During the semifinal at the Bern Boulder World Championship, the athletes faced a boulder problem that had a hold with no texture. Many struggled coming to grips with this problem, but Yannick Flohé did it with ease after having pouring water on his fingers. (c) IFSC

How did you come up with this idea?
It’s obvious if you have dry fingers there’s no friction on the no texture holds so I tried to get rid of the chalk with sweaty fingers the no texture feels quite sticky. I already used techniques like only chalking the fingertips and cleaning my palms in iso when I knew there would be a press on dual texture in the next boulder. I feel like using chalk on no texture is worse than not using chalk on regular holds when it comes to grip 😅

How do you like this modern school bouldering?
I think no texture holds suck, it just adds another random factor that is not based on climbing skills and there are already enough such things in modern comp bouldering. I think most of the rounds were pretty good lately, however, it’s just frustrating if every round comes down to a slab or a paddle/swing and jump dyno. I would be really excited to see some more powerful climbing but most of the moves (even the „powerful“ moves) are just dynamic moves with big footholds, going from one stable position into the next one. I would love to see some more cut loosing on bad holds or pure upper body strength with poor footholds. I know it’s super difficult to set anyway it would be nice to have some more separation on this kind of boulders. The "every athlete is sooo strong we need to challenge them in different moves“ argument doesn’t really count because the physical difference even between the top athletes is huge in my opinion.

Mejdi Schalck did also use water in a successful way. "It was a very weird experience. We had the same hold in the iso so we did some tests on it and with our coaches we realized that the best thing was water."

Clément Lechaptois has done Child of Hell (8C) at the Gottardo / Gotthardpass. "[An] Amazing problem from Shawn. Very techy and pretty unique style." (c) Nicolò Sartirana

The 30-year-old has done ten boulders 8C or harder and he is having his best year ever, which culminates seven years of non-stop progress. In the 8a ranking game, he is #7.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I first tried the boulder one day on the rope when it was still a project in 2020. I figured out some methods but couldn't return to it that season. Then Shawn did it in the summer of 2021. I came back at it this summer and felt better on the moves and positions. I tried it one more day in pretty bad conditions and fell at the last move once, as close as it gets. I did it on the first try the following session, the conditions were perfect that day.

Alex Barrows has done the FA of The Last Nacho (9a) in Raven Tor. The 36-year-old, who previously has logged seven 9a's, is having his best year ever. (c) Dave Parry

"Belly Full of Nachos (long 8B/+) to an ok rest at its finishing jugs, then head left along the lip via 2 bolts (~6C?) to good knees at the start of Mecca. Up Mecca (8b+), then quest exhaustingly onwards to finish up Crucifixion to the top of the crag (~8a/+ from Mecca chains?). ~45m of climbing taking in quite a few different styles, and surely the longest bit of climbing you can get out of the tor without getting very traversey! Maths says that the top part "shouldn't" add to the difficulty, but it doesn't feel like that - the extra stress, exhaustion, and getting baked by the sun made it a battle from rest to rest, and definitely the most traumatic and, of course, most enjoyable part of the route. I guess it must be the hardest piece of climbing I've done to date, though unfortunately it's not the most classic 😂. (Aka "The Last Supper, brought to you by Taco Bell's halal range")."

Last week we reached a first milestone in our efforts of unifying 8a and Vertical-Life. All routes in the Vertical-Life app are now synced with their 8a siblings. This means that when you use the app to check out topos, you can see all the ascents from 8a, and when you use 8a, you’ll notice significantly cleaned up data on the matched crags (marked by coloured pins). Next up are synchronised ascents and logbooks between the app and the web, with the ultimate goal being a better service on a single platform.

Thanks to our team and 170 moderators, we have significantly improved the data quality on 8a in numerous countries, making it easier than ever to find the best routes for your next trip. As part of this, we have introduced the ability to search by sector in the global search. If you would like to join as a moderator, sign up here and we will onboard you! We've also made several changes to the gallery. The latest update is the ability to upload indoor climbing images. This will be launched in earnest in a few weeks with a big photo contest. Stay tuned for more details! We’re working on bringing gyms and competition climbing to 8a too, making it a place for all climbers while keeping its core values. We've also improved the overall performance of 8a, so the site loads much faster.

On the Vertical-Life app, we've improved the navigation between routes, crags and collections, making it easier to find all the content in the app, and tweaked core features like offline content to make them more stable. Everything rock-related has been given a facelift, with the collections getting a new map and crag filtering options in the latest update (iOS only, Android coming soon).

We'll try to keep you updated on a more regular basis, so if you have any feedback or comments, let us know!

Martina Demmel, who was #26 in the Bern WCH, has done La Cabane au Paradis (8c+) in Rawyl. ” Battle against the heat with sweat running all over my face at the top but another good reminder what's possible when the mind is calm & peaceful! Fell in love with the resistency lower part what makes me curious to someday invest more time in "... au Canada". Quick progress resulted in an unexpected 4th try send with the best support by Chris & Leni!! Such a magic moment: we can't force/wait for it, we can only live & enjoy it!” (c) Chris Frick

The day after she onsighted her eleventh route 8b or harder, Gaucho (8b). ” Wooow I'm still shocked & in disbelief about onsighting this bouldery gem! Especially proud of sticking the jump at the top with only a little bit of hesitation;) amazing rock in the middle! Special thx to Chris for cheering me up all the way:)”

Are you 100 % recovered from your latest injury?
Regarding my broken wrist this winter, it's been 4 months now since I was allowed to climb again and I'm very relieved how well it was playing along the last months with almost no pain and consistent improvements😁📈! I'd say that I can do everything with it again but the strength level in the wrist and the whole arm isn't the same yet again and I've developed some kind of fear of getting injured again, so this was probably the hardest part to overcome😅.

What's next on your radar?
Now I'm getting back on plastic for the final preparations for the last 2 Lead WC's and then, it's already time to go back to school for the next 4 months🧚‍♀️🤓.

Sébastien Berthe, one of the very best multi-discipline climbers in the world, has onsighted Ajo Crudo (8c) in Cicera. (c) Christoph Muster

"Fighting my way up this infinite crimpy route with the cheering of good friends was definitely a big moment! This means a lot to me: onsight climbing is a discipline that I truly love and I have always done it a lot! The onsight game is all about finding a good balance between the risks to take and the good beta to have. In order to take the super fast decisions needed, I have the feeling I had to get together all I've learned as a climber, thanks to the km of rocks I've eaten 🥰

Last few weeks and months, I struggled a bit with my climbing: lack of motivation, low shape, quest for meaning... But for two weeks, everything has slowly come back! Now, the least I can say is that I feel back on track.

8c onsight was definitely a big goal of mine for 2023. In the past, I onsighted 8b+ and flashed an 8c (Mind control in Oliana), but onsighting one felt like another game: it's so much about grasping the right moment on the perfect route. During the last two weeks, I tried on 4 different routes and was quite far each time. But somehow, I knew I was getting closer and was capable of doing it!

Ajo Crudo was a really good candidate for an onsight attempt for me: long, crimpy, okay rest between the section, slightly overhanging... My perfect style! I took all the info I could from the ground (thinking about every single detail: shoes, kneebar, clipping), I climbed well, took some risks, had some chance and fought hard. I took the opportunity and truly didn't let it go even if my body has wanted to quit multiple times during the ascent!"

What is coming up next?
All I can tell you is that Rayu and Orbayu are on the list, let's see if it can work!

RockMaster 2023 will be a special edition to celebrate all together the 35 years of our history. The exciting Duel Competition will award the RockMaster 2023 title.

Already confirmed to be present: Janja Garnbret, Jessica Pilz, Brooke Raboutou, Laura Rogora, Camilla Moroni, Natsuki Tanii, Vita Lukan, Hannah Meul, Adam Ondra, Jakob Schubert, Stefano Ghisolfi, Toby Roberts, Stefan Scherz, Michael Piccolruaz, Taisei Homma, Jesse Grupper.

The race will be preceded by a meeting with the public, where the journalist Emilio Casalini will tell the history of these 35 years, He will be helped by Adam Ondra, Janja Garnbret, Stefano Ghisolfi, Angela Eiter and Yuji Hirayama. At the end of the competition the party goes on with live music. Exceptionally Free Entrance Detailed program and info: www.rockmaster.com

Japan, South Korea and Thailand won 14 out of 18 medals in Lead at the Youth World Championship in Seoul. As in previous years, Japan was the top-performing nation and took home 11 medals. (c) Dimitris Tosidis/IFSC

U20:
1. Hannes Van Duysen BEL - Sara Copar SLO
2. Neo Suzuki JPN - Tomona Takao JPN
3. Zento Murashita JPN - Sana Ogura JPN

U18:
1. Kibeom Kwon KOR - Meije Lerondel FRA
2. Shion Omata JPN - Chaeyeong Kim KOR
3. Auswin Aueareechit THA - Moka Mochizuki JPN

U16: (pictured)
1. Ryusei Hamada JPN - Natsumi Oda JPN
2. Hareru Nagamori JPN - Kohana Mugishima JPN
3. Ryota Toda JPN - Geila Macia Martin ESP

"One of my goals for the trip was to flash Sky, but the day before we went to the boulder I had no sleep, and upon reaching the crag, I felt pretty tired. However, I decided I may as well give a flash rip for fun. I had watched a few videos prior where the climbers used a high right foot to keep their body from swinging in the first move, which seemed like the perfect beta for my height. The second crux move is just a pure board style throw, and as that is what I primarily train on, I knew I would have a pretty good chance to top once I hit the first hold. To my surprise, I stuck the first move pretty well, and just kept it together to the top."