Drew Ruana, #13 in the Combined World Champion in 2019 and one spot from making it to the Olympics, reports on Insta that he has done Creature from the Black Lagoon 8C+ in RMNP. It was set up by Daniel Woods in 2016 and it has now seven repeats. In October last year Drew stopped competing although there were one possibility left in the Pan Am Championship. Since then, the 20-year-old has done 18 boulders 8B+, 6 8C and 3 8C+ which means he has the best track record in the world by far, the last year. (c) Alton Richardsson, who comments,

"I had definitely not seen so many people at one time in that cave before. It was absolutely a strong representation of the current generation of hard bouldering, or climbing for that matter. I got there just after Brooke Rabatou sent Jade, then Drew set to warming up and fired Creature first go. He looked so dialed and strong on it, it was hard to image he had already spent 15 days on this! Shortly after Drew’s send, Brooke also sent Two Ton Skeleton for two V14’s in a day. Pretty rad sports action."

Brooke Raboutou has during the same day sent two 8B+ in RMNP; Two Ton Skeleton and Jade which originally was 8C. In the 8a ranking game, the Olympian is now #2. On her Insta she comments with the picture by Finn Stack, " It was an incredible day, one I will remember forever!🥰 I feel so grateful to have this time to explore the park. I have learned so much in the past few months from pushing myself outdoors. I continue to grow as a climber and person every day I spend out there, realizing what I can accomplish when I put my mind to it."

Two Ton Skeleton: "Very unique climb for the park, no individual move is too bad, but I found the transitions hard. I also can't hand jam so I added three extra moves just for fun! Not sure how to grade it, time will tell.
Jade: "Such a special climb!!! First try on my third sesh, felt like a dream."

With more gym climbers getting outside this year, it is important that all we experienced climbers take some safety responsibility. Last week, I was climbing alongside some outdoor beginners and one thing I told them was to repeat commandos. Once I get to the anchor and say "Take!", I think it is much better to repeat this instead of the belayer just saying "OK".

If the crag is crowded, it just might be that one guy screams "Slack!" ore or less the same time and another climber screams "Take!" If unlucky, one belayer can take in rope at the same time the climber wanted some slack creating possibly a fall or a situation with uncertainty.

Other safety problems I have witnessed often this year is top-ropeing directly in the clip in, or thread the rope in just one anchor ring or trying to top-rope from an anchor two routes to the right. Another issue I think should be avoided is to scream instructions to an uncertain climber having done a back-clip. It is much better to just let the climber hang in the rope and fix it later rather than to unclip and clip again. From a good safety point, at least in Sweden, it seems like half of the new generation climbers use a helmet. Do you have any other remarks that could improve safety?

Elan Jonas McRae, who was #12 in the Arco World Cup in 2017, has done his first 9a+, Sacrifice in Echo Canyon. It was bolted by Evan Hau who got the first repeat this summer after Adam Ondra's FA in 2018.

"The route has a lot of subtle complexities and for me, the easiest part was actually climbing it. It is always wet in the bottom crux so it’s necessary to dry the holds before each attempt and often times it’s just too wet to climb. It is also a big commitment just getting to the cliff as it is straight up a mountain for 75 minutes. I started working the route last summer and put in about 2 weeks of effort before injuring my knee on a heal hook down low on the route. My first few sessions were with Evan Hau and he really helped me get psyched to try it early on. The route was very wet last season however so most days were just spent trying the dry different holds.

This year, I avoided Sacrifice for most of the summer in order to avoid re-injuring my knee but was eventually drawn back in. Progress was quick and I sent it after a few days! On the day I climbed it, the route was the most wet it’s been all season after a heavy rain storm."

Jorge Diaz-Rullo has done the FA of Las meninas R2 9a+/b in Rodellar. It is an extension to a 9a+ FA he did two weeks ago. In total, the 20-year-old has now done 29 routes 9a and harder which put him close to the All Time Top-10 list. In the 8a ranking game, based on his ascents the last twelve months, he is #1.