Austin Purdy, who previously has done 67 8B's and 16 8B+', has done his second 8C, Dicktopia in Camp Dick. Video on his Insta. "The picture is from a session in the mid-afternoon when the wildfires were getting quite bad. It is actually not dark out the res tint and darkness is because of the thick smoke in the air.

I first started working this boulder in the fall and made good progress, however, I had to stop going to it due to extreme conditions because of wildfires in the area. I was hoping to return to it this spring, but again that was difficult due to snow, cold conditions, and a sprained ankle I injured falling off a highball in Hueco Tanks. So instead, I have mostly been focusing on training these past few months. It seems like that training has paid off because I was able to send the easier variation to this boulder, Little Richard (8B+/V14), quite quickly when I came back to it and Dicktopia soon after."

Could you please also comment on your extremely wide grade pyramid?
As for the grade pyramid, I really enjoy pushing myself and climbing at my limit, but I feel like many climbers are only interested in climbing boulders with higher numbers near their max grade. For me though, just because I can climb 8C doesn’t mean I don’t have fun climbing 8As just because it isn’t my limit. In fact, I feel like one of the great things about climbing harder is it gives you the ability to send so many more cool boulders because you can do them quickly, and some of my most enjoyable climbing days have been ones where I try and do as many 7C+/8A’s as possible instead of failing on something near my limit.

In 2021, there will be Body Mass Index (BMI) screenings of all Boulder and Lead semi-finalists in all IFSC World Cups. The new stricter BMI limits will be 18 for females and 19 for males. Federations will receive a letter from the IFSC Medical Commission, requesting an explanation and the Commission will also assist with support to federations with athletes below the BMI limits.

During the last years, several top climbers have come forward talking about their eating disorders. 8a has often talked about the problem. In a 2008 article, I asked whether we should have a BMI 17 recommendation for scorecard users. Many were very critical of such a recommendation. Here are some examples of different BMI, which is calculated by dividing the body weight by the square of the height (BMI = m/h²).

170 cm and 55 kg = 19 BMI
170 cm and 52 kg = 18 BMI
170 cm and 49 kg = 17 BMI

The IFSC Medical Commission has a mission to, protect & maintain the health of competing athletes on an international level as well as, to protect & maintain Sport Climbing as a safe sport. Read more about their work.

Lucie Hrozová, who has 14 medals from Ice WCs and later started bouldering last May, has had three goods weeks with new personal records. First, the 32-year-old flashed Red Hot Tortilas 8A in Sneznik. Few days later she did her first 8B, Temná hmota 8B in Sneznik (c) ON_OFF Production

"It was like two days I was trying to figure out a solution for smaller people. I have to match on a very small hold to be able to reach. Then on day three, I come it was half wet so I tried just the dry part and then on the 4th day it was dry and I tried my first like the real push and I send it :)" Video on her Insta

Then last weekend she did Conquistador 8B in Sklapsko which was set up by Jana Vincourková last yrar as the first female 8B in Czech. Video on Lucie's Insta.

"I climbed and competed mostly in ice climbing the last years and did a lot of mix and drytooling. Three years ago I had very serious surgery on my shoulder. I needed pitons, reconstruction of labrum, biceps and plastic of cartilage, and since then ice climbing is for me very painful. As I can't do it (but I still believe I will return one day), I started to do more climbing with fingers instead of ice axes. Last year I managed to send my first 8c route. Anyway, last year again I had a medical issue with compartment syndrome, and with this syndrome it is very hard to climb routes. Last May I started with bouldering. First I started just because I had to, because of the compartment, but lately, I really have found it very nice and I kind of fell in love with it."

Alex Garriga has done his hardest route ever by Líder ibérico 9a+/b in Cuenca. It is a link-up of the hardest part of two 9a+' he has done before creating the 30 meters and very steep route. The 22-year-old had previously put up 10 routes 8c+ to 9a+ during the last year, all in Cuenca. (c) Javi Pec

I have put up some 500 routes and sure I have also placed some bad bolts which were later moved. Lately, I have seen more and more bad bolting around Göteborg which makes me think we need bolting courses. Drilling is easy, and so is hammering and tightening the bolt - but bolting routes involves other tasks that require substantial skills.

1. Safety
The most common mistake I see is easy routes with run-outs between the first bolts. The bolter must respect that the specific route is the first one somebody may lead and belay outdoors. Furthermore, holds can break and if the ground is not even, the bolter should place the bolts so that an injury could be avoided even if a hold breaks.

2. Onsight
"You need a long quickdraw in the fourth bolt" is not a good description to have in a topo. In such a case, one more bolt should be placed or the fourth bolt should be moved. If we are talking an 8a and the ninth bolt is a bit high, that is ok, but for a 5c for which you need to be 170 cm tall to use the best clipping position from a ledge, that bolt is placed too high for an onsight attempt.

3. Lines and Variations etc
Before you start bolting, make sure that you climb it several times together with your friends in order to find the best line. If you later would like to place a route next to it, think about how much quality the original line loses. If it is not your line, make sure you talk with the first bolter. An option is always to just create a new start or finish instead of squeezing in a route that interferes with the neighbouring routes.

4. Anchors
Clipping the anchor should not be the crux. Instead, move the anchor downwards. On the other hand, if the top has some nice moves that can take you up to a no-hands rest position and, even so, there is a possibility to place the anchor higher up, this is always the best option. Also make sure that you place the anchor so that you avoid as much rope swing as possible. In some cases, if the route gets much harder at the top, consider placing a first anchor, like many of the hardest routes have.

Alex Puccio is back on track after a mental breakdown, due to Covid-19, and has done two 8A and two 8A+ in the last two weeks.

8A+, Temper Tantrum in Elevenmile Canyon: "Sent second try after doing anger management. Last move was even wilder for me since I was a little bit more tired. Hard cool swing on one hand and one foot hold on the arete and it’s the last move. Hold on for the ride or you will pay for it! :0."

8A+, Burnt in Kraft Boulders: "Soooo hoootttt out! Climbing at 9:30pm with lights and it’s still 80 degrees!"

This 157 cm tall 31-year-old has the most impressive female bouldering tick list with 225 8A and harder including eight 8B+. She has also been #1 in the 8a ranking game for almost ten years straight, even if she has had some bad injuries. Alex started out as a competition climber, and in 2006 she won the USA Nationals for the first time, out of eleven! In 2009 she won her first World Cup, and in 2018 she won again. She has also gotten silver in the World Championship in 2014. In other words, altogether Alex is the best female boulderer in history.

Duygu Haug, who runs the Josito Camp in Geyik Bayiri with her husband Tobias, has done her second 8c Aaron, one year after a bicep surgery.

"It was a magical moment clipped the chain and the last year has passed through my eyes like a movie stripe at that moment. My torn biceps injury, 1-year break of climbing, trying to find another hobby to be happy, start crawling to climb well again and how patient I was, so on... I am proud of myself that I climb this miracle line today and I am thankful to my husband that he was always with me on this journey and bolted this amazing line." (c) David Kaszlikowski

How did Covid affect your climbing camp?
This season was really different from the other seasons. We didn’t expect to have a lot of guests this season because of the covid situation and travelling restrictions but it was the opposite. Most of the people stay in the camp since October from different countries. They are working and studying online living directly under the rocks. Most of the people have residence permission now in Turkey. Good to see for us that people became like a family here in these hard times

Ramon Julian has done the FA of Només per valents 9a in Fussimanya. In total, he has done 20 FAs 9a or 9a+ since 2002. It should also be mentioned that several of his FAs have been upgraded up to two grades. (c) Alba Capdevila

The 39-year-old has won 21 Lead World Cups and two World Championships. By checking his 8a scorecard as well as his Insta, we can see that almost all his climbs the last year have been FAs.

Alex Megos reports on Insta that he has done the first repeat of Ramon Julian Puigblanque's Mejorando Imagen in Margalef. The FA was done in 2013 after seven tries during three days and the 159 cm tall, who is one of the best ever male Lead competition climbers, graded it 9a. It had been bolted by Iker Pou a couple of years earlier and he had thought it was 9a+ or 9b. (c) Ken Etzel

It should be mentioned that several other Ramonet FAs have been upgraded like La Reina Mora from 8c to 9a. Another example is his FA of La Rambla 9a+ which was put up with a direct harder straight finish, compared to how it is climbed into the neighbouring route today. Several other of his FAs have never been repeated. In total, he has 38 9a's and 13 9a+' in his scorecard, out of which 20 FAs. As a matter of a fact, all his last seven 9a and 9a+ since 2015, have all been FAs.

Megos says he was close to having done it on his third day but then it took him another week to finish it off. "Pulling up on the draws I decided to give it one more try to at least drive back home with bleeding fingers. I lowered to the ground, my expectations were nonexistent. I had no chance to climb it on my 6th try. I climbed so badly, I barely stuck the crux move and then I kept climbing badly to the top."

James Pearson, one of the best trad climbers in the world, has done his third 9a Ça Chauffe in Seynes put up by Tanguy Mérard, video. (c) Raphaël Fourau/Wild Country

"At least on paper, Ça Chauffe (9a) should have suited me pretty well, and after climbing through the crux on my second day of red-points, I figured it would go down pretty quick. There was just one little problem– I couldn't do one of the moves in the upper 8b! With time, perseverance, lots of falls, and even more hand cream, eventually, things fell into place! This route was an excellent reminder of just how crazy climbing can be and how everybody is different."

The 36-year-old made his first 8a news headline 17 years ago and a few years later he flashed three 8B's and did his first 9a. Over the years, including videos, the Brit has made 100+ news on 8a.