Alex Megos has made a long Insta post about that he thinks his FA Pornographie in Céüse should be downgraded to 8c+ due to many repeaters have found a no hands rest using a knee pad. However, if you climb it in the original way without a knee bar you can still tick it as a 9a, he thinks. Overall, his opinion is that a route can have two grades based on the whether you used a knee pad or not.

Adam Ondra has made a down grade update of Chilam Balam to 9a+, in his logbook, which he did in 2011. Bernabe Fernandez did the FA in 2003 and suggested 9b+. Dani Andrada has also previously called it 9a+ but the consensus has been 9a+/b among the six repeaters who all used knee pads. The dilemma is that Fernandez did not use a knee pad so should he in the history books be called the first climber to have done a 9b+? Could, in fact, anyone up for a 9b+ grabbing climb it without knee pads?

My personal opinion is that anybody is free to climb in any style he/she wants and claim any grade but it is important to be transparent and honest. However, when it comes to media reports and especially ascents of historical importance, we have to base the grade on that the best possible equipment has been used.

If a female onsights Pornographie without knee pads, 8a will call this the first female 8c+ onsight in the world, even if she placed all quickdraws by herself.

I sent a draft to Megos and he responded. “ I'm not too bothered about up and downgrading. I just wish people would be honest and not just tick any grade even if it felt easier for them.

Adam Ondra has done the first repeat of Stefano Ghisolfi's The Lonely Mountain (9b) in San Paolo. "A little harder than Erebor, actually the first part is shorter, but involves one really hard crux. Hard to grade, but probably doesn't brake the 9b+ barrier. Tried one day after Erebor and this trip two days."

In total, the 28-year-old has now done 24 routes 9b to 9c which can be compared with nine for Stefano Ghisolfi and seven for Alex Megos, Jakob Schubert and Chris Sharma who are runner-ups on that list. Note that grades are subjective meaning the above figures are just estimations.

Ryuichi Murai takes down Floatin (8C+) in Mizugaki with a unique sequence. Hardcore bouldering does not get much harder and cooler than this. The 27-year-old has now repeated 14 8C's and put up three 8C+.

Adam Ondra has answered a question in the forum related to his comments of his latest 9b FA, where he said it is an 8C+ boulder followed by an 8b route.

"I believe that 8C boulder means 9a+ route and 8C+ boulder means 9b route. In case of Kout Pikle 9a+, you climb an 8C boulder and then you still need climb sustaines short power endurance section of 8c. But if you are lead climber and you make it through an 8C boulder, you cannot be ultra pumped and 8c on its own is not too bad for a 9b lead climber. Interestingly, I think that if the 8c topout was 7a topout, the route would be still 9a+. Maybe soft 9a+, but still 9a+. With 8c topout, it is hard 9a+ or maybe 9a+/b. In my case, I was fighting like hell in the upper 8c part while sending, and I had fallen once in the upper section before (arriving there in the end of the day, very tired), but I do not think that many people will fall in the upper part (if anyone will ever bother trying this funky routes).

For pure boulderer with no endurance, 8c part could actually be the obvious crux, but sport climbing routes are given sport climbing grades... In case of Taurus, it is 8C+ boulder and the topout of 8b doesn't add or change any difficulty. It might be mentally unnerving (I slipped once there), but that's all. And 8C+ translates to 9b route in my opinion. I would like to conclude that adding extensions or lower starts does not necessarily change the grades, as the the grades are suprisingly wide. And I guess that it is quite difficult to understand for many climbers and ignoring this fact is often causing confusion in grading."

The grade discrepancy diagram from 2012 follows Ondra's opinion although possibly an 8A boulder of 2021 is possibly more 8b/+ at the same time as a 6C boulder is equally hard to do as a 7a+ route.

Sergei Topishko, who previously just have done one 8B+, has done Off the Wagon Sit (8C+) in Valle Bavona. (c) Fedir Samoilov

Sergeii has been a very active competition climber during the last twenty years and in 2015, he was #4 in a Boulder WC. However, during the last six WCs since 2019, he has not made semi.

Please describe the process taking down your first 8C+?
Well, it started this April when I first tried to do the stand start. I did it super fast and left the sit start to my last day of that trip. Sadly conditions were not the best on that day to make the cross move, so I was sure that I am gonna do it for sure the next time. And, better late than never it happened on my 2nd sesh today, just after a quick warm up from the first try.

How can you explain the great progress at age 33?
It’s hard to say about the progress this year. This boulder fit me a lot and I am trying to spend more time outdoors during the last few years. Maybe I just became stronger… Age is just a number, when you have no injuries you can climb.

What is next?
I tried La Rustica today after sending Wagon and made the crux move to the pocket for few times, so I think I will put it together this trip. Dreamtime is also nice one, I think I will do it, and Poison the well (I tried this one in spring it was not so bad actually and I think I am ready for it now). I still have a lot of time in Ticino, till 13th Jan

What are your 2022 plans?
I will take part in European Champ for sure and some of the world cups, or maybe better clime some more 8C/+. You never know what’s better. I like comps too, but when you just compete and don’t climb outdoor, it’s not about climbing you know

Adam Ondra has made the FA of Taurus (9b) in Moravský kras and there is a video on his Insta. "HARD. Very bouldery route, first 9 moves are definitely 8C+ boulder problem, then 8b topout where I fell once due to numb fingers. Super glad to finish it off before the season was over."

More comments on his Insta where says that he has probably never spent so long time solving a boulder problem as he did at the start of Taurus. Interesting is that the crag closes 1/1 due to bird nesting. Adam also says that there are several harder lines at the crag which he will check out in 2022. In spite of having focused on the Olympics, in the end, he is yet again #1 in the 8a ranking game.

Allison Vest, who the last two months has done three 8B's, has done Power Slave 8A+ in Red Rock (NV). "Two sessions to send this thing. Painful and punchy. Took me a while to figure out which beta was going to work for me. Foot first to the finish!" (c) Sean Faulker

In the 8a female ranking game, Allison is #2. Interesting is that just 15 months ago, she had just done one 8A. The main reason for this great development is that the 26-year-old has stopped focusing on comps and have had more time being outdoors.

The ones training and climbing the most are also likely to be the best. It is, in the long run, almost impossible to take any shortcuts just by following the best training scheme out there. Following a strict program is often productive in the beginning but it can also reduce motivation and thus reduce the hours of training. One reason for this is that you get addicted to measuring your strength at any time given.

One possible way to boost motivation is to train in as many different ways as possible. Different challenges are easy to find on the internet and with some friends, you can easily gather 50 different exercises including stretching, technical and physical challenges. Then just do the exercises you feel are the most fun and hopefully, this will mean you will spend more hours training and you will progress faster. The risk of injuries will also most likely be reduced as your training will be more varied.

Specific new ways of training could be trying all your climbs in the gym, when you have run out of new ones, using only the left or the right foot. Other options could be mixing colours or adding or skipping holds on existing routes and boulders etc. You could challenge yourself by weights, doing a handstand, doing a difficult yoga position, onsight route reading and then make a topo or doing tricks on the rings, the pull up bar etc.

Here is a preliminary list - Climber of 2021. Please forward your thoughts.

1. Janja Garnbret SLO
2. Jakob Schubert AUT
3. Natalia Grossman USA
4. Adam Ondra CZE
5. Alex Megos GER
6. Laura Rogora ITA
7. Alberto Gines Lopez ESP
8. Brooke Raboutou USA
9. Sean Bailey USA
10. Stefano Ghisolfi ITA

11. Martina Demmel GER
12. Daniel Woods USA: Highest-ranked non-competition climber
13. Oriane Bertone FRA
14. Jorge Diaz-Rullo ESP
15. Alexsey Rubtsov RUS
16. Tomoa Narasaki JPN
17. Stasa Gejo SRB
18. Colin Duffy USA
19. Miho Nonaka JPN
20. Seo Chaehyun KOR
21. Nathaniel Coleman USA
22. Matt Fultz USA
23. Jessica Pilz AUT
24. Martin Stranik CZE
25. Katie Lamb USA
26. Alex Garriga ESP
27. Vita Lukan SLO
28. William Bosi GBR
29. Akiyo Noguchi JPN
30. Jonathan Siegrist USA, Kokoro Fujii JPN, Solveig Korherr GER, Camilla Moroni ITA, Jan Hojer GER, Julia Chanourdie FRA, Seb Bouin FRA, James Webb USA, Barbara Zangerl AUT, , Moritz Welt GER, Drew Ruana USA, Alex Puccio USA, Isabelle Faus USA, Karoline Sinnhuber AUT, Dani Andrada, Anak Verhoven BEL, Jernej Kruder SLO, Ryuichi Murai JPN

Solveig Korherr has done in Red Rocks. Video on her Insta. She took it down in just two hours although her previous best was 7C+. The 23-year-old has been on a long road trip in Canada and the USA since October where she has visited numerous crags including trying trad climbing in Indian Creek and climbing up to 8c+ in RRG. (c) Jon Shen

Could you please say something about your trip and your interest trying different disciplines?
I have mainly been sport climbing over the last few years. I completed two of my big dream routes and I felt ready to try something new. We spent two weeks in Indian Creek where I learnt to better crack climb. It was an excellent spot to improve crack specific techniques since the rock forces you to learn to jam and use crack techniques. Right now, I am quite motivated to explore my limits in bouldering. We are in Red Rocks, Las Vegas. This area is great for combining many different disciplines. The variety is great for my motivation because, in the past, I often felt burnt out after long periods of hard sport climbing. This next year in 2022, I am very psyched to integrate more bouldering and trad climbing in the future.