Jonathan Siegrist has done his 39th 9a, Super Pod at New Riger Gorge. "Totally desperate (!!) crimp boulder after the most lovely 8a ever. Low in the grade. 4 tries." On Insta he comments, "When the weather cooperates it sure does feel like this might just be the best crag in America..." (c) Tesla Mitchell

His comments on Still Life 8c, reveals that this route is also of the highest quality. "Damn. A complete masterpiece. The rumours are true!! Same day as Super Pod. So psyched on the New right now!"

Carlos "Citro" Logroño reports on Insta that he has done Hulk Extension Total 8c+ in Rodellar. Interestingly, Citro has never done a 9a so he is peaking at age 50. More info to come. (c) Javi Pec

Jakob Schubert reports on Insta that he first did the second repeat of Daniel Woods' La Force Tranquille 8C in Magic Wood in just one session. On the next session, he opted for the original direct exit and within an hour he made the FA of the direct and although a bit harder, it remains 8C. (c) Michael Piccolruaz

The 29-year-old Austrian, who has qualified to Tokyo 2021, has been the best male Lead competition climber the last ten years. In total, he has won 21 World Cups, out of which 18 in Lead. Including also one 9b+ and four 9b's, Jakob should be considered the runner up climber in the world after Adam Ondra during the last ten years together with Alex Megos.

Lucija Tarkus from Slovenia has done her first 8c+, Beautiful pain in Kotecnik.

"At first, I didn’t intend to dedicate myself to climb this route. Instead, I wanted to send Butnskala 8b+. When I sent it on my first attempt day, I decided to just try to climb Beautiful pain. I couldn't send it the same day as I only tried the moves. Then, on the next day succeeded on my 5th attempt yesterday."

In 2018, she won two Euro Cups and last year she got the bronze in Bouldering in the Euro Championship. The picture by Fabian Poels is from Arco.

Advertorial: You can imagine how to make climbing shoes, jacket or harness. But do you know anything about the climbing rope?

What is it made of, how to braid it, why is it flexible, how do we impregnate and test it? And what will you say if the best climber in the world shows it clearly and explains it to you – Adam Ondra as a guy in work trousers with a huge moustache and afro hair cut from the 1970s. More info - How tendon ropes are made?

Strangely, there is no official documentation on how close to and edge/crack you can place climbing bolts. The intention of this article is not to create guidelines but to welcome a discussion so we all can learn and make bolting and climbing safer. Some say the bolts should be placed 20 cm from edges etc but at the same time, in practice, many bolts are placed just 5 cm from edges. In the concrete industry, one simple rule refers to the pull out cone, which is normally based on the depth in cm of the bolt times 1.5. In other words, a bolt sticking in 7 cm should be placed at least 10.5 cm from an edge.

The bolt in the picture, could be considered as an example of a dangerous bolt as it was placed on a 7 cm wide "bridge" (including a small crack) sticking up some 2 cm from the rock. Noteworthy is that the bolt was a replacement from a previous bolt to the right. " If I came across this on a route, I would worry about what else the equipper didn’t understand."(Comment from David Reeve, who has been helping UIAA as an expert in other bolting subjects.)

Here are some general questions and reflections that could be discussed in order to make climbing safer in regards to how close to edges and cracks bolts could be placed?
Why do trad climbers place cams close to edges and other cracks?
Is it safer to first bolt with a 6 mm drill and then a 10 mm drill?
Is a glue-in safer than an expansion bolt placed near an edge?
The difference on bolts with potential factor one falls and the anchor with much less impact?
The difference in between bolts placed on sandstone, limestone, gneiss and granite?
The difference in between bolts placed on vertical, overhang and roof?
The differences in between a 10 mm bolt drilled 7 cm inside the rock and a 12 mm placed 10 cm inside the rock?
What about the distance from bad rock or minor cracks?
Is the risk greater for bolts placed above, beside or below edges?

All these questions comes down to understand best practice when getting close to an edge or a crack in order to increase safety? Tricky bolting situation almost always relates to the first bolts, meaning it is better to start by bolting from a ladder instead of beginning from the top. When in doubt of the most "rock safe" bolting, in regards edges etc, and the best bolting, opt for safety. If there is no "rock safe" bolt placement, one possibility is to opt for a higher bolt and place a fixed vire or a chain.