NEWS

Apocalipsis de la Gioconda 9b (a+) by Jose Luis Palao
Jose Luis Palao, who did the FA of Mona Lisa integral 9a+ in Rodellar two weeks ago, has done the first repeat of Jonathan Flor's 60 meters Apocalipsis de la Gioconda in Rodellar thinking it is also 9a+. Jose Luis bolted and cleaned the whole line during some 15 sessions and "Yes, my projects are always open." In total, he has bolted some 300 routes. (c) Jonathan Flor

Last year I made his first pitch and bolted also the extension but I was very far from being able to join them. When I came back this season after doing "Mona Lisa integral" I was very used to the wall and to this style of routes and in about four days I made it.

Phallus 8A+ by Alex Puccio
Alex Puccio has done Phallus 8A+ in Boulder, meaning she has done ten 8A+ and harder since last month. "Nice boulder! Maybe a little soft for V12 but a good climb. I did the 1 move higher start back in 2013 and donโ€™t really know why I never tried the slightly lower start. Lol!"

The picture is from A New Hope 8A+ which, the runner-up in the World Champion in 2014, just published a video from on her Insta. Alex is #1, as she has been more or less the last seven years, in the 8a ranking game and in total, she has done 112 boulders 8A+ and harder.

Moksha 9a by Alex Chabot (38)
Alex Chabot, 21 times World Cup winner in the 2000's before he stopped competing in 2007, has done Moksha 9a in Pic St Loup in just 24 hours. In the last week or so he has also onsighted two 8b+' as well as done one 8c+. He won the French Championship for six years straight but was later not allowed to participate due to not wanting to, "take part in a masquerade (wearing logos) in order to satisfy the powerful federation." After he finished competitions, he focused on Alpinism and got his mountain guide diploma. The 38-year-old has now done four 9a's including his first one in 2004. (c) Mรฉlanie Cannac

"Today I have freedom and independence which makes me want to climb a lot more. Iโ€™ve been training a lot in the recent months! and my entourage of friends were very supportive!" Here is an old 8a interview where you can get a feeling for his ideologic open mindset. More comments on Fanatic Climbing

Adam Ondra is well known for climbing faster than all other top climbers. By moving faster, he saves energy and can reach higher. On the other hand, climbing faster means a higher risk for not finding the best beta.

Meanwhile Ondra has adapted to fast climbing also on his hardest routes after like 15 years of training, it is preferable to start practicing on very easy routes as you warm up. This will mean you set a new natural pace which can be used throughout the whole session.

Furthermore, speed will increase the challenge and also easier routes will be more fun to climb. In the end, what we all need is some very fast moves when you are pushing through the last moves of the crux or near the anchor when the tank is running empty.

You can now follow and stay updated on all the ascents for specific members and crags, which are shown in the left sidebar. Go to any member or crag and click "follow" to get automatic updates on the ascents. You can also search the database by clicking "Ascents" in the header.

Tommy Caldwell put up Kryptonite in the Fortress as the first 9a in USA in 1999. Now Margo Hayes and Paige Claassen have made the first and second female ascent of the 40+ meter endurance route, projecting it down after six and seven days respectively. Margo has previously made the only female ascent of three classical 9a+'; Biographie, La Rambla and Papichulo. For Paige, Kryptonite was her third 9a. Interestingly, Paige says it has become harder due to a hold broken off at the same time Margo says she is unsure if it is 8c+ or 9a, even post-break. Source; R & I

Illya Bakhmet-Smolenskyi, who did the FA of Shades of Grey 8c+ in Geyik bayiri last month, shown in the video, has done Devers Royal 8c+ or 9a. "Originally, the line was an 8c, after a couple of years a huge jug was torn out from the first crux and it turned to be 8c+, and then some crimps throughout the whole route were also broken. I would say it's a 9a, but since the huge rest cave from Ikarus is open, it's more likely an 8c+. For sure the hardest route in Geyik. Waited two months for the "cold" conditions in summer."

IFSC have presented a scheduel for an adapted World Cup 2020 without scoring overall points.

Brianรงon (FRA) from August 21 to 22: Lead
Salt Lake City (USA) from September 11 to 13: Boulder and Speed
Seoul (KOR) from October 7 to 11: Boulder, Lead and Speed DATES TO BE CONFIRMED
Chongqing (CHN) from October 23 to 25: Boulder and Speed
Wujiang (CHN) from October 30 to November 1: Boulder and Speed
Xiamen (CHN) from December 4 to 6: Lead and Speed