8a.nu begun reporting climbing news in December 1999. Here is a draft that has been making the most impressive and continues headlines in the last 20 years. 1. Adam Ondra 2. Angela Eiter 3. Chris Sharma 4. Dave Graham 5. Ramonet Puigblanque 6. Barbara Zangerl 7. Dai Koyamada 8. Daniel Woods 9. Akiyo Noguchi 10. Alex Puccio, Jakob Schubert, Anna Stöhr, Sean McColl, Edu Marin, Jorg Verhoeven, Muriel Sarkany, Dani Andrada, Patxi Usobiaga, Gabri Moroni, Stefano Ghisolfi, Fred Nicole, Yuji Hirayama, Kilian Fischhuber, Iker Pou, Nalle Hukkataival, Jain Kim, Sandrine Levet, Charlotte Durif, Romain Desgranges, Guillaume Mondet, Dmitrii Sharafutdinov, Mina Markovic, Janja Garnbret, Toni Lamprecht, James Webb, Sebastien Bouin, Sasha Digiulian, Jernej Kruder, Martin Stranik, Alizee Dufraisse, Anak Verhoeven,

Vadim Timonov, who the last week has done two 8C's and two 8B+', has done a very quick repeat of Fred Nicole's Arzak in Murgtal suggesting it to be 8B+. "I did fall in the middle on my first attempt. After I did all moves on the second part with one attempt. Then it was second go from the start." The Russian has posted a video on his Insta. "Now I’m in Ticino and I will try all hard boulders. I hope after a rest day you can see a lot of news ;)"

Stefano Carnati, who previously in December has done two 8C boulders, has changed arena by doing Chris Sharma's Demencia senil 9a+ in Margalef. (c) Marco Zanone "So immensely happy to climb this line that had always been stuck in my mind since the day I saw it years ago and watched Chris’ video on Progression! Did its right version “llamps i trons” two years ago in 5 tries and spent another couple of days trying the upper part but felt too week. Tried again for three days on a mini trip two weeks ago and came close. Back today and... it happened!!!"

We give more credit to the ones doing many ascents in different disciplines as well as FAs. MP's and trad climbs have less impact on the ranking. 1. Adam Ondra 2. Tomoa Narasaki 3. Janja Garnbret 4. Jakob Schubert 5. Sebastien Bouin 6. Barbara Zangerl 7. Alex Megos 8. Jorge Diaz-Rullo 9. Jernej Kruder 10. Alberto Gines Lopez, Laura Rogora, Isabelle Faus, Stefano Ghisolfi, Matt Fulz, James Webb, Daniel Woods, Giuliano Cameroni, Kai Harada, Kokoro Fujii, Miho Nonaka, Lucka Rakovec, Sean McColl, Akiyo Noguchi, Chaehyon Seo, Solveig Korherr, Shauna Coxsey, Alex Puccio, Oriane Bertone, Jan Hojer, Vadim Timonov, Karoline Sinnhuber, Natsuki Tani, Mia Krampl, Ai Mori, Julia Chanourdie, Jessica Pilz, Rudolph Ruana, Yannick Flohe, Martin Stranik, Dave Graham, Alizee Dufraisse, Tina Johnson Hafsaas, Yushiyuki Ogata, Jernej Kruder, Domen Skofic, Margo Hayes, Michaela Kirsch, Jonathan Siegrist, Alex Garriga, Piotr Schaab, Christof Rauch, Paul Robinson, Stefano Carnati, Martina Demmel, Jonathan Flor, Caroline Sinno, Katherine Choong, Gabriela Vrablikova, Emma Twyford, Matilda Söderlund, Molly Thompson Smith

Seb Bouin, who previously in 2019 has done seven routes 9a+ to 9b/+, has made the FA of The Dream 9b in Brar in Albania, which Adam Ondra bolted. (c) Tchalo Productions "We spent one month here to develop the place. We bolted 11 new lines on this wall. The route is around 50meters, and it's pure endurance with a Crux on pinches. There is one crimpy move where I fell. This is a dream route for the 9b climbers for sure :)" As it stands Seb Bouin is the male rock climber of 2019. His 2020 plans starts with Spain in the winter and then Jumbo Love 9b in the spring.

Sam Weir has done his third 8C, The Nest in Red Rocks. Video is coming up and detailed story and more pics on his Insta. "Best boulder I have ever climbed on. Nice v10/11 intro into a one move v12 to a finsh v8 for me. I ended up using daniels beta which uses a 1/4 pad crimp and a one arm pull up. I was not sure this was going to go with all the bad weather but I got one lucky day and it went all nice and chill. Thanks John Sara and Pablo for all the sike and hiking up to wet and un-cliambable condition. Upper end 8C I believe. The BAR. Kinda of like Hypno where it is easy to get close to sending this but its NAILS to actually send."

Sachi Amma stopped competing after he won the World Cup in 2014. Next year he reached his goal to do ten routes 9a or harder. In 2016, he stopped doing hard routes after a 9a+ in Flatanger and commented to 8a. "I can not find any value to be a better person by comparing myself with other climbers. That is why I stopped competing and climbing hard routes. Why do I need to be better than the others? I my case, I had strong beliefs that I am the tiniest concept of myself. I needed to cover this weakness by doing amazing things (winning comps or climbing hard) but I noticed that you will never be satisfied by being better than the others. Because the essential problems are just covered and they are still there. Please do not misunderstand that this way of thinking applies to all people. I think competition is very good way to learn yourself (And I know that lots of my friends who compete do it not just for winning....) I am pretty sure that comparing with others never gives you the real happiness."

Fred Nicole put up Entlinge in Murgtal as an 8C in 2005. It is a very steep modern problem where you finish by going feet first. It took four years until it got repeated twice both confirming the 8C grade. In 2011, Daniel Woods flashed, video, it calling it 8B+ and later James Webb was the first one giving it 8B in 2014 which now also Vadim Timonov recently did. Using average grading, it should still be considered as a hard 8B+ but in reality, most probably this great test piece will possibly settle as an 8B? As we have seen similar grading stories before one might ask why? First of all, at that time in 2005, we did have relatively few in- or outdoor steep problems where the best could train and challenge themselves. Furthermore, it just might be the very first hardcore problem ending with a feet first move. In other words, as Nicole and others approached this style that had limited experience and it just felt super hard. Personal grading was not that popular in 2009 when it first got repeated and the repeaters just took what had been offered and this was considered as a confirmation. When Woods did flash it, suggesting it could be much easier, he could not go any further then 8B+. If it would have been his FA, he just might have given it 8B but surely he had to take into consideration that three guys have called it 8C. It should be underlined that the whole process is just natural and part of the game. Fred Nicole did, based on his training experience in 2005, think this was 8C which is of course perfectly fine. If he were to try it now, with a more modern steeper training background, he might just think it is equally hard as some of his other 8B classical test pieces. Surely there are other routes and boulders around the globe that just because of better training facilities, beta and equipment are waiting to get downgraded to better fit the standard of 2020.