karoline sinnhuber, #8 in the last Boulder WC 2018, has had a very productive trip doing eight 8A's out of which La persistencia de la memoria (8A+ in the topo) and Pamplemousse 8A sticks out. "Might be the most beautiful boulder in Ticino." (c) Michael Eisenmann - Entwash. "I was in Ticino from 26th December till 5th January. Due to perfect weather we had only 3 rest days. I spent a lot of time in the gym the last couple of weeks to get in shape for the trip, which worked out quite well. I havn't really done much boulders in Ticino yet, so I decided to literally "run through" the 8As and go for harder stuff next time. I might return in February for a week or so, if the weather is fine. 2019... I'm super psyched at the moment for outdoor climbing! Definitely have to go to Maltatal again to finish "Air" 8B. Rocklands in summer are also tempting to finish "Ray of Light" and "L'Arche", both 8B. Or maybe Hueco through December. So many wishes and possibilities, so little money to spend! Bummer. Regarding competitions: we will see how it goes. There are now only 5 starting spots (instead of 6) for the world cups and we are around 10 girls who want to compete. And the young guns are pretty strong :)" Full blogspot report with more superb pictures.

8a started publishing local Göteborg climbing news in 1999. In 2000, we introduced the scorecard and yesterday we passed 70 000 members who have recorded over 5 million ascents. By searching the data base, those quality rated ascent will help you to find the best crags and climb in the world.

Clay Gordon reports on Insta that he has sent in different days but in one session, two 8B's in Bishop, Spectre and Buttermilker. He also did The Mystery 8A+ and Evilution Direct 8A. Pic from Spectre, © Michael Pang Clay was 4th at the Youth World Championships in 2016 and four times he has been the national champion in USA.

Janja Garnbret is the Sport Climbing's candidate for the World Games Athlete of the year. You can vote once a day. (c) Eddie Fowke

Alex Totkova, who is #9 in the 8a ranking game, has done her first 8c, Goofy in Leonidio. "Cool route is Goofy. It starts with less difficult movements. You can squeeze your knees twice. Passage is the transfer from one route to the other. Then go on 8a+." Alex compared her previous achievement, a route called "4x4" at the home crag Vratsa 8b+, as "The cruxes at Groofy were riskier. Now I would try something harder"."

Marcello Bombardi, winner of the Chamonix Lead WC in 2017, has done Estato Critico 9a (8c+) and L'odi Social 8c+ in Siurana. (c) Elisa Negro "They took me two days each, five attempts for Estado Critico and seven for L'odi social. In 2019 I will focus on the competition and especially on the combined, trying to get a pass for Tokyo 2020. It would be a dream to qualify for the Olympics."

Oriane Bertone continues her rampage in Rocklands by doing Law and order 8A+, Pendragon 8A and onsighting Tail of a Caracal giving it a personal 8A grade. To make it even more impressive, the daily max temperature have reached 35 degrees the last days. "Cool traverse, called 8A+ on the topo. I felt it 8A soft (à single hard move at the beginning). May be 7C+ in comparison with Atomic Playboy in Font, that I climbed in october. Very happy to send onsight this crimpy traverse." In total, the 13 year old has done 36 boulders 8A to 8B+ out of which half the last year. The video shows her amazing spider women technique with the feet sometimes like 1 meter above her head! Truly amazing!

Laura Rogora, who did her first 9a when she was 14 years old, has done her fifth, Esclatamasters in Perles. It was put up by Ramon Julian Puigblanque in 2007 and we have seen some 8c+ suggestions but then a hold broke in 2015 and the 9a grade has been confirmed again. (c) Marco Lacono The 17 year old has been a successfull competition climber for several years and in 2017, she was #6 in the European Championship and also #6 in a World Cup. Last year, she won all three European Lead Youth Cups she entered as well as the Youth Worlds in Bouldering.

We are expanding our team in Brixen/Bressanone, Northern Italy. If you are a climbing enthusiast and would love to work in one of the climbing industry’s most innovative and passionate teams, send your application and CV to [email protected]. Head of Marketing Develop innovative marketing strategies for B2B and B2C, create engaging campaigns and put communication ideas into practice. Required skills: - Strategic marketing planning - Campaign planning and execution - Independent working and team leading skills - Experience in social media and digital marketing - Excellent English language skills (preferably also German and other languages) Content Manager Organize and process content of climbing guidebooks and gyms, such as topos, climbing walls, 3D sketches. Coordinate and communicate with content owners and integrate data into our system. Required skills: - Very good computer skills - Precise working skills - Ability to work fast and persistently - Preferably experience with various applications such as Adobe CC / Sketch-up - Very good English language skills