Michele Reusa, who has previously done three 8c', has done the FA of Up forever 8c+ in Falesia del ghëddo after just three sessions. "It is made up of two parts, a fairly easy first part of 8a to the fifth quickdraw and then there are long moves on small holds as you continue and you feel more and more pumped until the last crux which makes the grade. I hope someone comes to try it to find out their opinion. I think I just needed so few sessions because I feel very fit."

The 14-year-old was #6 in the European Youth Championship last week. Last month, his younger brother Matteo became the second in the family, after his father Iuri, to do an 8c+ by repeating Bucking Bronco. The whole family is developing Falesia del Ghëddo in Piedmont together. Currently, there are some ten routes but they aim for 30 routes almost 20 meters high.

Philipp Gaßner did the 27th repeat of Action Direct, generally considered the first 9a in the world, two weeks and commented. "Psyched to have finally climbed that one. I’ve wanted to do it for a long time but somehow I’ve only spent there a couple of days over the past few years. This spring I was super excited to give it a serious go. And on the fourth day of this season, I did it with great support from my friends. There is not much left to say about the route. This thing is just absolutely iconic and it‘s still a difficult test piece. Looking forward to moving on to the next projects!"

What was hardest for you redpointing it?
The hardest was to be that certain mental state to be able to climb the route because I knew I was strong enough to do so. Just focusing on the very next move and not trying to calculate if I can send it or not. And even though there was a little mistake during the send go I did not let go.

It is hard to transition from a static climber to a dynamic one. Your technical style is often set from the early days of your climbing and normally most climbers just become more static over the years. This means it is often very hard to start practicing dynos both physically as well as mentally.

The easy way around this is to start climbing easier routes faster indoors. Once you have done several hundred meters in this way, your brain and muscles will start to adapt and you will begin climbing more dynamically. This means that it will be easier to start practicing dynos.

Start each session indoors, after warming up, by doing some easier routes and bear this in mind whenever you train. Also ask your friends to remind you before and during your climb as it is very easy to go back to your normal static climbing routine. After some sessions, you will start surprising yourself climbing like the youngsters again.

The Combined result in the European Youth Championship in Russia last week was calculated by the rankings of everyone competing in the three disciplines. Slovenia won all three golds among the girls and Bulgaria won the two youngest boys categories. Lucia Tarkus got the overall best calculated result by being second in Boulder and then winning both Lead and Speed. (In reality she was #3 in Boulder, #1 in Lead and #10 in Speed, including the Speed specialist only doing that duscipline).

It should be mentioned that Paul Jenft, who won in both Lead and Boulder in the oldest boys categories, would have been Combined Champion, if he just had participated in Speed. Nikolay Rusev got the best overall results being #4 in Lead, #1 in Boulder and #2 in Speed. Noteworthy is that Alberto Gines Lopez, who has qualified to Tokyo, was just #3 among the oldest boys. Here are the winners with including their score.

02: Lucija Tarkus SLO - 2 : Lawrence Bogeschdorfer AUT - 9
04: Liza Novak SLO - 4 : Slav Kirov BUL - 4
06: Lina Funa SLO - 18 : Nikolay Rusev BUL - 3
Complete results

Irina Kuzmenko has done Eliksir molodosty natoshak which her boyfriend Vadim Timonov put up as an 8A+ in Triangular lake. "In my opinion that’s one more like 8B. Too hard for 8A+ but so nice one!" The Russian, who got the bronze in the Euro Championship in 2019, has previously done twelve boulders 8A to 8B.

"It took two very short and two quite long sessions. During the first two sessions, it was no chances to make one separate move and it felt like “hmmm what I am doing here, maybe I should try something different”. Then I came back again, did all the moves in 20 mins, and decided to rest for recovery. This boulder is crimpy and the hold is sharp and usually, you need two days to make skin good again. So after 2 days I just came back and did it very quickly! So happy :-)"

If you can do 8B so quickly, it should be possible to do at least 8B+?
I already did one session in an 8B+ and did all the moves in 40 mins 😅 so maybe you’re right!🥰

Projecting a hard route often means that you must spend several sessions just solving and learning all moves. In practice this means that you hang in the rope and just try different sequences. So how long should you work the crux sequences and links and how long should you rest in between tries?

In general, this is personal and also related to what kind of moves you are trying to solve. However, a rule that can be used is that once you stop feeling progress you should take longer rests and if you anyhow notice that you are getting weaker, you should come to the ground and rest for at least 20 minutes. It is better to have several runs, with a rest in between, instead of getting totally wasted during your first push. When it comes to longer steep sequences where you easily can get pumped you can probably just do a couple of tries before getting to the ground and make sure that you rest at least one minute in between tries.

If we are talking about the crux moves you can not solve, try to isolate them and do them one by one. This means you can try to do them over and over again, which will improve your max recruitment and coordination. Once all the moves are done you can choose the "safe option" to then work sequences and later also try to link the upper part and later start lower and lower. This will often mean you will not get that pumped so you can project the route several times during a day.

The other option is to start with redpoint attempts, meaning that you will either send it more quickly or you will pump out and need longer rest or even return another day. In the long run, the latter more risky approach is the best as each attempt will make you train you how to fight. If you instead choose the safe option, you will probably send it faster but you will not have learnt as much during the process, since you had more control. Note that all top climbers have taken the risky approach.

Maya Ene (11) has had a good week doing God’s Own Stone 8b+ and Swingline 8b in Red River Gorge. During the last three months, the 137 cm tall and 30 kg, has also done two 7C+'. Her father Ionel (46), finished his World Cup career in 1999 by being #19 in Speed and #43 in Lead in the World Championship. His personal best 8c, he did in 2003 and recently he also did God's Own Stone.

"Both, my wife and I have been climbing for 30 years, so Maya was exposed to climbing at an early age. Plus, we own a small climbing gym in New Jersey so it seemed like just a matter of time before Maya started to take climbing more seriously. About three years ago I participated in a Psicobloc competition in Canada. She was so amazed by the cheers of the crowds that she decided to be "as strong as my father" as she would say. The determination of getting stronger grew bigger month after month. About six months ago, we went to a local bouldering area and she was able to hold very tiny crimps (the size of the edge of a credit card), so we decided to have her try harder stuff. She went from 5.13a (7c+) to 5.14a (8b+) (God's Own Stone) in five months.

Maya doesn't have a particular climbing training routine, however, we are both climbing three times a week. We take any occasion to climb outside since this is what we enjoy the most. While she does both, sport and bouldering, I believe she has a predilection for sport. It's amazing to see your child climb as strong as you."

Chaehyun Seo, who has qualified to Tokyo, has done Seoknangil 8c+ in Seonunsan. Three years ago, the Korean did her first 9a and in 2019, she won the Lead World Cup in a superior style and her worst result was #3 out of six events.

Illya Bakhmet-Smolenskyi, who did his first 9a at age 13, has done the first repeat of Alex Megos Turkish Haircut 9a in Citdibi, after some 12 days projecting during two trips. "Puff, it was a long story with shattered skin, damaged tendon and tons of Footslips. So glad to finish this line, a really cool and unique climb!" (c) David Kaszlikowski/Verticalvision.pl

On Insta he describes the whole process taking it down. The 16-year-old has been travelling together with his parents for several years. "I have this separate homeschooling class. The school gives us works to do to get the annual grades, we have deadlines for them and we should fit in. We study and search for materials on our own or with help of side teachers)."

Top climbers often climb two days in a row followed by a resting day. The reason for resting is to have good quality sessions, sometimes twice a day, and to save the skin. However, some people climb like 10+ days in a row.

There is normally no problem climbing several days in a row even for regular climbers. However, to avoid injuries you should avoid doing the same type of hard moves over and over again. Furthermore, if you get totally wasted and pumped several times during one session, it is probably best to take a resting day.

Flexibility and adjustment to how your body feels are crucial. Do not just follow a strict scheme that says you cannot climb a certain (sunny) day followed by several rainy days. In the long run, for the intermediate climbers, it is better to climb several days in a row focusing on your technical skill on easier routes compared to go full on ending up resting three days a week.