Great discussion between the possible two most known climbers out there: Honnold with 2.2 million followers on Insta and Ondra with 664' on Insta. Interesting is that there are not so many similarities. As a sidenote, Alex Honnold this Saturday did Ghost Fire in Mt Potosi. "Ghost Meat (8b/+) into Hold Your Fire (8c), Andy's link up, not sure if other folks have done it? Maybe 8c? But tried it a bunch last year and didn't do it, who knows. I really enjoyed it either way."

Leah Dempsey has done her fourth 8A+, Bumpy Boys in Nowra, in just three sessions. Picture from Monkey Grip 7C at the same crag.

How has Covid affected the climbing scene in Australia and please say something about the boulder?
We're so fortunate here in Australia that covid really hasn't had much of an impact on us when it comes to access of climbing gyms and crags. Travel between states has been largely restricted until recent months, but luckily we have some amazing crags within a couple of hours drive here in NSW.

Nowra is most renowned for sport climbing, but it also houses some of Australia's most historically significant boulders. Bumpy Boys is an eliminate boulder with some burly moves between pockets and slopey holds, which is the epitome of Nowra!

Sébastien Berthe, one of the best big wall climbers in the world, reports on Insta that he has flashed Mind Control 8c (+) in Oliana. It was originally graded 8c+, but later more and more climbers have, just like Seb, considered it 8c. One year ago, the Masters in Physical Education's PB was 8c+ but now he has done a 9a+ and is working on Fight or Flight 9b. (c) Toni Mas Buchaca

"When I had my first trip to Oliana last year, I knew that 'Mind Control' would be a good candidate for a flash attempt... During this first trip, however, I decided not to try... I did not feel ready and strong enough (I was right because looking back today, I am sure I was not strong enough 😅).

Last Tuesday, I gave a go in my project of the moment, but it felt bad and got my ass kicked... The motivation was not there. Then I decided to totally change my goal for this day: that could be the day for an attempt in Mind Control. I spent the whole afternoon studying the betas with the local climber Arnau Terribas and went for it an hour before it got dark.

At the beginning of the route, I felt terrible and nervous and was not climbing at my best. Then I could put myself into the good warrior mode. Completely pumped, fighting at each section, I could find my way to the anchor. Was really happy and relieved!"

Martina Demmel has onsighted Picos Pardos 8b and done American Hastle 8c on her second go in Oliana.

American Hastle: "No way, did this really happened!? Quite an untypical style for Oliana but a true king line in the middle of the cliff! For me about 8 boulders mostly with tensiony shoulder- & undercling moves separated by good rests all the way to a spicy slab at 50m where I totally forgot my beta... windy condis, lots of cheering from the crew & low expectations made it possible:) one of the closest battles I ever had!"

Picos Pardos: "When the rest day gets out of control and your other projects aren't free! Sending train at the cliff today with two other ascents at the same time; the Spanish guys were cheering soo loud that it even helped me passing the crux with thousands of drop knees! Perfect 5star bubble tufas in the upper part:)”

Could you please tell us something about your onsight flow/strategy?
If there would be a strategy...;) honestly I mostly decide which route I'm gonna try in the last seconds before starting to climb which probably doesn't leave space for any expectations🙈🤷‍♀️ and what I love about onsighting is that you automatically fall into a deep state of flow because you're always searching for the best possible beta for only the next move and therefor you're pretty close to only thinking intuitivly in the present.

Compared to redpointing, I still have to learn a lot to properly stay in the moment and don't think about how a certain section felt last time or what is still in front of me but that's mostly because my body already knows what to do and my thoughts have got time to go crazy🤯🔥😜💭!

In the last 12 months, the 19-year-old has onsighted 54 routes 8a and harder. In the 8a Top-50 onsight ranking game, she is #1 ahead of Solveig Korherr and Moritz Welt.

Nicolai Užnik, #7 in the Euro Championship last year, and Jakob Schubert, the best male competitor the last ten years, have been on a three days trip to Ticino and Valle Bavona where they in just one session each did two 8C's, Primitivo and The Kingdom. The latter they did quickly enough to think it was more like an 8B+.

How have you been training lately and what is the next plan?
Užnik: I moved to Innsbruck last summer so I basically trained there almost the whole winter until now. I definitely want to do some more short trips to Switzerland in the near future especially since it‘s not that far from Innsbruck. In a few weeks, the competition season is kicking off with the European cup in Klagenfurt and the World Cup in Meiringen. So I‘m also really psyched to finally compete again and hopefully make good use of my current shape! (c) Michael Piccolruaz

Iker Pou, one of the very best rock climbers in the world in the last 20 years, has made the FA of Guggenhell 9a+/b in Mallorca. In the video you can see that the 50-meter route is super steep and that he also had to do a figure-four move, i.e. putting the knee on top of the hand to reach as high as possible.

"A big part of the route is the same of "Gran Guggenheim" 9A+ but different end, harder. I took more or less another 8 to 10 days to make the new exit.😅😅. I fall many times in the last crux.

In 2000, Iker did Action Directe 9a and overall he has done around 30 routes up to 9b (+). As a matter of fact, this 44-year-old's hardest ascents have occurred during the last six years. In 2015, he also onsighted his first 8c. In any case, the Spaniard is most known for establishing many of the hardest multi-pitches and Big Walls and in this discipline, he is a contender for being #1 in the world.

"We will continue trying important climbs close to home as long as travelling is not an option, but the truth is that we would love to be able to go out to the Andes or the Himalayas in the summer."

Jernej Kruder, one of the very best competition boulderers the last ten years, also known for preparing on rock rather than plastic for the comps, has started vlogging. Last week he was in Ticino where he among other things put up an 8B.

How much indoor training the last month before the first WC in Meiringen?
Approximately, two team trainings a month and a few other sessions when the weather is bad...Still planning to go back to Ticino and also planning to do some route setting by the end of the month.

How has Covid-19 impacted your training?
We're all slowly adapting to the situation. luckily I could travel a bit around Europe, so my training ritual remains the same

Thilo Schröter is on his way back to Norway from road trip to Albarracín, Font and Switzerland; Brione, Val Bavona, Cresciano and Chironico. On Insta he reports that he has done Dreamtime 8B+/C in Cresciano in just four sessions. His tick list also includes four 8B+'s, ten 8B's and a flash of Salamander 8A+.

How long have you been on the road and which areas were your favourites?
Brione is still the favourite in Switzerland and Bavona, which was new for me, is also super nice.

How did you prepare for the trip?How did you prepare yourself for the trip?
I trained how I always train before this trip. 90% spray-wall, 10% strength training, something like that. Access to gyms was limited, so I’ve trained slightly less than normal.

Petra Klingler won the Boulder World Championship in 2016, and many say that her surprised smile after sticking the crux on the final boulder was one of the most emotional moments of competitive climbing ever, video clip. (c) Eddie Fowke

The 28-year-old Swizz has been an active competition climber since 2006, and she must be considered a late bloomer as the first time she finished Top-5 in an international youth or senior event was when winning a Boulder WC in 2015. Interestingly, she has also won an Ice World Cup in 2015 and later have gotten another seven podiums. She qualified for the Olympics by being #8 in the Combined WC in 2019.

How did you handle 2020, which must have been a difficult year for any athlete?
I have always tried to see things positive and find little or bigger things that I could hold on to. In 2020, this was not easy and there were times where my motivation was low but generally, I can actually say that I gained an extra year. I gained a year to train and develop new skills to focus on other stuff as well and to have a little break also before 2021. As an example, throughout the lockdown, I had the time and focused on my flexibility weakness so I did a lot of mobility stretching and really worked on that, which helped me a lot in climbing. I really see how I progressed there.

In general, I think I handled 2020 really well. I learnt a lot about myself, about training and relaxing and I had time for my social life a little bit more, which was really nice. I look back and I am happy how I dealt with it and see how valuable this year actually was for me.

What is your season plan ahead of the Olympics?
We have all learnt that with Corona nothing is for sure. Planning is still really hard so my focus is to train my best and stay healthy. It would be really bad if I would get injured. I really try to rest enough and sleep a lot to be able to perform in my training. For the season, I am really psyched for the kick-off for the first World Cup of the year in Meiringen. Every time really special to have the kick-off in Switzerland. It is nice to see how hard they work to make it possible. A huge thanks to the whole organization of Meiringen who are working double shifts preparing two competitions; scenario A and B.

After that, I will take a little break, before we then get to the "end-zone" of the Olympics. Train hard and get back into competition mode. I plan to do the WC in Salt Lake City as well, of course, the WC in Villar. After that, it is already July and I really try to take it step by step, day by day and week by week. To stay as flexible as possible and to adapt to give my best every day. My goal is to just have fun and to enjoy this journey to the Olympics.

What do you expect will be the biggest challenge at the Olympics to get a good result?
To not get lost with all these emotions. Getting too nervous for nothing, too excited, too distracted by all other sports and athletes. I mean, we have never had an event like that. It is the first time eyes will definitely be on climbing. I have heard that it can be challenging to stay focused, especially as our event is rather at the end of the Olympics. We have to stay focused over a longer period and maintain our fitness.

For my team, I guess it will be a huge challenge to organize everything under these circumstances. To get all the necessary information prepared and organized so they can kind of take as much from my shoulders as possible. So teamwork will be necessary and a new challenge.

Are you doing special training to prepare for the heat in Tokyo?
Yes, of course. It is a subject we are looking at. We are trying to put our training a little bit in the afternoon when it will be really hot. But generally, I am really lucky because I kind of handle the heat really well. For sure skin is going to be an issue and we are dealing with that trying new things. We are also talking with the Swiss Olympics and athletes from different sports. Of course, also nutrition and hydration are important. I also think it is a mental thing also. Luckily we had a chance to climb in Tokyo in 2019. We have experienced the heat and we know about how hot it can get and already knowing it will be a challenge will hopefully help to deal with it.

Who are the strongest contenders for the gold medal in your opinion?
Janja and Miho, who are contenders for the gold. For the guys, of course, we also have the Japanese athletes who are super strong. We have Jongwon and we have Ondra, who of course is a super candidate. But we also have young athletes with the male and the female who can surprise. I am really excited to see climbing evolve in the Olympics and wonder who will take the medals.