Stefano Ghisolfi has spent 13 days working on Chris Sharma's old project Perfecto Mundo in Margalef which both say might be 9b+. Taking some days off Stefano quickly did Gancho perfecto 9a in Margalef which was put up by Chris Sharma in 2008. This was just the third repeat after Ramon Julian Puigblanque and Adam Ondra. (c) Andrea Cossu We caught up with Stefano on his way back to Italy where he will do some more specific training and then probably go back in a weeks time. "Ganchon perfecto was totally unexpected for me, I tried few times and found it very hard. Then decided to give a go and sent it. My plan for 2018 is to do just the Lead World Cup and the World Championship plus some hard rock project. For the olympics I'm doing some speed and bouldering comps but just in Italy this year. From the next year I'll compete in international comps. Perfecto Mundo project first part could be 8c to a rest, then the main section starts, about ten intense moves with the crux that is a jump from a mono to a pinch which is the hardest move. I can do it as single move but not always. From there is still a bit hard, 8a+ to the chain I think." Sharma projecting video

Piotr Schab has done his third 9a+ through Chris Sharma’s Catxasa in Santa Linya which is a 45 meter long route bolted by Dani Andrada. "I needed two days to figure out the right betas and for my body to adapt to the moves, to finally send it in the first go of day three, feeling in control the whole way up." More iinfo his Instagram (c) Lena Drapella As it only took six tries in total, it seems the Pole is in his best shape ever. His big current project is Fight or Flight 9b in Oliana which he already have worked on for 15 days and he has another three weeks to go. In the 8a ranking game, the 21 year old is #2 after Adam Ondra.

UKC has published an article saying, "Guidebooks should omit specific Sport Route Lengths". For me this is wrong. Looking in a topo for planning which sector you want to do, it is great to know the length of the route. I mean, maybe you do not want to climb 10 meters routes and instead your focus is 30 meter long endurance routes or vice versa. To not include route length in the topo, mean you might end up at a crag with 35 or 40 meter long routes with just a 60 or 70 meter long rope.

Fanatic Climbing reports that Gerome Pouvreau has done Alex Megos Supercrackinette 9a+ famous after Adam Ondra's flash. “For the grade, after the 2 amazing guys who have sent the line before before me, nothing to add! A huge congrats to Adam for his flash, it’s very nice for our sport, and it’s also fascinating how he combines waiting, observation, projecting, sending… Hats off!” The day after Florence Pinot did La ligne claire 8c+ also in St Léger. Here is an interview with the former competition climbers who previously has done a couple 8c+' including Escalatamasters which some consider 9a.

Nando Zanchetta has searched the internet for the weight and length for some top athletes in order to measure BMI. Based on that IFSC reports males with lower than 18 and female with lower than 17, it seems under weight seems not be be such a big issue. Bear in mind also that Asians normally have a lower BMI and that goes also for teenagers. On the other hand, the Boulder World Cup winner 2017, Jongwon Chon from Korea has a BMI at 17.1 by 176 cm and 53 kg. However, coaches and athletes have said that it seems he actually eats healthy. He is just like some Asians, naturally very skinny.

Isabelle Faus has done the FFA of Delusion of Grandeur 8B (on the picture) and after she sent as well Electric Ant 8A+ in Chironico. Days ago she also did an 8A and 8A+. ©Chad Greedy "Wow! So psyched, super classic boulder. not my style at all....slopers.. really big crux move that is my full extension. Top out is high and committing and satisfying... I was scared on the slab! not usually an FFA type of girl.. I think its dumb in most cases.. but I think I'm the first girl to do this, and it's one of the most classic boulders in Ticino so thats kinda cool.. Went up and the Electric Ant (the new start) right after! Probably one of my best days of climbing!" Isabelle has logged on her scorecard 93 ascents from 8A to 8B+ and is one of the best boulderers of all time.

Talking about flexibility and that the top Japanese boulderers stretch four hours a day, we have asked Klaus Isele, MSc D.O. Physiotherapeut and Osteopath of the Austria National Climbing Team and Adam Ondra, for some advice. Adam has been stretching systematically since he was a kid and is probably the top climber with most flexibility, which is part of his success. The picture is taken during the stretching preparation just some minutes before Ondra did the world's first 9c, Silence in Flatanger. "If it’s the case that you always fall off your slab project just because your hips can’t stay close enough to the wall stretching exercises could maybe help. If you do proper stretching you might achieve your goals faster and better. Bodyweight and stretching have something in common. You might not have the perfect bodyweight for climbing. Nature puts you somewhere but with some effort you can gain or loose some kilograms. What I still monitor is that some climbers believe that it is enough to stretch for 40 seconds in order to get “longer” = forget it. You need to hold a stretching position for two minutes (I often recommend three times the same position with that holding time). That works! To really gain length you have to repeat it every day. Your results will be visible after approximately 14 days. Afterwards depending on what you want to achieve keep going. If you’ve forgotten to stretch one day, you are thrown back for about four days, especially at the beginning. The so called hysteresis phenomenon is the base of this, if you want you can say that it is the “supercompensation” of stretching. Conclusion: There is no wrong or right stretching, it just depends on what you wanna achieve with it. If you prepare yourself for climbing it might be sufficient for you to stretch for 30 seconds. But if you are really interested in gaining length in some muscular areas then you need to work on every section for two minutes in every stretching position."