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.

You are an experienced sales manager or web developer? This is your chance to combine your profession with your passion, rock climbing. 8a.nu and Vertical-Life are searching for motivated people to expand their team in Brixen/Bressanone, Northern Italy. Send your application to [email protected]. Sales manager Support our high-performing sales team in strategic planning, customer acquisition and key account management. Required skills: - Experience in sales planning and sales processes - Thorough knowledge of the climbing and outdoor industry - Excellent negotiation skills - Language skills: English, German; preferably Italian, Spanisch or French Web developer Develop and maintain our various web applications. Required skills: - Ruby on Rails - Javascript - HTML5 & CSS - Object oriented programming - Relational databases Desired skills: - Vue.js - Node.js

Alex Puccio has done her fiftieth 8A+, Wing Chun in Ibex and she extends her lead in the 8a ranking game. "First day ever climbing in Ibex! Amazing line, always wanted to try this one!!!" (c) Joel Zerr When it comes to outdoor bouldering, the silver medalist on the WCH in 2014, has more or less dominated the scene the last ten years beside having got some bad injuries actually competing. Last weekend she was #3 in the USA Lead Nationals. What are your competition plans and what about the Olympics? I plan to do some Bouldering and Lead World Cups this year, but not the whole seasons and I will be at World Champs for sure competing in at least Bouldering and Lead.

The Boulder World Cup 2018 starts in Switzerland 13/4 followed by one in Russia, China, China, Japan, USA and Germany. A lot of travelling like last year so there are probably not more than 20 male and female who will do the whole circuit. In 2017, the Japanese male dominated with five guys Top-8 and nine guys Top-16. Bare in mind that they were just allowed to send a maximum of nine guys to each WC last year but based on the result from 2017, they will be able to participate with up to 14 guys. Remember also that in the Youth World Championship last year, the Japanese boys got six out of nine medals. The bouldering competition scene is booming and for sure there will be more participants in Meiringen compared to the 115 last year, where Japan had three male in Top-4. What about 140 participants and five Japaneses Top-10? For the full season, with the big Japanese travelling budget and Olympic focus, there just might be six or seven guys Top-10 overall. The picture shows the qualification results from Vail where all the nine participating Japanese were Top-10! What is interesting to note is that their coaches and some athletes have said that they do not follow a strict physical training plan. Instead it is mainly about a team challenge and experimenting jumping around to get the adrenaline. After the last WC event 2017, in Munich, the Japanese male team entered the stage again and tried to repeat the boulders in sneakers with smiling faces, when their opponents already had entered the big party downstairs.