Molly Thompson-Smith has done her third 8B in 2021, Steppenwolf in Magic Wood. Interestingly, all her 8B's she has done on her second session. Video on her Insta, where she comments. "Unfortunately I hurt my pulley on this go so that could be the end of my climbing here🥲"

On which hold did you get that pulley injury and how were you able to continue?
I think it was after I matched the second hold… I caught the third one really badly on that try but somehow stayed on. Then there was a lot of intense full crimping afterwards.

Laura Rogora reports on Insta that she has done the first repeat of Stefano Ghisolfi's Erebor 9b/+ in Arco. Ghisolfi comments, "I just want to tell you that Bibliographie is not so much tougher. If you haven't booked your 2022 holidays yet take it as a suggestion 🙂. " (c) Overchalked

As it stands, only six male climbers have done routes harder than 9b/+. The 20-year-old Italian, who is only 1.52cm tall, had previously done 19 routes graded 8c+/9a to 9b, which is significantly more than any other female climber. She did her first 9a at age 14, and since then she has won 15 IFSC events including two World Cups.

Alex Megos, who the last week flashed his second 9a, reports on Insta that he has flashed Chromosome Y 8c+ (9a) in Charmery. The beta he got from Alexander Rohr. "I do agree though with most repeaters and I also think it's rather 8c+."

Later he tried Pirmin Bertle's harder version, Meiose giving a personal 9a grade. In total. the German has now done 101 routes 8c+/9a and harder which is second-most in the world after Adam Ondra. "The way @pirminbertle climbed it, it is 9a+. That's not the way it makes sense to me though as it eliminates some holds that are totally in reach and in the line too."

So what about calling Bertle's version Meiose eliminate 9a+?
Yeah maybe. It just isn't very clear what's allowed to grab and what's not. I know the way I climbed it is easier than what Pirmin did but I could still clip all the bolts and I was always in reach of the line of bolts.

Kajtek Pawelec skips 8c+ and does The Essential in Frankenjura as his first 9a. "Once I passed the third clip I managed to send the route. The main crux was the thumb-gaston section, in the beginning, fingery face wall part suited my style really well. 9 days, super happy ☺️"


How was the process taking it down and what about skipping then 8c+ grade?

I was just curious how 9a would feel like. I found this route attractive as also one that seemed to suit my style really well. It turned out that fingery crux was indeed quite manageable for me. An interesting thing is that the upper part after the third clip was supposed to be the crux. For me the beginning was and after I passed this I sent the route.

How come you are so strong on fingery cruxes?
Well, I always found myself strong on small holds. Besides that, I got into hangboarding in recent years what was more like improving my strengths instead of reducing week spots. Sometimes finding a suitable project and improving in strong areas can be more beneficial than focusing on your weaknesses. Training is a crazy complex process that I found not only on myself but also with people I’m working with as a coach.

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During the Swedish Female Youth A Bouldering Championship, nine out of the 15 competitors did score zero zones in the qualification. Some of the girls that did not score any zones had travelled 760 km. Imagine how much more fun it would have been for most of the young girls competing, as well as reporting their results to their parents, relatives and friends, if the boulders had included two zones.

It is almost an impossible task for the route setters to challenge the very best as well as the not so strong with just one top and one zone. We did see this problem during the Olympics and it happens often in the WCs as well as in the WCHs. Sure this is a hard fact for the not so strong but it can also be a big negative for the spectators.

However, the biggest problem with having only one zone is the youth competitions. The experience of understanding that the zone is out of reach and then having to explain the zero zones in the result list must create anxiety for the kids. This goes against everything when it comes to kids competitions which should be about being challenged and having fun with friends instead of facing zero zones.

It should be mentioned that when it comes to the finals during the Swedish Championships, none of the six girls did top any boulders! Two zones will obviously not solve the dilemma that it is very common that the route setters make the boulders too hard, no matter if it is the Olympics, the World Cups, the National championships or a local comp in the gym.

Austin Purdy, who the last six months has done six 8B+', has possible set some kind of record doing Moonshine 9a in Wild Iris, with a previous 7c+ PB. Video on his Insta. "Trying this thing was my first time climbing on a rope in over 8 years, and it's my first route harder than 7c+. Psyched to say it felt far from my limit. Maybe I'll tie in again and try some harder stuff in 2029"

How much of an endurance route is the 16 meter tall Moonshine?
It is definitely more of a power endurance route than an endurance test piece. It's about 25 moves from the start to the end of the hard climbing and doesn't really have any spots to get a good rest.

So this was like the first time in 8 years you got a real pump?
Haha, I guess so 😂. Although there are some long roof boulders I have done in this power endurance style in places like Flagstaff, Arizona that may be just as pumpy.

What about trying some 9b's, as that 9a when down so smoothly?
I would definitely like to try and send 9a+ or even 9b someday, but here in the US there are not a lot of routes at that upper end of the grade scale that inspires me, but we do have a lot of world-class bouldering. So my focus will likely stay there for a while