Japan and USA got three gold each in the Youth World Championship in Voronezh, Russia. If we give three points for gold, two for silver and one for bronze, this is the ranking; France 18, Japan 16, Slovenia 15 and USA 14. It should be mentioned that Japan, which totally dominated in 2019 with 29 points participated only with one athlete per category, more or less, in 2021.


Interestingly is that only Naile Meignan won both the semi and final in Bouldering. She was also the only one to flash all for problems in the semifinal. Hamish MacArthur (GBR) and Anastasia Sanders (USA) won in both Lead and Boulder. Noteworthy is also that Aleksandra Totkova and Mejdi Schalck, who have made podiums in Lead and Boulder respectively in the 2021 World Cup, did not make podiums in those disciplines in Youth A.

France got both the golds in the oldest girls Boulder Youth World Championships in Russia. Naile Meignan first won the qualification and then she flashed all four problems in the semifinal before winning also the final. The 17-year-old has previously won six IFSC events in Bouldering and already in 2019, she was #6 among the seniors in the European Championship. Noteworthy is that she was probably the youngest junior competing as she is born December 18, 2003. Among the Youth A, Zélia Avezou (17) was #5 until the last boulder which she did second go getting the gold. Her mother Cecile was #4 in the World Championship in 2012, at age 40 and her big brothers Leo and Sam are regular World Cup climbers.

1. Naile Meignan FRA 34 - Zélia Avezou FRA 14 (2)
2. Emily Phillips GBR 24 - Sara Copar SLO 14 (3)
3. Lucija Tarkus SLO 23 - Alessia Mabboni ITA 13
Complete results

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Alex Megos has commented Stefano Ghisolfi's 9b+ suggestion of Bibliographie on Insta. (c) Ken Etzel

"At the beginning I thought the number of days you invest in a climb is the best indicator of how hard it must be. Therefore I thought trying Bibliographie for 60 days must be harder than anything I've climbed before."

One reason why this (Time Comparison Grading) did not work out is that he says he spent most of the time figuring out new beta. Furthermore, in the end, it turned out that Ghisolfi found better beta on both the cruxes and now Megos agrees with the new 9b+ proposal.

"I realized at some point I was so convinced that I had the right beta, that I stopped trying other things."

Personally, I do like the honest opinions of both Stefano and Alex on this delicate matter which they have handled as great role models. I have been reporting ascents for 20+ years and there are just so many times you know that it is not the correct grade that is presented in the headline. Let us hope this can inspire more high profile climbers to be more honest with the reported grades.

Moritz Welt, who previously has done 14 9a's, has done his hardest Thor's Hammer 9a/+ in Flatanger. On his Insta he describes the whole process. (c) Franz Kaiser

"My main objective of this trip has finally come down! And it turned out to be one of the biggest fights I've ever had, mentally and physically. For 3 weeks I only struggled with the first 10 meters out of the total 60. But since the rest of the route is still crazy hard, I didn't even know how it'll go as soon as I pass this first crux. Well, 3 days ago, after changing my beta multiple times I somehow managed to do so and surprisingly I made my way even through the second and third crux, and reached the final rail. I was afraid to fall there and that's exactly what happened, 2 meters below the chains, 5 moves of ~7a to go.

▪️ I didn't know if I would be able to pass all the cruxes again in only 2 more climbing days, but the will to send was stronger than the fear. On the next climbing day I came back, fell on the first crux once, and finally, on the second go of the day, I fought up the whole 60 meters to the top. ▪️ This is for sure the most rewarding send I've ever made, and another big step for me to reach a new level. Grade-wise, I will go for the 9a+, although some people considered it to be rather soft. It simply felt one step above any 9a I've done, so for me, at least the consensus of 9a/+ must be fitting."

What is next?
Just enjoying some fun easier routes on my last day here and then heading back home. I have to go for my mathematics study in the university again, so I'll mostly try my Frankenjura projects. But maybe a short trip to Austria soon.

1. Haruki Uemura JPN 29+
2. Mejdi Schalck FRA 28
3. Timotej Romsak SLO 27+
Complete results

Marco Müller, who previously has done all the six 9a's he has tried, has after some 15 sessions, done the second ascent of Sascha Lehmann's Schwarz Mönch in Gimmelwald, suggesting an upgrade to 9a+. On Insta he says, "This route felt significantly harder than any other 9a's I've climbed, which is why I think it might be 9a+."(c) Benjamin Weber

Could you please say something about the process of how you took it down?
I really enjoyed the process of trying this route. The first time I climbed the first part ("Renardo Rules" 8c), I came into the crux of the extension pretty pumped. After that, with each session, I was able to tweak my climbing and find some microbeta. Even though I fell at the same spot on almost every attempt, it felt better and better until it finally worked out.

Anastasia Sanders (USA), who got the gold in Lead in Youth B by topping out all four routes, won again in Boulder by being the only one to top out all four boulders in the final. Silver medalist, as also in Lead, was Meije Lerondel (FRA) who also was the only one to top out all boulders in the semifinal.

Among the boys, Nikolay Rusev (BUL) won the gold in Youth B by topping out the last boulder with a big jump directly from the zone. Soratu Anraku (JPN) was last out but did not get the zone until it was three seconds left and did not have time for a proper dyno. Rusev immediately made a high 5 with Anraku and then ran across the stage and started to climb on Boulder 1, in his sneakers, but was called down as he got the second last hold. run around and started climbing 1. Anastasia Sanders USA 44 - Nikolay Rusev BUL 34 (c) Leo Zhukov
2. Meije Lerondel FRA 34 - Sorato Anraku JPN 34
3. Sina Willy AUT 22 - Augustine Chi USA 23
Complete results

Tamas Zupan came to Sustenpass for the first time in 2015 and directly started to dream about flashing Sputnik 8B. Then during a very cold night session three weeks ago, magic happened. Video of Insta

"Each year I went out, looked at the boulder, and then determined that next year. Then, I had to stop for almost a year due to a back injury. It was hard to recover myself both physically and mentally. I was motivated and made a special, almost 1 year training plan to get stronger, including 6 months of climbing in 60 degrees overhang wall (where else) and campus, all with 17kg extra weight. I also paid attention for eating and stretching, which wasn’t really typical for me before. In this time I could avoid injuries and I was already in my top shape at the end of the vest period. I continued training and waited for the snow to melt in Sustenpass.

After a climbing day in Brione, I decided to go to check the boulder with my friend Tomi Agócs. It was around midnight. 4-5 celsius, all holds were dry, except for the top out, which was completely wet. After about 30 minutes of warming up, I was captured by the feeling that I had no chance of falling today. I could call it “flow”. (It was like when Yoda lifts the X-wing using force out of the swamp, or when Neo “starts to believing at last,” or when Thor gets Mjölnir back.)

Suddenly I felt like a superhero. Apparently, I wasn’t, but my brain believed my body. I sat under the boulder and simply climbed. The starting move, - which is one of the cruxes - went relatively statically, and I preferred to send the big cross move to prevent my feet from accidentally slipping down. After the cross move, the chalk had already soaked from my hand, a small step was broken, so I had to pull myself together to do the remaining 2 meters. It took me over 5 minutes… But it worked out!"

Jakob Schubert, who got the bronze in the Olympics, has flashed his third 8B+, Anam Cara in Silvretta. The Austrian was also super close to flash Memento 8B but touched the crash pad. Both problems were put up by Bernd Zangerl who originally thought they could be 8C+.