Lleida is the hard core epicentrum

During the last month, 30 ascents 8c and harder have been recorded in crags in Spain out of which 24 ascents within an hour from Lleida. No other country, including France, have received Moreno than one 8c ascent during the last 30 days. Sure many more 8c's have been done the last month around the globe but never before has one area been so dominating even if France had almost an equal winter monopoly until 1995. The most important person for this dramatic change is Dani Andrada. One reason for why France has lost it's popularity is because chipping was very popular during the 80-ies and the 90-ies. Today, several top climbers avoid such crags and the chipping also limited the potential to put up new beautiful hard core lines.