During the qualifications in the Salt Lake City Boulder World Cup last weekend, (at least) three girls injured themself on the same move.

Jenya Kazbekova (#14 in the semi) injured her shoulder and could somewhat continue doing the semi and reported on Insta. " Yesterday, on the 4th boulder, while pressing up, I heard my shoulder pop, so I jumped off. I wasn't able to try that boulder anymore. I do want to mention that on that same move two more girls injured themselves. I really don't like that our sport is turning into Russian roulette, where you injure yourself or not..."

Sienna Kopf (tied #2 after three boulders) injured her elbow and will probably have 3+ months of recovery and reported on Insta,"Super proud of my climbing on the first 3 (flash, flash, and second go) but unfortunately hit a bit of a speed bump on #4 and hyperextended/strained my elbow trying to press up past zone …"

Johanna Färber (tied #2 after three boulders), in the picture on boulder four, will probably have 6+ weeks of recovery and commented on Insta. "Ruptured my ligament in my right ellbow while pushing through the fourth boulder."

Dr Björn Alber MsC Sports Physiology, Md sports medicine, former Swedish National Team Physician & Coach, comments: ”As previously described on 8a- you have to have an understanding of anatomy and normal range of motion to safely set boulder problems. I have earlier published examples of overstretching the elbow joint, overloading the fingers et.c. In the recent Salt Lake boulder competition we saw problem that due to setup- put to much stress on the shoulder and elbow joint stability and strength. The purpose of any boulder is to test the competitors ability not durability and it is not acceptable to provoke injury. My suggestion is that, at least on this high level, there should be a consultation with a physioterapeut before allowing moves that put extreme loads on the body when in vulnerable positions.”

Aris Theodoropoulos, aka Mr Kalymnos, has been with a team putting up some 80 routes in Zobolo saying it offers possibly the best summer climbing in Greece. It is located by the sea, near Neapoli, some 2.5 h drive south of Leonidio. In total there are now 300+ routes and the potential is 1 000 including also MPs up to 200 meters.

"A big camping with some bungalows is planned to open next year. The camping will be located very close to the crags and the beach." The picture shows a new tufa sector which they will start to develop very soon.

How come it is such a great summer destination?
The sectors face each other, so you can climb in the shade or sun all day by selecting the appropriate sector for the weather and time of day. Furthermore, the fact that the cliffs face several different directions may offer some protected areas on days with strong winds, which are not infrequent. Both new sectors are excellent for climbing in the summer, even on very hot days. Because there is shade all day by choosing the right crag. Also the wind and the microclima of these new crag gives lower temperatures.

David Firnenburg, who previously has done 20 routes graded 9a or 9a+, has done Blindgänger (9a) in Unterwald. "Nice route on crimps, slopers and pockets! FA by Dimitri Vogt in 2021. Located on the left side of the crag. First through the small roof and then resistant climbing straight up. Rather felt soft for the grade (8c+/9a?) but time will tell. Good day with Sam Ometz. Unterwald is a good alternative to Gimmelwald in the region of Berner Oberland!"

How many sessions did it take?
It took me three sessions. I was already close to sending it on my 2nd session but I kept falling on a tricky sequence in the upper part of the route. It’s nice to see that there is still a lot of potential for new hard routes here in Switzerland 😊

Adam Ondra onsighted Solitary Souls (8c+) in Arco in March. In total, he has now onsighted 25 routes 8c+ and 9a at the same time as no other climber has onsighed more than two such graded climbs. In the end of the video, Ondra comments, "Furtunately, the margin was indeed there." The FA Alfredo Webber belayed him and he commented that Ondra did execute all the moves on the 35 meter routes without messing up one single move.

Jorge Diaz-Rullo did Chris Sharma's El Bon Combat (9b) in in 2020. It took him 32 days and for almost two months he lived in the area alone in his van. "It has cost me so much, it's my antistyle and the conditions did not help at all... It was truly, very difficult for me! So long story short, whatever the grade is, I'm just happy to have done it! 😃💥"

Sera Gearhart has done her third 8A+, all of them in 2022. "Finally did this one and felt like I was floating. Learned a lot and had a lot of fun in the process, definitely hardest of the grade I've done." (c) Ryan Moon

Could you say something about the process how you took it down?
This one was really hard for me! I spent a lot of sessions falling on the move to the 10 start. My main goal was to not get really mental from falling on the same move so I tried to be really patient and only go to the boulder maximum once per week. So glad that process worked out! Now I'm looking to try Automator and Nuthin but sunshine in RMNP in a few weeks :)

IFSC inform that Morioka-Iwate in Japan will host a Boulder and Lead World Cup in between October 20-22. This means that there will be a total of seven events each in Boulder and Lead in the World Cup in 2022. Two weeks ago, two IFSC WCs in China were cancelled due to the pandemics.

Shawn Raboutou reports on Insta that he last summer did the FA of Fuck the System 8C+ in Fionnay. It is a low start to Foundation Edge which Dave Graham put up in 2013 and Shawn repeated in 2018. (c) Clément Lechaptois

Shawn is the older brother of Brooke Raboutou who is currently #3 in the Boulder World Cup. Their parents are Didier and Robyn Erbesfield who were leading climbers during the 90'ies. Shawn has previously done (at least) three 8C+ and 20+ 8C's meaning his track record is among the Top-10 in the world.