"Moving into 2018 we’re possibly going to see the most crazy, intense IFSC World Cup season to date. In a year already jam packed with World Champs, Youth World Champs and Youth Olympics, we are also preparing for the run into the 2020 Olympic games. Something that means we’ll be seeing more climbers competing in more than one discipline than ever before. 1: BIG World Cup’s. With Olympics on the horizon we will see an increase in participation with athletes from more nations getting access to funding to send their climbers to international events. From 2014 to 2017 World Cup fields grew approximately 30%. Expect to see this rate of expansion continuing to track upwards. 2: Climber burnout and injuries. Elite level climbing places huge demands on climber’s bodies, on their skin and on their emotional state. With climbers hoping to be in the window for Olympic selection and lacking training expertise we will get more injuries. Some climbers will look to do select events to pace themselves through the season, others will be gung ho, competing through Boulder season and into Lead season without a real break. And while doing double duty at World Cups where there are more than one event in a weekend (Boulder/Speed, Speed/Lead). Along with the injuries expect emotional burnout as climber’s struggle with continued trips overseas, time zone juggling and the pressure of having to perform. 3: Mixed up results. Some top climbers will make intermittent appearances this season, no longer competing for the overall in a single discipline as they aim to spread their season out, or to peak for the Innsbruck World Champs. This could open the door for some unexpected finalists and indeed even winners in some events. 4: Confusion. With new rules there is always confusion. The big rule changes in bouldering will make it difficult to follow until we’re familiar with those changes. Add to that, athletes competing across disciplines and not being as familiar with the rules as the specialists. Another area of confusion will be climbers withdrawing at the last minute in multi event weekends when they find themselves in a position to do well in one event and choose to manage their energy and skin levels. For example, if a climber makes Lead semis, will they still want to compete in Speed qualification, putting themselves through another round of competition? 5: Contention. The stakes are arguably higher than ever before. After a troubled 2017 with some very dubious decisions from judges, officials and routesetters which directly influenced the outcome of major events… Well let’s just say that won’t be good enough going forward. Speed timing systems need to be fixed, routesetters need to set clear finishes on problems, and the definition of + in Lead must be consistent. Expect protests to increase in 2018 and the coaches’ area to be more intense no matter what. It’s a simple result of there being more at stake.

Matteo Menardi has done his fourth 9a, Martin Krpan in Osp/Misja Pec. "The route needs to be climbed in a very physical way. It shares the first part of Strelovod and links it to the upper nerve wrecking part of Missing Drink. I tried the route in 2017 but the weather wasn't always the best. I tried it once before winter 2017 and came back in January 2018. Unfortunately it was wet. March brought better conditions and I tried again the project. Today it was perfect, I felt good and just closed it. I'm so happy to close project that could have been closed before! I'd like to thank everyone who supported me during the process: my family and my friends in particular."

Bouldering comps are increasing in popularity and so is the level in between the participants. During the last years we have seen that during the qualification, more athletes have not done any boulders. In the last World Championship, 23 male did at most score one zone and also for the Youth World Championship, there are many that travel back home having done at most one zone. As the Olympic preparation have started, it is just natural that more relatively not so strong will try out bouldering. I would be surprised if we not will see a record number of; too many tops, too many ties and too many scoring zero during 2018. One solution that has been discussed within IFSC is adding one more zone hold which have been tried out successfully in USA and Japan. The Innsbruck WCH estimates around 150 male boulderers and it will be a very tough job for the route setters to separate them with just one zone.

Everyone feels too short when the holds are far away, right? So, what is the clue? What are you to think, that makes it possible to fly and land those crucial centimeters higher up? Naturally, every dyno is, to a certain extent, unique in terms of holds, angles, length etc., but there is also at least one aspect in which all dynos are similar; you have to let go... What decides if you are to succeed are your physical shape, technique, but most of all your mind. Here are 14 pieces of advice and training tips from a 166 cm short man, with negative gorilla index and a 193 cm tall guy with positive gorilla index.

Fundraiser by Eddie Fowke: Over the last 5 years I've always allowed the climbers access to photos of themselves, it's my thank you for letting me into their world. However it's not a survivable business model, especially as so many brands reuse the photos and I seldom see a cent. So for 2018 I'm turning to the community. asking you guys if you'd be willing to chip in to keep the dream alive, to keep me on the road documenting the sport we love. I'm very short on funds now, which makes it tough to plan, to book, to eat even sometimes.

Sachi Amma, who has done a dozen routes 9a+', reports on Instagram that he has done his ERProject. "I was playful, joyful, challenging, silence and sensitive with a little bit of tension and fear. When I grab the last jug, everything was released." (c) Maechan 82 kg climber No grade yet but based on his previous comments it should be at least 9a+. "First is 8c/5.14b with 5 bolts. After having good rest, You have 8B+/V14 boulder with 10 moves. Sachi stopped competing after he won the World Cup in 2014. Next year he reached his goal to do ten routes 9a or harder including Fight or Flight 9b. In 2016, he stopped focusing on hard routes after having done a couple of 9a+' and we got an interesting interview with him. Four months ago he was back with the FA of Maturity 9a+ and since he has been working on ERProject which should be his hardest route. Interview is coming up!

Throughout the years, 8a has repeatedly said that the grades are too soft around Lleida. Until now, at least a quarter of the popular 8c's and harder are subject of being down graded and possibly 10 % have already been. The reason why we could speculate in down gradings were; High number of personal best and personal down grades, many marked routes as "soft" and also that some guys have been whispering to us. Based on more such recent info, it just might be that within two years the official down grades will have doubled as there might be a chain reaction when the grade brick of some popular routes will be placed one step below. The dilemma is of course that it does not feel awkward to spread "fake" news reporting ascents based on a too high grade. To get around this we sometimes report 9a (8c+). At the same time it is important to say that we do understand climbers who just take the topo grade in order to not offend friends etc. A good example of the down grading dilemma is Mind control, see picture by (c) M. Leśniewski, which we already in 2013 said it should 8c. One year earlier, Gabri Moroni commented in his scorecard, "Everybody knows it's only 8c...but nobody will ever downgrade it :-P." The easiest way to predict down gradings is simply by looking for the most repeated routes, as many climbers, like water, naturally are looking for the easiest way to their destination.

Shoes: Climb easier routes with a high quality shoe with thicker and harder rubber. Resole before it is too late. Rope: Change side after having taken many small low down on a route. By a long rope and cut off some meters. Use a rope bag (IKEA bag or similar) and wash off dirt frequently. Harness: A harness can be used for several years but check the belay loop. Quick draws: Cheaper ones are often almost as good as the expensive ones.