Stefano Carnati has done Xaxid hostel (9a) in Mišja Peč. ”Great long route with a heinous sequence on slippery holds close to the start and several other low-percentage moves higher up. Not over until the end. Sent during a cloudy and cold day.”

Last year, the Italian did his first year 9b as well as an 8C+ graded boulder problem. Currently, he lives in Slovenia and he's in his 2nd year of PhD studies in environmental and chemical sciences.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I belayed some of my friends on the route and it immediately caught my eye. So, after Christmas break I decided to start trying! I quickly felt good on the movement, but the crux at the begin was giving me troubles on redpoint. Fortunately, once I made it through I managed not to make mistakes or get too pumped in the upper part, even though it is still hard with several risky movements. Overall it required 14 tries over 4 sessions. It’s a beautiful long route and hopefully it will see more ascents in the future, although it’s definitely a bit more demanding in respect to the other two 9as in Misja Pec!

Francesco Berardino reports on Instagram that he has done the first repeat of Dave Graham's Celestite (8C+) in Valle Bavona. (c) High Video & Media Production

"I tried it a lot with Dave Graham when he did the FA last year but his kneebar solution was impossible for me. Giul [Cameroni] found a blind foot which makes it easier for me."

After completing Celestite, the 20-year-old went to Innsbruck for ten days and did multiple double session days on the spray wall with friends. Three days ago, he repeated Giuliano Cameroni's REM (8C+) and yesterday he sent Yannick Flohe's Return of the Dreamtime (8C+), both in Cresciano.

Of the three 8C+'s you just did, which one do you find the most challenging?
REM is the hardest one for me. You need to be super precise on very sharp crimps. I tried it a lot last year but after Innsbruck, I felt light and could do it in the first session. The other two are easier and for me possibly hard 8C's. I also did some replica training of Return... and that might reflect my feelings. All three boulders are super good.

How many 8C and harder have you done now?
I do not know. I do not keep track. My first was The Story Of 2 Worlds (8C) but this is probably 8B+ due to new knee bar beta. Grades are not important for me and I still say The Story was my first 8C as I climbed it in the 8C style.

Are you climbing full time now?
I have been a full-time climber since I finished school like 1.5 years ago. Last autumn I spent a couple of months with Dave and Giul and we just climbed and this is what I want to do. I do not work and my parents help me out with gas etc. I get some free climbing gear but I do not have any sponsors. I just want to climb. My hero is Bruce Lee, "Be like water, flawless and shape less."

Have you lined up a new project for yourself?
I would like to repeat Shawn's [Raboutou] The Story of the Three Worlds [8C+].

Lucy Mitchell has been on a trip to Aix-en-Provence where she managed to send Darwin dans la cave (8c).

”This year was a bit of a comeback trip for me. Last December I had a nasty fall and broke my kneecap quite badly so it was my first time back outside. It was just the best being back on rock and getting moving again!

I wanted to try some routes that I had been on last year before the accident. La rose et le vampire (8b), in the picture, and Sur les épaules de Darwin (8b+) were my two main projects. After a ‘small’ battle just after the last draw of La rose (7 drops!) it finally gave in 😊

Sur les épaules de Darwin (8b+) was much more my style (long and pumpy) but with a really hard boulder at the start that I struggled with. After a few days of trying the boulder and getting very pumped on the upper section, I finally got through it and luckily had built up enough fitness and did not fall off the top!

Darwin dans la cave (8c) is a cave extension to the above. 6 bolts in a horizontal roof and then into the pumpy shared top. Luck was on my side again and the first time I made it through the roof I did not drop the top! This was my favourite ascent, fighting all the way! The perfect way to finish the trip!”

Hard is Easy has published an interesting video that compares various scenarios and techniques for ensuring soft catches.

Solveig Korherr has sent Esclatamasters (9a) in Perles & Canelles. ” Probably one of the best lines I have climbed on limestone so far! Having two completely different climbing styles combined in one route on such high-quality rock makes it very unique. Grade-wise, it felt more on the 8c+ side to me. 8 tries over five days. Thanks Dan for sharing all the beta and kneebar wizardry, and the sending belay! It’s a lot of beta to remember ^^” (c) Emile Pino

Over the last two weeks, the 25-year-old has also redpointed two 8c's and onsighted Humildes pa Casa (8b+) and she comments on Instagram. "It feels so surreal at the moment that I must be in one of the best shapes of my life. I guess, I’ve been adapting very well to the rock in recent weeks, and my psych seems endless right now🔥"

Interestingly, right in the start, Alex Puccio gives beta to Toby Roberts on how to let go of the left-hand hold and instead swing (pogo) the arm downwards, to succeed in making a dyno.

Owen Whaley repeated Trieste (8B+) last autumn. "Third session this trip. A really good couple of days out with good friends. Random try when I sent, the last one of the day, felt not so good on the lower moves but my mind was turned off, remember sticking the knob and thinking about how quiet it was. Great to climb from the true bottom to the top."

Enrique Beltrán Blasco, who over the last two years has done five 9a's, has made the FA of Mavericks (9a) in Alquézar. The very next day, the 23-year-old repeated Desafiando a Noa (8c+).

Can you tell us more about Maveriks?
I am very happy with the ascent because it can be the hardest of my life. It was bolted Dani Fuertes three years ago. The route is about 30/35 metres on a roof and the most difficult part is to take the kneebar rest. This part is about hard 8c+ or 9a, small crimps, two finger pockets, very small feet and very physical.

You can relax a bit in the knee bar but it is bad. Then you continue with a helicopter move and the real crux is when you go on climbing, it's about a 7B boulder and then two quickdraws very easy with jugs. The finish is not very hard but when you do the small crimps in a more vertical wall [from the ground] , it is difficult to be calm and climb well.

Jernej Kruder sent Martin Krpan (9a) in December without using kneepads to respect the first ascensionist and commented, “I would like to expose something here: I spent many tries on this one, because my endurance is pretty bad, but I chose not to use kneepads since I respect the first ascent. Using kneepads would help me rest just before the crux. This would make grading equal to Konec Mira (8c/c+). Kneepad would also make me rest after the crux, where I was mostly falling. This would make the route even easier. So people, if you decide to disrespect the first ascensionist by using kneepads, then at least be true to yourself by not calling it 9a!” In this article he elaborated a bit more.

Jernej received a lot of credit for his thoughts and it created an interesting debate in the forum. Tobi Corr made a long statement which is one of the most "venga/liked" comments ever recorded on 8a:

"My few cents on the topic: Some people underestimate and under-appreciate kneebaring as a skill. Why do you think Dave Graham or other kneebar-expert pro climbers use kneepads on basically every climb that they do on climbs where nobody else does? Why are we not seeing more repeats of First Round First Minute if the kneebar beta is such a game changer? Is it because most people want to do it the way it was FAd or because they can't utilize the kneebar beta?

Another question for this scenario then is whether the kneebar-expert should downgrade the climb because it was an easier solution for him/her or recognize that for the average kneebar-leveled climber this does not make the climb any easier. Some people assume kneepads and kneebars are a "necessary evil" in order to get to the top of climbs in easier ways. Speaking for myself, I enjoy technical kneebar climbing a lot and think it, contrary to what some suggest, increases the complexity of climbing by opening up a larger set of available techniques. I think having kneepads as an available tool makes climbing more fun for me.

We all have different views on climbing. If you don't want to climb with kneepads, then don't. If you want to repeat a climb the same way it was FAd, then do. If you don't want to use a fan, then don't. If you want to use a full-body rubber suite, then do. If you want to have a crew of people holding a fan on the crux hold of your route, then do. If you think it is silly, then don't. As long as you don't mess with the experience for other's I think you should be allowed to climb in whichever style you want.

What is important is that if you are playing the "tick-hard-routes-to-get-cred" game, then I think you need to be honest about how you did it. After all, grades are subjective (as we all know) and may be different depending on what material is being used (as we all know), and giving a good grade suggestions may be challenging even for experienced climbers.

I think the "problem" here is that some people, Jernej in this case, are frustrated because they don't want to climb with kneepads, yet the difficulty of their ascents are compared apples-to-apples with the one is using kneepads, which in some cases are not an apple-to-apples comparison and may not give the appropriate level of credit to some ascents. Jernej seems to suggest that the solution to this is to have some sort of standard of how a route should be climbed. I think this is not the best solution because this discussion would then go on forever on what this "standard" should be. He seems to suggest that the standard should be to do it the way it was FAd, which also comes with problems since kneepads are not the only equipment that has been and is continuously improving as well as the routes themselves changing due to polish, new beta, broken holds.

Therefore I think the best option is to just accept that it is very hard to make apple-to-apple comparisons of ascents and there is no such thing as a "true" grade of a route and that the best option may be to ask for transparency from climbers regarding how they ascended it in order to tell what type of apple it is (new beta, kneepads, specific shoes, fans, going left at fifth bolt, finding new hold, hold broke, supercharged physivantage collagen, etc.). I wish you a lovely new climbing year at the crags or the gyms."

"We talked about his two most epic solos that nobody heard about, near misses, lessons from other climbing legends like Tommy Caldwell, Jonathan Siegrist, and Peter Croft, pooping while free soloing stories, how the film Free Solo exceeded his hopes and dreams, the commitment to excellence, and much more!"