Jakob Schubert, who was #3 in the European Lead Championship at the end of June just one week after being #5 in Boulder Cup, later took his first ever WC break and instead went to Rocklands. During 17 days he did over 55 boulders 8A and harder. According to his ticklist we can see that he flashed two 8B's Mooiste Meisie and Madiba which he gave a personal grade of 8A+, five 8A+'s and eleven 8A's. In short, this just might be a new record when it comes to a 2.5 week climbing trip. The next week he will compete in the Boulder WC in Munich. (c) Ingo Filzwieser

James Squire has done his first 8B+, The Never Ending Story, in Magic Wood. "Did not expect this today! Massive mental battle. 5th session this trip plus a few sessions over the last two years. Such a classic line, can't believe it!"

The Never Ending Story 8B+ from Beastly Squirrel on Vimeo.

Maria Davies Sandbu, who previously has done eleven 8A's, has sent Nightrider Høyre in Lofoten, giving it a personal grade 8A grade. "Very cool climb on good crimps! The long move in the end was definitely the crux for me. Even though the guidebook says 8A+ I dont think I can claim this to be my first of the grade."

Heloise Doumont BEL - Stefano Carnati ITA Sandra Lettner AUT - Andoni Esparta Frade ESP Camille Pouget FRA - Alberto Gines ESP Complete results It's interesting that Spain, who has had poor youth competitions results for many years, was the best nation. In female Youth A, Austria and Slovenia shared the first six positions followed by Laura Rogora from Italy, who was #6 in the Villars World Cup last month. The last few years, Austria has dominated but it seems that some others countries have had great progress.

Friction Labs has listed the Top-10 Climbing Apps including commenting Pros and Cons and the first mentioned is Vertical-Life "Vertical Life is the most well-designed app on this list. It’s pleasing to the eye, features inviting color schemes and photos, and is easy to navigate. Its guide topos (i.e. visual representations of the routes on a wall) are beautifully crafted and easy to follow."

I have used the new Sendai Vent from Boreal when I have been setting up easy bolted routes this summer and they are perfect. Instead of using climbing shoes that get painful after an hour or so, I use this in between climbing and trekking shoe. The Sendai Vent is a regular lightweight comfortable approach shoe that you in fact also could use during easy climbing warm ups. For some reason, the shoe industry has not fulfilled this in between segment for the new generation of climbers who do not want to invest in climbing shoes doing some scrambling or climbs graded 3 and 4. More info

Iva Vejmolova has done her first 8c, Nordic Flower in Flatanger which actually was set up as an 9a. (c) Pavel Blazek Adam Ondra comments on Instagram,"I cannot be happier to lose the bet. We made a bet who is going the climb the "c" first (8c for her, 9c for me). My sweetheart Iva found Nordic Flower and ticked her first 8c! The most dramatic and emotional belay I have ever had. So proud of her, especially doing it 2nd go of the day in total shit conditions. Let's pick more "c's" in September."

Chuck Odette continues to progress being 61-years-old doing the FA of Bulletproof Monk in Logan Canyon which was his tenth 8b+. "Linked Shaolin into the Monk finish. Soooooo good... sooooo pumped! Still pumped a day later :)" Interview follow up to come. (c) Heidi Baxter

Arjan de Kock reports on Instagram that Nalle Hukkataival and Shawn Raboutou have repeated James Webb's KhoiKhoi in N1 and the interesting thing is that both suggested an upgrade to 8C. Webb is known for grading hard and also giving personal down grades and here is his comment after the FA in 2014. "Absolutely stunning boulder problem. Potentially one of my proudest first ascents. Perfect compression on just barely there slopers leading up a pristine 20 foot tall boulder. This one sits right off the N1 about 20 kilometers before Worcester. Named it after the original inhabitants in the Cape area called the "khoiKhoi". Absolutely loving this place..."

Grades are supposed to reflect how hard it is to redpoint a route with the best optimal beta. At the same time, the grades should assist a beginner who is searching for a 4a to warm up on, irrelevant of how hard it is to redpoint. Further more, if we are talking kids or people who are trying out climbing for the first time, also length, reach and potential pendulum swing etc have impact on the perceived difficulty/grade. In other words, a 25 meter route climbing a bit diagonal on reachy granite will never be perceived as grade two even if an expert never need to use their hands. On the other hand, a seven meter straight up where you always need your hands to pull, could be graded two. Nevertheless, in practice, the grading for both the 8a as well as the 4a, are done based on the same idea. The success rate and time invested for the community! The only difference is that, the lower you go down in grades, the more the grade should reflect the onsight and flash difficulty.