Matjaz Zorko has done Umetnost (9a) in Ter after some ten sessions. "I can say that all the lines in this sector are so beautiful especially this one of course. I’m really happy to send it right before I go to a longer vacation. I'm going for one month to France and Spain! There are still projects in this sector which may be even harder, so i’m psyched for the future!😊" (c) Rajko Zajc

Anak Verhoeven reports on Insta that she has done Jungfrau Marathon 9a in Gimmelwald. (c) Jon Thornton - Peak Imagery

The Belgian was previously a very successful competition climber and when it comes to outdoors, she has done 14 routes 8c+/9a and harder. In other words, although she's just 26-years-old, she is one of the best female climbers in history.

Could you tell us a little bit more about climbing this route?
I first spent two days climbing with local climbers, discovering the route and working the moves. On my third climbing day I went for the redpoint. I fell twice at the crux move; every time feeling a little better. I climbed through the crux on my third redpoint try and topped the route.

When a first ascensionist opts to place a stone or build a pedestal in order to start a climb and get off the ground, the added dilemma is that often such starting platforms get higher over time and first moves get easier and in some cases get skipped altogether. There are also instances where platforms and cheater stones are implemented by others after the FA has taken place. Yes, this is arguably climbing minutiae but we're curious to know how you think this could best be taken into account and managed in order to maintain consistency. The same goes for pad stacking hard sit starts. If the first ascensionist or repeaters deviate from the norm, are we at a point where the climber should always feel compelled to acknowledge that deviation, no matter how small, in order to maintain integrity and sporting fairness? Comments welcome!

William Bosi has done the FA of Free at Last (9a+) in Dumbarton. ”What a line! This has got to be one of the best sport routes I've seen. Also if confirmed it will be Scotlands first 9a+ and hardest route. This is the bolted line right of requiem. I reckon the crux section could be around 8B+/C boulder.” (c) Band of Birds

Despite being bolted a long time ago, the route, known as Dumbarton Oaks (aka La Dumby-Dumby Project) had not received serious attention until 2014 when Dave Macleod and Alan Cassidy re-bolted it and put time into unlocking the sequence of moves.

Bosi commented on the ascent: “Dumby is one of my favourite crags and having climbed there a lot, it feels really special to add my own route to the crag which has such a special place in Scottish climbing’s history.”

On the climbing, Bosi commented, “Although there looks like a lot of holds from the floor, almost everything is an undercut or a side pull. This makes the climbing very technical as the feet are tiny! The climbing is also very intense and powerful as you cannot relax. The send go went really well with almost no mistakes and just a lot of try-hard! The day was pretty still so conditions were not great but while I was sat on the ledge above the slab the wind picked up and the conditions aligned! Topping out felt absolutely incredible and this route is definitely a highlight for me.”

Solomon Kemball has done the first repeat of James Squire recent Paradise Found (8C) in Hartland. (c) James Whitehouse

”Paradise Found is at my local crag with a 20 minute drive so I was able to make frequent visits. I first had a little look at this last summer and immediately wrote it off as impossible until I saw that James had been trying it this year and I thought I would go back and have another look. The first session I had was awful I had no idea what to do and moved on quickly again but after a visit to the crag with James and watching him try it I came back and managed to figure out the crux sequence which revolves around a drop into the double undercut and used some slightly different foot beta which allowed minimal changes between the two moves.

At the time I was also trying another project on that roof which I was going backwards and forwards between depending on which had the better conditions. After figuring out the crux it took me another session to link the release and cut into the crux and then another to work out the top I managed to find some different beta for the top just as I couldn't work out how james was managing it and this allowed me to skip the roll around moves and just get a bat hang into the finishing jug. Although this reduces the amount of moves it requires a lot of tension and is very committing especially with varying beach heights.

The next session I managed to get it in two overlapping halves, the start into the drop down and from the cut to the top. At this point I had just finished all my other projects in the roof including Megladon 8B+ and Jaws sit 8B so i had all my focus on this, however, James had politely asked me not to get on this project which seemed reasonable as I would have had no clue how to do it if I hadn't seen his beta. So, after having a sneaky couple of sessions trying it from the ground, I decided to go do another 8B+ up at Biblins called Spaceship and on the same day James managed to get his ascent, so I spent a few days resting and managed to get the send next session 4 days later. Overall it took me about 7 sessions I believe and I think a run of form and psyche definitely was required for the send.”

Adam Ondra has done the FA of Hogo fogo (9a) in Deravá skala. "Probably THE line of this forgotten cave! Awesome tensiony short power endurance climbing in the roof. Upper end 9a? harder start(s?) to be done."

In total, the 29-year-old has now logged 195 routes 9a to 9c and if it was not for all his personal grades, his list would have included well over 200. The runner-up on this list is Alex Megos who is getting close to 100.

Knowing when to use stiff shoes and when to use soft shoes, as well as how to size them, can sometimes feel like quite the dilemma. As climbing shoe technology and our understanding of performance evolve, the growing trend has been to no longer downsize your climbing shoes to the smallest possible size. On technical, vertical and gently overhanging climbs using a stiff, comfortable shoe will often boost your foot endurance and help you stave off foot-fatigue, while also giving you a few extra cm of reach. Not a bad thing if you're a diminutive climber or find yourself shrinking a little with age (the author falls into both of these categories). That being said, strong toes still have their place. Using a soft shoe for training sessions, steeper climbs and warming up won't do your climbing any harm! Feel free to add any thoughts you have or any climbing shoe hacks you've discovered over the years.

Mathieu Bouyoud has done the FA of On a tous au fond du mental (9a) in Grotte des eaux mortes. “One more project done in the small cave near my home. I bolted this line four years ago but I never saw the line very dry. This year is different...all is dry with very hot temperature! It s a big roof with 3D climbing. I have tried this line during some ten sessions over many seasons. So good to finally do it”.

In total, the 32-year-old has done 32 routes 9a and harder. During the last 12 months he has done two 9a+ and four 9a’s meaning it is his best year ever.

Austria dominated the European Lead Cup at home-turf in Dornbirn getting four golds. In the female Youth A they had four girls in the Top-5 ranking. It should be mentioned that France and Switzerland did not participate, probably as they wanted to prepare for the European Championship the next week.

03: Sunniva Öyre-Eide NOR : Lovro Crep SLO
05: Annika Stöckl AUT : Raffael Grubber AUT
07: Flora Oblasser AUT : Julian Schrittwieser AUT

In the male Lead ranking of 2018, Sean Bailey was #18 and the highest ranked from the USA. The second highest was #43. In 2019, Sean had advanced to #9 and Jesse Grupper was runner-up as #21, working full time as an Engineer. During those two years, Colin Duffy got a gold and a silver in the Youth World Champions.

After the two first Lead World Cups in 2022, they are #1 and #2 followed by two athletes from Team Japan, who actually has four in the Top-8 ranking. Europe has had their worst start in the male Lead WC since it started in 1991. At the same time in should be mentioned that Adam Ondra has not taken part and that Jakob Schubert and Stefano Ghisolfi have just done one event.