Maja Jonic reports on Insta, with a video, that she has done Aborigen sit in Mogan (Gran Canaria). Adrian Garcia did the FA of the stand start calling it 7C+ but later some have actually called it 8A+ and Maja did it in 2017. The FA of the sit start was done by Beto Rocasolano who suggested 8B but Maja thinks it is more 8A+/B. The 28-year-old has previously done five 8A+ and harder.

Kim Marschner and Florian Wientjes have done Crystal Ship (8C) in Cresciano in just four respectively five sessions each. Kim who took the picture of Flo shares their story.

"I tried it first at the end of last year with the support of Giul. It was really warm and I couldn’t do one of the two hard moves but anyhow they felt possible straight away. A few days later I hiked up there again with Flo Wientjes and we both stuck the move to the lip with a rope but couldn’t do the far lock-off move. The same happened one week later when I and Flo tried it again together.

Now one month later with a little time off the boulder I came back with Flo and we both felt way stronger on the lock off move. Quickly Flo stuck the move and gave shots from the ground falling three or four times at the last move to the lip. I finally found a little different position for the thumb which helped me a lot and I also stuck the move. After one try falling at the move to the lip I decided to call it a day and save the skin for another project but Flo was still psyched.

Getting tired I thought the day is also over for him but suddenly he stuck the lock off again perfectly and climbed to the top which made me super psyched again to give it one more try. With all that great sending vibes in the air, I felt super strong again and also climbed it to the top."

Alex Garriga, who last year did 29 routes 8c+ and harder, has started 2022 by doing eleven routes 8a and harder including Frenesí (8c+) and Pal norte (8c+) in Margalef. Tom Bolger did the FA of Frenesi with a 9a/+ suggestion and Pal Norte was put up as an 8c+ by Ramon Julian Puigblanque but later some guys have suggested an upgrade.

"I sent Pal Norte in a false second go (I did the first part, which is common with Pal Este three years ago). Then I tried Frenesí and could send it the following day, after four tries in total." (c) Carlos Pascual

IFSC has presented a new Combined scoring format by points. The max score is 100 points in each discipline. Here is one example of how the winner in Boulder actually could end up tied dead last overall with the Lead winner! If IFSC would have used the old multiplication system they have instead been tied winners!

The example is based on that the boulders are too easy and all make at least three Tops. This means that the winner will get close to 100 points and then most of the guys will get just above 99 points and the others 75 - 81 points. If then the Boulder winner gets to hold 40, out of 45, on the lead route and all others make it at least one hold further, he/she could be dead last overall. Here is a fictive result board where also the Lead and Boulder winners becomes dead last overall.

1. 99.5 + 85 = 184.5
2. 99.4 + 85 = 184.4
3. 99.6 + 80 = 179.6
4. 99.3 + 80 = 179.3
5. 99.2 + 80 = 179.2
6. 80.9 + 95 = 175.9
7. 74.7 + 100 = 174.7 (Lead winner: with multiplication #1)
7. 99.7 + 75 = 174.7 (Boulder winner: with multiplication #1)

Another scenario that would not please the spectators could be if Janja Garnbret tops out all four boulders at the same time the runner up just makes two tops. This would mean that Janja has almost secured the combined victory as she is like 40-45 points ahead before Lead. Another not so good scenario is that the Lead route is too hard and the max points received is 25 as the winner just make it to hold 30 out of 45. In practice, this would mean that the overall ranking will simply be based on who made more Tops in Boulder and again that the Lead winner could be dead last overall.

I have discussed this with Stasa Gejo who has taken part in an IFSC meeting as she is in the athlete's commission. "The biggest flaw is that IFSC wants to equalize boulder and lead, which is impossible. The Athletes' Commission representatives, were fighting to implement a performance model, where everyone's score would depend on the leader's, but the authorities didn't want to hear about it. We'll see what happens on the first implementation. It is hard to have a clear opinion now, without a test. Also, the setting will play the biggest role. My proposal is to have an athlete-testing group, some non-qualified athletes for the olympics."

The easiest way to have a performance model like what the Athletes Commission representative want, is simply, to sum up the ranking in each discipline. This is what I suggested before the Tokyo Olympics. If so, both the Lead and the Boulder winners would end midways in the result list, based on the example above. It seems IFSC goes from one extreme ranking model in Tokyo to the opposite extreme for Paris at the same time the athletes want something in the middle.

Remember that if not Colin Duffy had made a false start of 0.005 seconds in his first Speed run in Tokyo against Alberto Gines Lopez, they would probably have changed their results overall. Colin had won the gold and Alberto had become dead last in the final.

Cathy Wagner has done 834 routes 8a and harder which is probably most of all female out there. Only in 2021, the 56-year-old did 37 8a's and 6 8a+. Actually her best years, in terms of sending most hard routes have been since she turned 49. Cathy started climbing in 1986 and in 1994, at age 29, she did her first 8a.

It should be mentioned that one of her 8a+ logged routes in 2021 is Salsa-Burricada (8b). "A must-do! 8b in the guidebook, which makes sense if you climb this long traverse without any knee-pads! I've used them a lot right from the beginning and again before the final cruxy boulder section, for which I had to readjust the beta after falling twice. The thing is you have to recover after a 20-move section into a good kneer-bar rest before that boulder. Thanks Pires for sharing your beta with me 😊. I reckon it's (a soft?) 8a+ with pads."

Marco Zanone, who previously has done three 9a's, has sent First Ley (9a+) in Margalef. "The hardest route I've ever climbed, such a relief to clip the chain of this beast!! So happy"" (c) Andrea Zanone

"The first time I tried this route was back in December 2019. I've been climbing in Spain for so many years that I felt like it was the right moment to try something very hard for me. First Ley was the one I decided to try because of its unique style that usually it's the one that suits me the most. After only a few days of work, I realized it was possible, I was feeling great on the sequence except for the middle section. I was struggling because of a tricky kneebar, It was my first time wearing a knee pad so my body was a little bit confused. The 15-days trip ended with very positive feelings, falling a bunch of times at the very last hard move before moving to the left.

After that trip, I came back in February 2020, just before covid happened, but I was not able to stick that infamous last move, also due to a partial break of a key hold. (It didn't change the way I was using the hold with my hand, but it became much worse as a foothold). Then winter 2020/2021 came, same fitness, same high point again, but this time I was really busy with work (I was climbing and working at the same time here in Spain) and also the conditions were awful, always very cold and foggy, until an epic snowstorm hit the Montsant area, blowing away any other possibility.

Two years after the first time, here I am again. I knew the route became almost only a matter of good weather conditions and about finding the right mindset. After a week of very hot weather, the wind started blowing again, the clouds came in and during a perfect mid-day session with some friends I was able to get to the top of my first 9a+."

Giorgio Tomatis and Alberto Gotta have done Grandi Gesti 8c+ in . It was put up as an 9a and then Adam Ondra did it second go and suggested a personal 8c+ grade. Both Giorgio and Alberto confirm this and together with Stefano Ghisolfi's recent grade update, the great roof traverse should be considered an 8c+.

Gotta was runner-up in the Italian Championship after Ghisolfi in 2021. Tomatis, who did his first 8c+ at age 14 and has done four 9a's, won one Euro Youth Cup last year. (c) Sara Grippo

What is your plan and ambition in 2022?
Surely try to climb Lapsus (9a+) and then in the competition a goal that I would like to achieve is the victory of the youth world championship in lead. For now, these are my first goals, surely during the season, there will be others.

It has previously been reported that Adam Ondra has made some grade updates in his logbook. Examples are that Chilam Balam, La Capella and Lapsus have been taken down to 9a+ and that Goldrake was updated to 9a. Now Stefano Ghisolfi has made a total of 12 grade adjustments, including confirming the latter three mentioned by Ondra. The Italian has also suggested personal downgrades of three classical original 9a's in Massone near Arco.

Some of their grade updates are based on the use of knee pads and others are because neighbouring routes have been downgraded. Some updates have probably also been done as they hesitated of a FA grade, writing comments like, "Time will tell". When they later have seen and heard most others have called them "Soft", some original grades have been updated. It should be mentioned that Adam Ondra has since he was a teenager been the top climber in the world that have given most personal up- and downgradings.

Escalade9 is a website that originally tried to keep track of all 9a ascents in the world. Later, often based on Adam Ondra's personal grades, many routes have been updated to 8c+/9a. Interestingly is also that by checking the most repeated 9a's in the world, most have actually been downgraded to 8c+/9a, which makes popularity a good marker for soft grades. Based on Adam and Stefano's grade comments, probably, some of Escalade9' listed climbs will be taken out.

From a personal point of view, I think it is great that Adam and Stefano have made some grade reflections. Over the years, we have seen grade inflation that has led to some old school routes being upgraded. I often receive grade comments by top climbers who tell me that the topo grade is not correct but they do not want to be the guy calling it out and instead just marked the route as "soft". Hopefully, some more climbers will make grade updates. Overall, it is the quality of the line that is most important and which should be the selection criteria #1. Not which route has the softest grade :)

Ghisolfi comments, "Adam told me he updated some grades and I decided to do it too because some routes I did a few years ago are considered a different grade and it is not correct to keep the old grades in my scorecard."

Marco Müller has done Fred Nicole's classical Dreamtime 8C (B+) in Cresciano using the original dyno beta. "I finally decided to try this megaclassic in Cresciano, dreaming about it for a long time ;) On my third session I found out how to move on the dyno and I could climb the stand start. I then checked out the lower moves, which are more technical and suited me well. It took me four more sessions to do the dyno move from the ground and I finally could climb the whole line." (c) Benjamin Weber

The Swizz has previously done three 8B+ and this summer he did his seventh 9a as well as his first 9a+.