Grimper reports that Jean-Pierre Bouvier has done the FA of Contre-courant, which is a 60 move, back and forth, 9A traverse in Fontainebleau. Traverse grading has a specific scale in between routes and boulders in Font, meaning that it corresponds to the difficulty of, more or less, a 9a+ route or an 8C (+) boulder. In other words, the 65-year-old has set a new standard in climbing which possibly has no similarity to other physical sports, if the grade is confirmed.

Jean-Pierre was in 1980, the first climber to do a 7C+ in Font. He has also managed to do several hard-core traverses up to 9A, out of which a few have not been repeated, and at the same time, others have been downgraded.

Stefano Ghisolfi has published a video on Insta, saying he is just, "one foot and one hand move from the final jug." Meanwhile, Adam Ondra says it is "game over", due to the risk of finger injury.

Jana Svecova has done the FA of Lion King (8B) in Al Tawian. This was her second trip to United Arab Emirates and together with her boyfriend they have put up some 100 boulders 5B to 8B. "Today, the last climbing day of our stay, 15 tries, no success I even made a split during the last unsuccessful try and gave up. An hour later, while going to the car, I decided to give a couple of last tries with the tip of the index finger taped, and surprisingly the no expectation helped! Even without warming up, I managed to send it first try🏆😍🔥"

Could you tell us more about your trip and the potential in the UAE?
We came to the United Arab Emirates for two months. We decided to go to the Emirates because we know that the weather is basically great all the time. Most of the time it is about doing FAs. Now when we experience the weather in December, next time we would choose January and February because the temperatures are even lower in these months. There are plenty of valleys, but you have to search for the one where water flows annually :) but I would say there is a lot of riverbed climbing. The valley of Tawaian is several kilometres long and we made two sectors, separated by just a couple of hundred meters. We for sure went to explore the valley a little further and there were so many even bigger boulders… I would say that valley only could have up to 500 boulders.

Were there already locals climbing at this spot?
This year we met already a couple of people climbing there. The topo is almost done, I think that will make it a lot more accessible and the climbing community in Dubai is quite big. I guess (nearly) nobody knew there is some good climbing around. If anyone wants the topo, they can just reach out @uae_bouldering on Insta, The guys will be happy to share it and there is a climbing festival 25/2 :)

Sébastien Berthe, famous for all his big wall adventures, has done La Rambla (9a+) in Siurana. "This route has made me dream for 20 years and I am super proud to have climbed it. It is my second route of that grade and it makes me really psyched for my upcoming projects.

In January, I spent 3 weeks in Siurana trying hard on that route (had 14 sessions and about 25 tries in total on it). In the first few sessions, I was destroyed by the long effort the route required and I could barely do two tries in one day. I would end the session exhausted with multiple holes on my skin. I could not even support two days in a row. However, I improved really fast on the route. Day after day, I was feeling better and better and kept falling higher and higher. After a few sessions, I could arrive at the final boulder, but it is where everything starts on this route. The mental battle started there as well: for a week, I kept falling at the very same spot, on the same move again and again. I could not hold that pocket and always fell with the feeling of being fresh and not having fought enough. On the victory go though, I gave it all, held the pocket power-screaming! Things were not over: there are still a few hard moves to go to the chain. With the pressure and sun at that time of the day, I took the wrong foothold and almost fell on the very last hard move. I also took advantage of my good shape to climb La Reina Mora (9a), in the picture, and Chikane (8c+). Super happy with this as well!"

What do you think has been the key to your success and progression over the past year?
I moved to Fontainebleau some months ago and for me, bouldering is the key to progress! Bouldering more and more makes me stronger and stronger even for long routes like la Rambla.

Michaela Kiersch reports on Insta that she has done La Rambla (9a+) in Siurana. Impressively, she projected it for just ten sessions. (c) Colette McInerney

In April, the 28-year-old graduated as a Doctor in hand therapy. Last year, she was also the only female climber to complete both a 9a and an 8B+ boulder interview. Overall, her combined ticklist makes her a contender for the best female outdoor climber as of now. At the age of 15, she made her debut in the World Cup and was #22. The next year, she was #18 in a Lead World Cup.

What was your first impression of La Rambla?
On my first try I did all the moves and felt super optimistic, but there were a few sections that felt super difficult and I was nervous about being able to link them together for a send.

Did video footage of La Rambla help you refine your beta?
I watched every video available and also had a really psyched group of friends here who are also trying the route. Having others to climb with and share beta was super crucial for me. There are a few big moves - I ended up jumping in the middle and this is the section I fell on the most, maybe 5 tries.

In the end, I stayed really positive and once I stuck the jump the first time I linked up to the top crux - that’s when I knew for sure it was possible. I fell there once more and then sent the next try.

What did your training and preparation for this trip look like?
I did a really regimented training block of about 6 weeks following my trip to the RRG (Red River Gorge). It included moonboard, kilterboard, circuits, and hangboarding. And, sauna every day!

You've had quite a successful year of climbing! What do you attribute most to your success?
You can’t fill every bucket at once. I shifted my priorities to focus more on climbing as I finished my education and I think being able to spend more time and energy (on climbing) is a major factor. I have a lot of positivity in my life at the moment and it’s giving me momentum.

Last year, each country was allowed to field five athletes per discipline at all World Cups events. In 2023, the world ranking will have a bigger impact and each country is only guaranteed 2 + 2 athletes. Furthermore, everyone in the Top-10 ranking from 2022, as also previous years, will be allowed to compete as well as up to three athletes ranked 11-40.

In theory, this means that Japan will be allowed to participate with 7 - 9 athletes in all World Cups, and on home turf another 4 athletes can compete. The USA also benefits and will, for the most part, be allowed to field six athletes at World Cups.

Spain will suffer from the new rules as they will only be allowed to have three males and two females on the starting list. Furthermore, The Czech Republic, Switzerland and Italy have no extra quota for male boulderers which especially for the latter country could have an impact on the Olympic qualification.

"3.2.1. Any currently-eligible competitors ranked 10th or better in the relevant World Ranking as the start of the calendar year (Extra Quota competitors);
3.2.2. In addition to specific individuals covered above, up to two (2) currently-eligible competitors;
3.2.3. In addition to the individuals covered above, up to an additional four (4) competitors where the Member Federation is the host nation; and
3.2.4. an additional number of competitors where the Member Federation has an Additional Quota in a relevant gender category and discipline, up to the number of that Additional Quota.
3.3. The Additional Quota for each Member Federation in each gender category and discipline will be determined by the number of competitors from each Member Federation ranked between 11th and 40th in the relevant World Ranking as at the end of the previous year using the values set out in Table 2 (Additional Quota)." More info at IFSC.

Fabrizio Peri, who did his third 9a in 2020, has done the third ascent of It segid narc (8c+) in . Laura Rogora did the FA of the very steep link-up in 2017 and the year later, Adam Ondra did the second ascent. The 51-year-old started climbing in 1979 and he did his first 8c at age 40 after having stopped bodybuilding.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I started trying the route in April last year but then temperatures rose and I returned to the cave in November trying the route a couple of times a week.....until yesterday I succeeded! I'm very happy that I still get to be lucky enough to have fun with these grades. Lately, I've had to change my training method by reducing dry strength workouts because they are very traumatic, but I've replaced them with maximum bouldering sessions for my level. I am also very attentive to recovery and the day before climbing on rock I always insert some aerobic work. I always maintain a controlled diet and when I'm close to sending a route I reduce even more because 1 or 2 kg less makes the difference for me, after all, I know that afterwards I'll be rewarded with a nice sweet Italian 'tiramisu' very caloric 😁.

How do you manage climbing at such a high level at age 51?
It's very simple. It all comes from my great passion for climbing and the pleasure of training at the same time. I've always thought that the most beautiful routes are the most difficult ones, which is why I've always tried to improve. So it was a slow process that led me to understand myself to better manage training and climbing days. My biggest goal is always to repeat important routes where the strongest have passed. I would like to do it in Spain but my work and family commitments don't allow me to do it so I focus on areas close to home. I can train every day, sometimes even two sessions a day, alternating resistance with bouldering. I manage to climb about two times a week and do about two 5/6 day climbing trips a year.

What's your occupation?
I am a soldier of the Guardia di Finanza, and I work as a sports and climbing instructor.