Tom O'Halloran, the Oceania Olympic representative, who last week made a 9a FA in Nowra (interview), has done one more, Little Baby Cheeses. Last year he projected it for ten days and this year it went down after just two days. On Insta he comments, "This one felt insanely good! An absolutely mega pitch of climbing straight through the guts of the cave to the very top."

It seems you are in the best shape of your life :)?
It would seem that way. I spent a lot of days in this last year and kept falling at the tough bouldery crux.

Is this an independent line of the other FA you just did?
The line is completely independent of Cheesecake, though you can climb Cheesecake into the main hard middle 15m of this to get something even harder. I’m psyched to try linking the two together! But there are a few other things I’m psyched on too.

Anak Verhoeven, one of the best female Lead competition climbers from 2013 - 2018, says on Insta that she will stop competing. The Belgian did win three World Cups and was runner-up seven times, mainly behind Janja Garnbret. In 2017, she did her first 9a and in total, she has done 10 routes 8c+/9a and harder which is second-most in the world.

How do you plan the next year and what are your goals?
I want to try to be a full-time professional climber. My goals for the coming years are to push my limits in sport climbing and discover other types of outdoor climbing as well. This year I want to be able to climb hard again in the fall. And in the meantime, I’ll be expanding my skills on rock and keep training.

Any specific plans or routes you want to try?
I don’t have any specific plans at the moment as far as destinations and routes. I’m on the lookout for projects, but the current travel restrictions definitely make it difficult to go anywhere anytime. I guess I’ll be mostly trying routes in France since that’s not too far away. I’m excited about that!

Chris Sharma made the FA of Biographie in Céüse in 2001 as one of the very first 9a+ in the world. It has been repeated 20+ times and in 2017, Margo Hayes at age 19, did the first and only female ascent.

Naoki Shimatani signs up to 8a with three 8C's including Babel in Shiobara, which he did last week. It is a 30 move link-up which Dai Koyama set up in 2007 and combines, Catharsis (8B+), to Hydra (8B) via Uma (8B+). The 24-year-old won a Youth World Championship in 2013 and later he has been #7 in both a Lead as well as a Boulder World Cup.

Pablo Hammack, who did his first 8B (+) at age 15, has stayed under the radar ever since lately posting sends on Hotfirerigs Insta. In February, he did Sleepwalker 8C+ and earlier in December he sent The Nest 8C. This video, recorded by Ethan Pringle puts him in the spotlight sending the first 8C in Yosemite.

Dinara Fakhritdinova, European Champion in 2013, has done her first 9a, Max Factor in Bahchisaraj which was set up by Vladislav Shevchenko in 2019. Previously, this 151 cm tall climber has done some 8c's but she has never tried any harder routes. The Russian tried the route for the first time last fall and did all moves within three days. Then in May, she needed 4 more days on the route to send it, at her 7th attempt. Interestingly, Dinara took a one year break from climbing which finished less than 12 months ago. (c) Anton Malkolv

Why did you stop climbing and for how long did you not train?
I didn’t train for about a year, I didn’t stay in the gym, I didn’t watch the news about climbing, I didn’t communicate with climbers, I had psychological problems I was burned out and could not cope with the daily activities. I hated climbing and I left.

What made you start climbing again?
Climbing is my soul, I love it. I got confused and needed a rest. The difference is that I have a different attitude to everything. There is no secret, this is a big inner work on myself. It is not possible to describe what exactly has changed, I have changed.
Also Dmitry Fakiryanov, #3 in the last Euro Championship, has done this route, as reported on his Insta. The Russian needed only two days of projecting but says he confirms the 9a grade.

Hernan Garcia, who has done two 8c+'s in Sant Llorenç del Munt this spring, has made the first repeat of Ramon Julian Puigblanque's Necros, giving it a personal 9a grade compared to 8c by the FA in 2008. Ramonet, one of the best competition climbers in history, is equally known for his hard grading, and numerous of his FAs from back then have already been upgraded one or two grades.

"About the route I think it never was an 8c as Ramón said. I did the others three hard routes in the Siberia sector; Peti, Inüit, and Snuff Movies, each one Ramón said 8c, but in my opinion, Snuff Movies seems to me an 8c the other two 8c+. Then I start to try Necros, the last hard one for me and was really hard to do the crux because it is reachy for me. But last year, I finally did the crux. Then again, close down here in Catalonia, and I had to wait until this season and finally, I sent the entire route. I think 9a could be better for this route but that is only my opinion, waiting for what other climbers will say."

In the picture, the Mexican, who has been living in Spain for several years, is working on El Bon Combat 9b. After five days, he has done all moves and some good links. "For me is a very hard project I only have one day per week to try cause of my job and my family situation. But I'm super psyched and that's important."

Rock climbing is booming and I see more and more outdoor beginners trying their luck. Many of them, however, make the same mistake. Instead of warming up on some very easy routes they start almost at their max grade. This approach is possible in the gym as the setters have made the routes progressively harder, there is never a distinct crux, and that most of the time you are top roping. Furthermore, indoor grades are often softer.

Outdoors, it just might be that the crux is at the start. I often see outdoor beginners getting stuck there feeling miserable.

On the contrary, start with very easy routes that you can top rope a couple of times getting that good feeling of being prepared both mentally and physically. If you later anyhow get stuck on some hard moves, understand that it is often just about muscle recruitment, meaning that you are getting stronger for each try as you get all muscle coordinated for the crux. If you cannot do some hard moves within a couple of tries, just move along upwards to the top. Once being lowered, if you are not pumped, stop at the crux and try again and make your muscle learn the coordination and get stronger. Then rest for like 15 minutes and try again. If you cannot do the moves it is time to try your luck on some other routes instead.

In general, what you want to achieve being out climbing is first of all the good feeling, and secondly to climb as many meters and moves as possible. Outdoors, you will be challenged with many new different, strange and even awkward moves that you have never tried indoors. On the other hand, the route setters indoors mission is to set nice and pleasant moves that will make you come back and buy another entrance.

Alessandro Larcher, who did his first and only 9a in 2019 at age 19, gives us the interesting story of how he last autumn did Bombo Balla 8b+ in Bus de vela first on bolts and later on trad gear. After having done sport routes on trad gear, chopping bolts has previously been quite common and always created conflict, so we asked Larcher if the bolts will remain. "Yes of course. It is one of the main routes of Bus de Vela and it was born as a sport route." (c) Martin Giovanazzi

"In October due to the pandemic all the climbing gyms in Italy were closed and therefore I decided to train at the Bus de Vela crag near Trento. I tried an old project of mine called Bombo Balla (8b+) and after few tries, I was able to send it. After the ascent, I thought that maybe it was also climbable on gear since there are many holes and some small cracks on the route. I had never placed any cam or nuts before trying Bombo Balla so in the next few days I asked my dad to help me and to explain to me how to be safe using cams and nuts. After checking the route with him we placed all the protections and I tried to fall on them to gain some trust in the gear and some confidence in myself. At the end of the day, I was able to send the route pink point. Two days later I came back and after the warmup, all went smooth and I sent the route placing all the gear while climbing! It was a big adventure and through this process, I discovered a new dimension for me in climbing! Trad climbing is amazing and the mind is so important! This route has opened my eyes towards the big potentials of repeating hard sport routes on gear and I already have some ideas😉👌🏻"

Courtney Arnold, who has previously done six 8A's, has done her first 8A+, Euro Trash in Little Cottonwood Canyon. "I kind of went out there only intending to try the stand but that went down pretty quick so I decided to try it from a little lower. I fell on pretty much the last move in my first session, had a terrible second session, and then did it my third session."

What is your climbing background?
I started climbing around August 2016 and climbed on a team at AZ on the Rocks for a couple of years before moving to Flagstaff in 2019 where I have been trying to get outside as much as possible!

What has been most important for your fast progress in grades?
I would say just getting outside and trying hard with a bunch of psyched and motivated people. I’m also kind of competitive so I think it’s been really helpful to climb with people that are stronger than me because it helps me push a little harder.

How much and how do you train/climb?
I try and get outside at least 3 times a week and do some supplemental stuff in the gym like weighted pull-ups and volume training. I also really like training on the tension board. Usually I shoot for 2 days on 1 day off. Although I have to admit I sometimes get too excited and don’t rest enough which I’m working on.