Alex Puccio has done her sixth 8B+, Super Low Chimichanga Right in Coal Creek. "Adds a 4 move V8-9 into the V13. Chimichanga is really my style to a T so not too sure of the grade. The super low is definitely harder the shorter you are. You have to do more moves and get really spread out!" The 30-year-old has also recorded four 8B's which means she has done a total of 36. In spite of having several injuries during the last year, she has more or less been the #1 ranked female for seven years straight. In 2009, Alex won the second WC she entered and in 2018, she won the last she did. In between, she made it to the podium twelve times including getting the silver in the World Championship in 2014.

Stefano Ghisolfi is out from his strict quarantine showing great form directly doing two 8c+' in Arco, X-Large and Zauberfee. "We spent 2 months at home and to start climbing outside was great! A bit weird tough, but I got the feeling again immediately. I'm not surprised because I trained hard and I know my garage is very good to train strength and endurance. In the next few weeks I hope it will be the same as these days. There are very few people at the crag and we can climb safely." On his Insta the Italian has shared some more thoughts on how we all can be safer at the crags.

Some climbers just like to climb hard and to make progress. At the same time, almost all the very best climbers truly enjoy climbing no matter of the grade, meaning they have a very wide and solid base of their grade pyramid. Getting out of a lockdown is a perfect period to just climb more easy routes than normal. If you still want to set goals, try to do as many routes on a day or fill up the base of your pyramid with 15 6a's or 7a 's etc. A simple rule is that the factor of the pyramid should be around 3 - 4 for each grade, before adding one more level. Here is an example of a solid pyramid between 7b to 8a ready to start projecting an 8a+. 8a = 3, 7c+ = 9, 7c = 27, 7b+ = 81, 7b = 243 Another way of seeing when going for 8a+ it is based on Time Comparison Grading. 8a = 5 days, 7c+ = 1 day, 7c = second go, 7b+ = onsight

Over 20 000 climbers have answered the Vertical-Life, "Restart Climbing Survey". Overall, 95 percent of the climbers would like to climb at the gym again, for 60 percent specific measures are a prerequisite for this. Only 5 percent would not feel safe. The majority of climbers would agree with the proposed measures. There is a high willingness to adhere to hand hygiene measures (98%), to have body temperature measured at the entrance (91%), to refrain from using changing rooms (88%) and showers (75%), and to agree to fewer routes and boulders (81%). A large proportion would also be willing to wear a mask (65%). However, only half of all climbers would want to climb in a restricted, assigned area.

Martina Demmel has directly after the lockdown done her first four 8c's including a second go ascent of Rood Warrior in Frankenjura. (c) Moritz Welt "My boyfriend lives in Erlangen in the Frankenjura where I stayed as well as the last few weeks and we only went to the not that crowded crags and only the closest to his home. So now it's already allowed again to move around in Germany but not in groups, so if you rather go to the not that famous areas and take care of yourself it's not forbidden to go rockclimbing. Just a few minutes away from my home, I also spent some time climbing together with family members over the last weeks. The next weeks, I'm gonna spent some more time in Franken and at my local crags because lots of projects are waiting there and hopefully the borders to at least Austria gonna open soon for the hot summer days." More comments on her ascents, also including four 8b+', on her Insta. Just before the crises, the 18-year-old was in Spain where she did 12 second go ascents of 8a+ to 8b+ routes.

Noé Looser has done her first 8c, Siesta in Vättis, "after three weeks of fun on the route. The 35 m and very steep routes includes many dynamic and long moves challenging the 148 cm tall and 13-year-old. She lives in eastern Switzerland and started rock climbing at age nine. Two years later she did Skyline 8b in Bürs, Austria. This was followed by alpine multi-pitch routes up to 7c+ in the Kreuzbergen and Rätikon. Last month she did Euphorie 8b+in Voralpsee in just a few attempts. How have you been able to stay fit during the lockdown and what is next? (asking her father) In the lockdown, she did strength training, stretching, jogging, yoga, and trained on the self-built campus board. Next, she wants to climb, climb, and climb again.

Michiel Nieuwenhuijsen and Tim Reuser have done Cannibal Corpse 8B+ in Arena. For Tim it was his fourth 8B+, out of which the third in 2020. Michiel has previously done 16 8B+'s and 8C's.

Tim: Used the jump beta. Same difficulty as the heel hook beta in my opinion. It depends on the friction of the crimp and your personal preference.
Michiel: During the lockdown, we had to be creative. Besides the pull-ups and hangboarding, and occasional setting and testing. We climbed a lot at Blok op Zuid, an artificial bouldering blok in Rotterdam. with problems up to 8B. In the Netherlands, we were allowed to go out. But the gyms had to be closed.