Sasha Digulian has written a debate article in regards to the Rock & Ice article where Paige Claasen says FFA (First Female Ascents) are irrelevant. "FFA are significant because they flag the progress of women's achievements in climbing. The relevancy of labeling something as a "First Female Ascent" can be arbitrary depending the difficulty may be somewhat insignificant. My hero is Lynn Hill for setting the precedent for men and women. Her achievements and highlighting that she is a woman narrow the gender gap. I think that there is something to be said about women putting themselves out there and going after their dreams regardless of past ascentionists. This encourages me to push myself as well. Perhaps people who are not in favor of emphasizing "female firsts" find organizations like the Women's Sports Foundation and UN Women irrelevant as well. Reinforcement of female achievements are necessary to encourage progression." 8a agrees with the thoughts of Digulian even if FFA should not in general be considered as important as a FA. Although climbing might be the sport where female are closest to male performance, of course it is important to state who was the first female on Mount Everest or which female will do the FFA of a 9a+. If climbing media should not divide and select male and female performances differently, we would almost never see any female ascents reported. Most certainly, no media would report Paige's 8b+/c ascent, as probably 500 guys do it every year.