Jonathan Siegrist has done Resisting Arrest (9a) in Robber's Roost. "Great movement, nothing weird or too cruxy, big resting spots, comfy holds, proud line, IMHO entry for the grade, and all just a 5 minute walk from the car... for sure this will be a much loved classic!"

Could you tell us a little more about your ascent? The process was kind of tough! I had not so much time at home between trips, and I was really motivated to try this line because it looked awesome. After a month in Ceuse I knew it would be perfect training for me to get into shape for my summer goals (roof climbing). But unfortunately I got Covid on my way back from France, and the weather here has been super hot. I’m quite stubborn though, and I tried my best with the time I had anyways. It’s a great route just because it’s really fun moves, super consistent - nothing too cruxy or painful - and it’s broken up with rests so it feels easy to digest. No bad holds… one of those routes that’s just fun and encouraging to try hard on!

William Bosi has done the FA of Beautiful Mind (8C) in Peak District. "The obvious link of the Trance start into Dandelion mind, I found this harder than Trance." (c) Sam Blackwell

On Insta he says, "This is my 10th and maybe hardest 8C boulder I’ve done this year, although it’s more of a link I think it still climbs really well 😊". The Brit has taken one year off from the comp circuit and he is #1 in the 8a ranking game.

Janja Garnbret, who topped all four routes in the Chamonix World Cup and won on countback over three other girls, who also topped the final route, has posted some critical comments on Insta in regards to the route setting. “... the disappointment of the route setting is still more dominant than the joy about the win.”

Talking about how much training she has put in she says it “feels disrespectful towards everyone's investment to push the sport.

The dilemma for the route setters seems to be that the Slovenian is consistently able to perform at a level above and beyond her fellow competitors. In Innsbruck last month, Janja said she was challenged by possibly the hardest route ever and she fell just a few moves from the top. The runner-up reached just over midway on the wall, 12 holds below Janja.

In the male Lead event at the World Games in USA, the medalists were the three last qualified to the finals. Sasha Lehmann and Masahiro Higuchi were tied #8 and last qualified to the finals. They started first in the finals and Lehmann topped the route and Higuchi got very high up and scored 32+. Then it was Mejdi Schalck’s turn to climb, as he was #7 in the qually. He got 24+ which was good enough for the bronze as five of the remaining finalists got 22+ and one 18+. In the end, Jesse Grupper was #4, on countback, as he had won the qualification.

Among the females, Jessica Pilz, #2 in the qualification, got seven holds above Natsuki Tanii, who won the first stage. Lana Skusek got the bronze ahead of Ignacia Quinteros.

It should be mentioned that several of the best did not participate as the World Games were scheduled right in between two World Cups in France.

Alfons Dornauer reports on Insta that he has done Stefan Fürst’s 1996 test-piece in Geisterschmiedwand. Stefan first graded it 8c+ but as nobody could repeat it, it become a 9a. Then Adam Ondra made the first repeat suggesting 9a+ which was confirmed by Roland Hemetzberger who did the third ascent. (c) Misha P

” I started to work on the route in the autumn 2021. Already on my first sessions on the route I made some good progress. The crux section definitely suits my style so I continued to work on the route this spring season. However I broke a tiny and a crucial intermediate hold in the crux section. I was still able to do the crux quite solid but didn’t made good progress from the ground. Since the little rest before the crux is not as comfortable as expected it was crucial to climb the first part of the route which is around 8c/+ as efficient as possible. Somehow I lost a bit of motivation and decided take a few weeks off from trying it…So after 2 to 3 weeks I came back with full motivation and was able to send it within a few sessions.

One of my greatest weakness is definitely to be persistent when it comes down to finish off a project. Before I wasn’t really impressed by someone sending a route or boulder by projecting it for such a long time. But it’s definitely an ability not really easy to learn when you are impatient. Moreover it was great to see how little adjustments can be decisive to finish it off. Personally it’s an ascent I am definitely pretty proud of.”

Sebastien BOUIN reports on Insta that he has done the first repeat of Adam Ondra’s Thor's Hammer 2 (9a+) in Flatanger. It starts by jumaring to the anchor of Thor’s Hammer (9a), bolted by Magnus Midtbö.

The big plan is to do it from the ground creating a potential 9b+ but there are also easier and harder link-up possibilities. Seb is also talking about the possibility to bolt and continue another 50 meters to the top above the amazing cave. However, as it stands, bolting new routes is not currently allowed. Marco Müller

This is an opportunity to combine your passion for climbing with your professional expertise. You’ll get to design interfaces that tens of thousands of people rely on in a wide range of situations, many of which are related to climbing.
As a Senior UI/UX designer, your job is to create designs that turn innovative ideas into reality. You will work on sketches with the product team and turn them into wireframes and eventually designs that are ready for implementation, before closing the circle by joining in on the QA. You’ll be in charge of building and maintaining our design library in Figma to make sure that we achieve consistency in our features across different platforms. You’ll go beyond making wireframes pixel perfect, you will be part-product-owner, part-UI-designer. To manage all of this, you will rely on your ability to work methodically and to think analytically, as well as your deep understanding of how humans interact with software to solve problems. Whether that is a climber lost in a forest without reception, or a gym owner trying to set up a boulder circuit for a friendly competition amongst a training group.

Requirements:
- You like to think hard so that people who use your interfaces don’t have to. You understand that an interface is between a human with emotions, and a piece of software with logical constraints. You like to find ways of making that relationship as simple as possible.
- You have the proven ability to build off of, and create from, roughly staged ideas and requirements across products to identify patterns, and create simple user experiences.
- You are committed to quality, that’s why you see details in implementations that no one else catches, and point them out.
- You are able to work in an international, partially remote, team.
- You are experienced with Figma and enjoy working with it.
- The ability to write CSS and/or HTML code is a big plus.
- You are fluent in German and English and able to communicate clearly.
- You are willing to travel to South Tyrol in regular intervals (min. 6 times a year).

Sound like you?
Great, we would love to hear from you! Please send the following to [email protected]:
- Your CV in English or German, highlighting your most relevant professional experience, as well as a short list of your favorite climbs.
- Either a one-page write-up (Cover Letter) in which you briefly introduce yourself and tell us why you would like to work with us, or an interface that you have designed with a brief description of what motivated your choices in that design.

About us:
We are a team of roughly 35 people from more than 12 countries that share the common goal of creating software and digital solutions that express our passion for climbing. Our office is located in Brixen, South Tyrol, but some of us work remotely and visit sporadically. We have five main products - the Smart Climbing Gym software, NO-Q, the result service, 8a.nu, and the Vertical-Life App. While we’ve been focused on the first two in the last two years, we are now expanding our team and itching to better connect and improve 8a.nu and Vertical-Life. Join us to make it happen!

See other job openings at our website.

Adam Ondra took a break from competitions after the Olympics in Tokyo last August, where he was #6. Part of the reason was to restore energy before the Olympic qualifications start in 2023 and also as his wife Iva, #25 in the WCH in 2019, gave birth to Hugo at the beginning of May. During the last ten months, the 29-year-old has redpointed 20 routes 9a to 9b and onsighted ten routes 8b+ to8c+. The only IFSC comps he has done in 2022 were the European Bouldering Cup in Prague in 1/5 and the Chamonix Lead World Cup, winning both.

How much and How did you prepare for the Chamonix World Cup?

I took a break when Hugo was born to have more time to really enjoy those special moments. After 3 weeks I got slowly back into it and I reckoned that Chamonix would be good timing to get back into shape. So it was around 5 weeks. Training for lead comps is the most enjoyable for me as it includes bouldering on spraywall, occasional bouldering at my home crag when the weather is good, doing circuits on my home wall and climbing on the lead wall in Brno. Pretty much similar preparation like for outdoor sport climbing projects. Carrying Hugo around the home is a great active recovery:-) I went on the rock a few times when there were some colder days in Slovakia to Krpcovo (3h away) and Derava skala (1h20min away). Both crags have quite a bit of potential and I will definitely be back. It was a wonderful time as long as I don't have to train for speed and I can enjoy my time with my wonderful family.

What are your competition and rock plans for 2022?
I am planning to do European Championships in Munich and then only rock climbing until spring next year. Quite a few projects in my mind around Europe and hopefully we will be able to travel around as the whole family with Iva and Hugo.

Eleven males and twelve females participated in the World Games in Birmingham, USA. Kokoro Fujii and Mao Nakamura won the semifinals. Into the finals, Nicolas Collin started first and did all four problems in just six tries winning over Kokoro needing eight attempts. Among the females, Miho Nonaka was the only one doing three boulders.

1. Nicolas Collins BEL 44 (6) - Miho Nonaka JPN 34
2. Kokoro Fujii JPN 44 (8) - Katja Debevec SLO 24 (3)
3. Yoshiyuki Ogata JPN 34 - Mao Nakamura JPN 24 (5)

It should be mentioned that several athletes like Natalia Grossman and Adam Ondra, who had qualified to the World Games, did choose to not participate. Furthermore, the quota included max two athletes per nation and gender.