Simon Lorenzi reports on Insta that he has done the FA of Big Conviction 8C+ in Fontainebleau, which is a link-up start from Conviction Low into the Big Island 8C. The Belgian has previously done the FA of Soudain Seul 9A (8C+), aka The Big Island Sit, and last month he did the FA of Conviction Low 8B/+. Last year, he made four Would Cups and his Top-3 results were: 5 - 7 - 12. (c) Signarthur

How many moves are added into the Big Island start and could you please describe them?
It starts in the low start of Conviction and then you traverse to the left on the same ramp as the first hold of The Big Island. There are like 5-6 more moves. The first one is the hardest, a very hard move from an undercling with two very bad feet (which make the true difficulty). Then you go far left to a good crimp and it is hard to be precisely in a position with so much tension and you have to keep your feet on the wall when you hit the crimp. If you don't, you will fall. After there it is like 3 or 4 moves to go into the start of The Big Island. Not that hard but it's steep and it makes your hands more sweaty for the end.

What is your next plan and what about comps in 2022?
My next plan is the world cup season 2022 both lead and bouldering and La Révolutionnaire 8C+.

It is natural that climbers focus on power training as you can quickly measure it. Such training is also found everywhere on the internet. Here are some quick thoughts on things that I think are usually trained too little, meaning that such training will give you the fastest progress.

Resting: Training on how to best hang on holds in order to recover.
Technical: Training different styles that you seldom use, your anti-style.
Tactical: Spend some minutes on route reading before and after you climbed a route together with a friend.
Yoga/Stretching: Several moves will be much easier to do if you are flexible.
Mental: Talk to your friends and analyse your strong points in general and when you surprised them.
Falling: Start each session by taking some shortfalls. Make your belayer improve how to belay.
Complimentary: Make some push and pull-ups as well as sit-ups several times a day at home.

The only extra training, outside the gym, that is less beneficial is running. Sure, a few minutes running before and after a session is good practice but jogging a couple of hours every week can be counterproductive. "Long distance running will just build up your capillary bed in your legs learning your blood circulation to redirect it from your forearms. The worst warming up is done, running or cycling, to your gym getting cold fingertips as you instead of opening up your capillaries, you close them learning your blood to avoid the forearms."

You have probably seen that many of the top climbers bring a portable hangboard to the crag. The reason for this is that this is the fastest way to recruit your maximum finger strength at the same time you save your skin. Another dilemma by warming up at the crag is that you get pumped during or even after your warm-up route. As you climb an easy route and as you hold your arms mainly above your head the blood circulation is under control. But once you get to the top, or earlier let go, resting with your arms hanging down, there is a risk that your forearms capillary system can get flooded. The reason for this is that after you have stopped climbing, the artery could pump so much blood into your forearms that the capillary and vein system can not transport back, as they have not been fully open.

At home doing some push- and pull-ups and also using a hang board or hanging under a table, you can recruit and warm up your muscles in 10 - 15 minutes. Doing the same thing climbing routes or boulders at the crag would probably take you at least 30 but up to 60 minutes if it is cold outside. In other words, you will most likely be able to climb more and harder, with less pain and lower risk for injuries, during a cold winter session if you only spend 10 - 15 minutes warming up at home.

Angie Scarth-Johnson, who was just featured in an 8a interview, has done in Margalef. The 17-year-old Austrailian has been living in Margalef during the last year. She did her first 8b at age 9 and last autumn she did her first 9a. (c) Javi Pec

Adam Ondra has repeated Will Bosi's Furia de Jabali in Siurana confirming the 9a+ downgrade by Alex Megos and Jakob Schubert. "Checked the moves once, at the end of the day, next day (after trying King Capellla first) rechecked the crux move again and sent on my second go. Done with Wil's method, for the traverse completely different method and probably easier. Low-end 9a+ with my height and method, for shorter climbers can be a tiny bit harder, but not 9b."

Neighbouring routes La Capella and Kind Capella have also previously been downgraded and here is an old article discussing advanced grading theory, suggesting that Furia de Jabali is a soft 9a+ just like Adam says.

Ondra has also onsighted two 8a+' and giving it a personal 8b+ grade and in fact, he placed the draws and did it at the end of a climbing day. Adam has now done well over 100 onsights 8c and harder but in his scorecard, he has "only" 89 listed. The runner up in the world is Piotr Schab with eleven.

8a almost never publishes free solo climbs as we do not want to encourage youngsters to try their luck. At the same time, free solo climbs sometimes pop up on YouTube etc. However, people apply different ethics regarding what is considered legitimate free soloing. Personally, I do not think you can claim a free solo ascent if the route was equipped by quickdraws, especially if you were wearing a harness. In other cases, you can see somebody doing a highball with a rope next to the climb. Personally, I do not even think you can claim a scary trad ascent if you have a guy at the top ready to throw down a rope with knots pre-done.

Sure, you can bail out and save your life but with a harness and quickdraws in place, it is not the same thing as a clean free solo ascent. I have even heard about a guy who was tied into his harness and his friends were supposed to jump on the rope if he would fall. The only thing I sort of respect, for the guys who are soloing in order to get fame and sponsors etc, is the use of crash pads.

If you do not do it clean like Alex Honnold, do not put free solo and scary trad climbs in your resume. At the same time, you can free solo in any way you want, just do not leave out important details. In any case, 8a will continue our policy to not publish free solo climbs. Play it safe!

Valentina Chemyakina has done V for Vendetta (8A+) in Bafa Lake and there is a video on her Insta. She started climbing at age 15 but was still fighting doing 7a routes five years ago, when she was 20. Now she has done four 8A+.

"I'm from Belarus, currently based in Moscow. I work as a programmer, riding downhill and doing climbing. I love to climb outside and try to travel during these covid times. Now I’m in Turkey for some winter climbing (as well as working), because in Russia now soo cold 😅 It was my second trip to Bafa. Last year I send Golgotha 8A+, and V Vendetta was my specific goal this time (both FFA?). The climbing goal for this year - is 8B in bouldering. Really psyched to train hard and prepare well for a Rocklands trip (I was there first-time last summer but with a finger injury)."

What about all MTB and pink colour pictures all over the place on your Insta? Have you competed in MTB?
I haven’t participated in downhill competitions yet but planning to do it this year! In bike parks and mountains I ride black trails. I have had pink colour for almost three years (I think I coloured it because I love anime).

What is your climbing background?
Before I met my coach I was climbing around 6c+ in a gym. I was talented but lacked technique. When we started working on it my level got up to solid 7b (even 7c sometimes) in half a year! Then I broke a bone in my knee so I had to recover almost for a year. After this, I had a plateau. We all go through this during the climbing path. I had injury after injury, we didn’t know what to do, a lot of specialists didn’t help. After that, my coach started learning kinesiology and rehabilitation and finally find the right approach for me. It helped break my plato and I started climbing in eighth grade.

In 2012, Ramon Julian put up La Bongada in Margalef as an 8c. Then in 2014, Alex Megos repeated it and thought it was 9a. "When it was a project they thought it might be around 8c+/9a. Then Ramon did the first ascent of it calling it 8c. I repeated it and would definitely suggest 9a. It was nothing to do with 8c! Ramon might be just too strong ;-). When you compare it to some of the 8c+ in the same sector, it is a hard 9a. But for me it felt like a normal 9a."
Then Dani Fuertes thought 8c+/9a and later Laura Rogora confirmed Megos 9a proposal and it was considered 9a by all other media reporting her ascent. Then Adam Ondra, Alex Garriga and today also Dani Moreno have recorded it as 8c+ in their logbook. Interestingly, 8a has always presented it as 9a (8c+) since Megos ascent but now it seems this route should be called 8c+ (9a). I have mentioned it several times before but part of the grade inflation we have seen over the years is due to some media cherry-picking the grade in order to make the ascent more impressive.

It should be mentioned that there exist several examples of Ramon FA grades that others have considered as being sand-bagged. I do like that Megos is honest suggesting both personal up- and downgrades. La Bongada was possibly not his style and back in 2014 he was probably not using kneepads which according to Adam Ondra makes it "a little easier". Furthermore, the routes Megos was comparing La Bongada with was also Ramon FAs, which are all considered hard for their grade.

In any case, grades are subjective and possibly now La Bongada has become easier due to a break. It is natural that most climbers do not give personal grades and instead just report what is given to them in the topo or by friends at the crag. What is important is that the media not just take the highest given grade in order to make more impressive news. Although 8a, often present lower grades in comparison to other media, over the 20 years I have reported the news, my wild guess is that history shows that in at least 10 % of the cases, exaggerated grades have been presented. And one more time, the two-times world champion, the 159 cm tall Ramon Julian Puigblanque deserves more credit than his FA grades indicates.