Marcel Remy was born in 1923 and has been climbing actively during the last 90 years. He celebrated his 99th birthday by climbing in his local gym in Villeneuve in Switzerland, leading a 16 m tall 4c after some regular warming up. (c) Hannes Teil for Mammut

The first time, out of seven times, Marcel has made it to the 8a headlines was in 2015 when he did a 5c in Leonidio. Two years later at 96, he did a 12 pitches 5b+ and then took a paragliding tandem down. Later this year, a short documentary about Marcel's climbing life will be released.

Alex Johnson and Allison Vest have done Power of Landjager (8A) in Hueco Tanks (TX). (Alex)"Hueco is harder than I remember. It felt really good to top something out. I remember trying this boulder a decade ago and it felt hard. It was nice to return as a stronger and better climber and put it away. Few more days left, hope the tops yield!" (c) Allison Vest

Dylan Chuat, who previously has repeated seven 9a's, has done the FA of Un bel été (9a) in St-Triphon which was equipped by Samuel Ometz. "My first first ascent! The route is really mythical and hard! It's mega complete, from top to bottom with not too much relaxation except in the middle and a big big crux at the top which is a very technical jump to an undercling!"

In the last two years, he has won the Swiss Lead Championship as well as being runner-up in Boulder. On Insta he comments on his FA grade proposal. "I think the grade deserves a + but I think all the attempts I gave was because of my mentality so I prefer to grade it 9a."

Tristan Chen has done Dreamtime (8C) in Cresciano. "I cannot think of a dream to climb this boulder, but my fingers have felt and grappled in the waking world." The 25-year-old did directly afterwards send Casavino (8B+), giving it a personal 8B grade. "Two sessions for a combined total of one hour, absolutely on top of the world riding right now. Versace did me dirty but about to hit Amber, the session lives boys. Edit two hours later: no dice on the factorial so I cannot justify taking fourteen for this."

Can you tell us a little more about your ascents?
Early in my trip, I was distracted trying some easier climbs, so I just went once a week. But after two weeks I decided to focus my efforts and started going every other day, so six sessions overall. It was quite helpful that many of the locals were trying it as well so I had pads and beta ready at the boulder. I was originally trying the dyno beta, but one of the days I was there only the pod hold was wet so I had to try the other betas. The lock-off felt easier to me and was similar to the crux of Dominator in Yosemite so I had some idea how to do it.

Also, I'm not sure if it is a difference between the Font and Hueco rating systems, but, at least in the upper grades, the climbs I've tried seem to be a bit spongier (softer). Dreamtime is known for being on the lower end of 8C, but Casavino is not yet known for being soft and I sent right after Dreamtime in only an hour between two sessions.

Jorge Diaz-Rullo has done and Estado critico (9a), out of the latter he thinks is 8c+/9a. The 22-year-old has now done 54 routes 8c+/9a and harder which puts him as #8 on that list. In the 8a ranking game, the Spaniard is #2 after Adam Ondra. Interview from last week - Do not obsess over goals.

Pierre Le Cerf reports on Insta that he has repeated Adam Ondra's Eagle-4 (9b) in , giving it a personal 9a+ grade. It should be mentioned that Ondra hesitated whether Eagle-4 was 9a+ or 9b. (c) Adrien Boulon

The 21-year-old has previously done nine routes 8c+/9a and harder including one 9a+. At the same time, he has been an active competition climber since 2015 and in both 2018 and 2019, he won a Euro Boulder Youth Cup.

Katie Lamb has made an impressive flash of Diaphanous Sea 8A (+) in Hueco Tanks (TX). "Lil solo mish first day in the tanks. Making it happen. Have you ever bun a hueco tank." Later the 24-year-old also tried to to flash Nagual (8B) but settled for a redpoint. "Beautiful line and colors, a wall meant for scaling. Wanted the flash bad bad... so much left to learn. Mega!"

In the last 12 months, Katie has done her three first 8B+, and she is a superior #1 in the 8a ranking game.