Toni Lamprecht, legendary hard core FA-ionist in all disciplines; 9a routes, 8C boulders, 8c MPs and 8c DWS, has opened another two 8B's in Kochel, Jessica Jones and Tyler Durden. "I worked the whole winter (2-3 sessions in the week, depends if I go skiing or not) on a really hard (8C?) roof project. So "Tyler Durden" is the exit of that project in combination with a 8a+-finish. I tried that 4 days, but I know the exit really well, because it is the finish of "Marla Singer" from 2004. "Jessica Jones" I tried on and off for the last 2 years. It is a crazy short problem with 3 moves. Needed 20 sessions to figure out the right solution and another 3 days to combine it. There would be an 8B sit start to it. Next season? I guess, because the temperatures jumped over 20° now. I might go surfing or do some multipitch stuff near by."

Matt Fultz has done his first 8C, Paint it Black in RMNP. The 27 year old has had almost ten years progress and is currently #7 in the 8a ranking. Video on his Insta, where he comments. "I don’t think it’s the hardest climb I’ve done, and I’m encouraged to know that it is far from my potential. Psyched!"

Moritz Welt has done Guido Köstermayer's, from 1995, Shangrila 8c+ in Frankenjura. In the 8a Combined ranking the 17 year old is #4. (c) Lars Decker ”So happy to climb the ultraclassic "Shangri-La" 8c+ today! Tried this beauty once last summer and had no chance, but last week when I figured out the moves again, it felt completely different! Glad that everything worked out perfectly today!” Next is trying to do Alex Megos' straight up version, Nice Freshly Baked 9a from 2014.

Cathy Wagner has done her 8a+ # 153, Harakiri in Camp. "A fantastic route! The higher the harder ending with a nasty boulder." With 47 8a's, 13 8a+' and two 8b's the last 12 months, the 53 year old continuous to perform at her best ever.

Based on almost 3 000 unique votes, here are the result for - Best Climbing Shoes 2019? La Sportiva continues their domination and Scarpa gets another improved result. Five Ten drops some percentage again. 43 % La Sportiva (44 % last year) 28 % Scarpa (20) 10 % Five Ten (14) 07 % Others (7) 06 % Tenaya (6) 03 % Ocun (5) 03 % Boreal (5)

Felipe Camargo reports on Insta that he has done Chris Sharma's El Bon Combat 9b in Cova de l'ocell. "I dreamed with @davidlama_official last night, woke up super sad...posted about him and was thinking of him all day...the pressure was just totally off, I put things in perspective and felt like it didn’t really matter if I sent anymore...at least not today! I gave a good first try but broke a foot hold and fell. On my second try the wind kinda of stopped, I made through the first crux, got to the kneebar rest and for the first time I didn’t feel any pressure... All I could think while resting was how fucking good @davidlama_official climbed...I remembered some of the World cups that I watched him win, climbing so confident and so relaxed, the wind picked up again and i just went for it...didn’t hesitate, climbed fast and sent!! I clipped the anchors and just started crying immediately..."

Seb Bouin and Kamil Ferenc have done Papichulo 9a+ in Oliana. Chris Sharma put up the stunning almost 50 meter line in 2008 and with 20 repeats it is the most repeated 9a+ in the world. Seb has previously done nine 9a+ and two 9b's and Kamil has previoulsy done eight 9a's. Next project for Seb is La Dura Dura 9b+. (c) William Barchelo - Seb Bouin

Don’t miss the chance to visit Greece’s new favorite climbing destination that combines extraordinary bouldering and amazing sport climbing. Ikaria, the island holding the secret of longevity, has incredible natural beauty, with extraordinary, gigantic granite formations for bouldering and breathtaking marble walls for sport climbing. Ikaria is called “the Mountain in the Aegean Sea” and is a most welcome climbing discovery of our time. Visit the site here, and register for the festival here.

Nico Ferlitsch, has done his second 9a in just 10 weeks, Intermezzo XY gelöst in Plombergstein. "I tried "Intermezzo XY gelöst" for only 4 days. This 9a (my third one) is pretty short and has a boulder problem at the beginning. I really like routes like this and I almost feel sad that it's already "over". But the crag Plombergstein near Salzburg has a lot more hard routes to offer. I'm not yet sure what exactly the next project will be but for sure it's going to be 9a or upwards."

Daniel Woods reports on Insta that he has done Carlo Traversi’s The Kingdom 8C (B+) in Brione. Daniel has previously done 28 boulders 8C and harder which means he is #1 in that ranking. In the 8a ranking game, the 29 year old is #2 after Jimmy Webb. (c) Stefan Kuerzi