Alex Megos reports on Insta from his productive five days trip having done six routes graded 8c+ or harder quickly. Interestingly, he has given personal grades (in brackets) for all of them including two upgrades and four down grades.

- Hades 9a (8c+?) 2nd try: A well confirmed 9a in the 8a database.
- Fonax 8c+ (8c+/9a?) 5th try
- Lichtjahre 8c+ (8c+/9a?) 3rd try: Removed chipped hold and broken foot hold (c) Michael Meisl
- Claudio Caffè 8c+ (8c?) 2nd try
- Underground 9a (8c+/9a) Flash
- Pure Dreaming 9a (8c+/9a? with kneepad) 2nd try: A well-confirmed 9a.

To give personal subjective grades are actually rare and in the big perspective, Adam Ondra is the who has done it the most among the hardcore climbers. Even so, it is widely known that there exist many old-school routes that deserve an upgrade meanwhile some of the more modern and steeper endurance routes should be downgraded.

Noteworthy is that most media but 8a and Climbing have reported Megos flash of Underground as a 9a.

Samuel Ometz has done his fourth 9a in 2020, Black Beauty in Dossen. "One of the best! Dyno crux at the start, then some power endurance and hard boulder without rest at the top. It is the 1st line they bolted on that cliff. It's super obvious following a black stripe first and then going diagonally on crack systems. Patrick Aufdenblatten did the FA last fall. I lost count of the number of days, more than 10 over two years. Counting the days where I came for nothing because it was wet. Already looking forward to back next summer because there are several really good hard projects there and its probably the sport crag with the best conditions in the summer in Swiss."

Alex Megos, who has qualified to Tokyo 2021, reports on Insta (with 300K followers) that he has flashed Underground 9a (8c+) in Arco. The super steep roof was put up by Manfred Stuffer in 1998 as an 8c+. After the first repeats, it was upgraded to 9a but lately, some have said 8c+ again. It has now been repeated around 30 times. In total, the 27-year-old has done 87 routes 8c+/9a and harder including the world's first 9a onsight, Estado Critico in Siurana.

He got the beta from Cesar Grosso who has done the neighbouring 9a but still not Underground. "Really impressive!!! He did a perfect climb on flash! Before I climbed it bolt-by-bolt showing and brushing the holds and moves... unbelievable. On the first (and hardest) crux, he almost fell... its hard and more than anything, super complex with hooks, jam, gastons, twist to the right, after to the left... hard to understand even on flash. After that, he was in cruise mode. He climbed it perfect. Now I want to go for it again! 💪😃. I felt many times with the anchor in my face so I was feeling psychologically blocked to do it.

The belayer was his trainer Dicki Korb. "Every move locked totally controlled, it felt like I had the harder job, belaying from the humid/ dark cave 😊" "We also asked Alex about his emotions before, during and after the send?
Before I was not sure if I should go for it. I already climbed an 8c that day and I didn't prepare super well for the flash. Cesar said the biggest problem will be to get through the first crux out of three so I put my focus on that one. Once I passed that crux there were two more to go and with every move, I gained confidence. The second and third crux was a bit weird and with bad feet so I just tried to control the moves as much as possible. After topping I was very relieved that it worked out and that it was good saving the route for some time and not trying it on a previous trip. I'm very grateful for the perfect beta Cesar gave me. It wouldn't have been possible without him.

Also I think that 9a seems a bit over the top. 8c+/9a is more appropriate but it could as well only be 8c+. It's always hard to say if you only tried once.

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Moritz Welt has done his sixth 9a during the last 12 months, Lulu in Céüse. Among the teenagers, he is #1 in the 8a ranking game.

"Tried this one straight for the last three weeks, at least about seven sessions or something. Fell a lot of times at the very end. Once even after the last crux in the final slab. Did it on the last day of my trip a few minutes before it started to rain".

Natalia Grossman, who has done four 8B's in 2020, has done her tenth 8A+ during the last five months, Phallus in RMNP. "Proud of this one:) My biggest mental battle to date!"

What the #4 in the 8a ranking game is talking about is that she injured her bicep on the first day she tried the sit start forcing her to take some time off. Later when she started bouldering again she did not want to push hard but even so tried it a bit. "Deep down I knew I shouldn’t be trying Phallus so I took a month off from the climb. Yesterday, I finally went back after feeling healthy and strong and sent 1st try!" Full story on her Insta.

Alex Megos has said on Insta and to 8a that he thinks Underground is 8c+/9a or even 8c+. It is also listed as 8c+/9a on escalade9 and based on the 8a database, with 24 ascents, you understand that this impressive ascent should not be labeled only with the 9a grade. Anyhow the media says Megos flashed a 9a.

PlanetMountain reports that it was upgraded as C. Bindhammer, Hirayama and Mrazek thought it was either 8c+/9a or 9a. Strangely, in the 8a database, all these three climbers have recorded it as 8c+!

It should be mentioned that there exist several other examples when 8a report a lower grade in comparison to the other biggest climbing media. In other words, it is often the media who want to have the most impressive headlines that are driving grade inflation. Until some 15 years, 8a did often suggest downgrades in order to present more correct grades, which later always were confirmed. However, this stopped around 2005, as we got heavily criticised for it.

Edu Marin spent 170+ days in China out of which 50 days of bolting, to put up the hardest MP in the world, Valhalla.