For the last three years Christof Rauch has been doing almost two 8A or harder Boulders every week, including 10 8B+'s just last year. To make it even more impressive, he works full time as an electrician and building technician on a water plant where he always has Fridays off. What is your drive going for so many hard Boulders instead of just projecting 8C's? Actually I try a lot of hard boulders at the 8B+ and 8C range but most of the time I try some slightly "easier" climbs as well. It's just frustrating for me when I climb nothing for a while. I would say that I have some really good substance. When I am on the rock I mostly climb for about 8h with a few breaks around 20-30 min. Basically I train 1 or 2 times a week in the gym after work and on the weekend I always climb outdoors for 2 times. For example the whole last year i had less than 10 gym sessions on the weekend. If you have no problem with a lot of driving and you're motivated enough you always find a dry spot. I have no specific way to choose my projects. I just try what looks cool and could suite me at least a little bit, then I decide if I keep trying it or put it to rest till I get stronger. Sometimes I do some specific preparation for my projects. For example when I have a project with a lot of underclings I try to built some similar boulders in the gym. But most of the time I just do some basic training with a little bit of fingerboarding and campusing. What about your stretching exercises? I do a lot of stretching for my arms and my legs every day but beside that I do some massage on my forearms and fingers cause of some chronical tendinitis/inflammation. After that I do a few stretching exercises for my fingers and wrist as well. Interview by Stefan Koechel from last December.

Piotr Schab, who did two 9a's in Santa Linya last week, has done another two today: Fuck the System and Selecció anal, which is actually considered a 9a+ by other repeaters. (c) Pablo Benedito Please tell us about your new training regime. "In my training program there is almost everything it takes to be a professional in any sport. But above all there is a group of highly motivated people. This makes the biggest difference in the progression. When there are positive vibes during training, it can become a priority in ones everyday life. Each day needs to be scheduled and balanced, while being patient and consistent is the key. Seems like all the rest should be our club's mystery. My coach is Maciej Oczko and physio is Magda Terlecka. This physio work was a key to let me train hard all the time. In Kraków we have a good team spirit and an experienced coach so we can test a lot of methods.

Nicholas Milburn pri preleze svojho prvého 8C, Paint it Black v Rocky Mountains National Park (RMNP). Len mesiac dozadu preliezol Nicholas svoje prvé 8B+, Jumpman v Boulder Canyone a treba uznať, že takýto pokrok je naozaj obdivuhodný!

Adam Ondra, who did a 9b FA in Oliana three days ago, has during the following two days onsighted one 8b+ and two 8c's as well as doing the FA of an 8c, and Happy Day 9a/+. "Super crimpy and weird moves, which is my style. Extension of Happy Hour. Bolted by Dani and Jon Cardwell?" In total, the 23-year-old has done 73 routes 8c to 9a, which can be compared with the runner-up with about 15 lines within this grade range. In the picture taken by Pierre Delas from Fanatic Climbing, you can also see Adam's girlfriend Iva Vejmolová, who just did her first 8b+, Gorillas en la niebla.

Nicholas Milburn sending his first 8C, Paint in Black in RMNP in December. Last month he did his first 8B+, Jumpman in Boulder Canyon.

Adam Ondra spravil prvovýstup cesty Mamichula 9b v španielskej Oliane. "Spojenie ciest Papichulo a Pachamama, ktoré prepája to najlepšie z oboch ciest. Zároveň sa tým preskočí zvyšok a pridá sa ťažký traverz. Kruté silovo-vytrvalostné lezenie, súťažný štýl. Pre mňa to bolo jednoznačne ťažké 9b, veľmi v ňom nateká." Na začiatku lezeckého dňa prišla búrka a Adam si vtedy myslel, že sa vôbec nebude dať liezť, no počasie sa nakoniec umúdrilo. Na záberoch od Fanatic Climbing je okrem Adamovho rýchleho a už klasicky parádneho prelezu pekne vidno, akou silou vietor šklbal expresky a mádžovník. Ako vyzerajú tvoje súťažné plány na rok 2017? Máš aj plány na olympiádu?" Pre túto sezóny by som sa chcel zúčastniť Majstrovstiev Európy na obtiažnosť a Majstrovstiev sveta v Arcu, to je všetko. Mojou prioritou pre túto sezónu je Flatanger. Na olympijske hry si plány nerobím, dokiaľ nebude v plnej miere známy formát. Zatiaľ je príliš skoro. Môj názor ohľadne terajšieho formátu je všeobecne známy a momentálne určite nechcem trénovať lezenie na rýchlosť, aj keď ešte nie je isté, či na olympiáde bude. Čo si myslíš o formáte, ktorý navrhuje 8a.nu? (Najprv by prebehlo jedno kolo každej disciplíny a určili by sa najlepší ôsmi pretekári. Nasledovalo by finále každej disciplíny a podľa výsledkov by sa určili celkoví víťazi. Alternatívou by bolo semifinále a finále formou duelu) Nepáči sa mi finále formou duelu. Z pohľadu divákov by to podľa mňa atraktívne bolo, takisto pre pretekárov. Ale to len v tom prípade, keď sa jedná o preteky "pre zábavu" - ako napr. Arco duel alebo DWS preteky Psicobloc v Salt Lake City. Keď sa ale bude jednať o serióznu súťaž, pre pretekárov to už nebude o zábave a priateľská atmosféra sa vytratí. Takisto si nemyslím, že sa dá na olympiádu zaradiť disciplína, ktorá nikdy nebola oficiálne súčasťou svetového okruhu IFSC súťaží. Vytvoriť takúto novinku a zaradiť ju hneď na olympiádu? Načo? Okrem toho nemá nič spoločné s lezeckou tradíciou - neukazuje nič z toho, čo všetci považujeme na lezecké umenie - ukáže jedine, že dokážeš stredne ťažkú cestu vyliezť rýchlo. Zvyšok návrhu je podľa mňa celkom dobrý čo sa týka fair play, no z časového a organizačného hľadiska by to bolo neskutočne náročné.

David Firnenburg has done La Rambla 9a+ in Siurana after just six days of projecting. "I opened the door to a new personal dimension in climbing. Curious about what I am capable of accomplishing in the future. Vamoooooooossssss amigos!" (c) Iuliia Leonova So how were you able to open that door? "Well, since I haven't trained specifically for the route it must have been my mental state and the strategy I've chosen how to cope with the challenge, I guess. I didn't put any big pressure on myself, took it easy. Dedicated trying the route over and over again and didn't switch to easier routes to build up the required endurance there. Got better with every try I made, adapted and optimized my beta after every fall or mistake. Finally the right conditions set in (cold and windy), I was convinced of sending it and suddenly stood on top."

Adam Ondra has done the FA of Mamichula 9b in Oliana. "Linkup of Papichulo and Pachamama. Links the best of of both routes, skipping the rests and adding hard traverse. Sick power endurance climbing, comp style. Definitely hard 9b for me, too pumpy." The day started with a storm and Adam thought it was impossible to climb but it did calm down. Check the chalk bag from the picture from the Fanatic Climbing video, which is all about speed, flexibility and screaming as usual. What is your competition plan for 2017 and what about your Olympic plans? My plans for this season is to do ECH in Lead, and WC in Arco, and that's it. Otherwise my priority is Flatanger. I have no plans about Olympics before the format will finally be revealed. It is too early to think about it. My opinion about the format is widely known and I have no interest in training speed right now, even earlier before everything is confirmed. What do you think of the 8a suggestion of Olympic format? (First one round of all three disciplines and then calculate Top-8. Later a final round of all three disciplines and calculate who will get the medals. Or optional finish with a Duel semi and final.) What I don't like is the Duel finals. I say - yes, it is attractive to the audience. And for the athletes as well. But only as long as it is "fun" comp - like Arco duel or DWS in Salt Like City. If it gets as serious as fighting for the Olympic medals - it will not be be fun any more for competitors. There will not friendly atmosphere any more. Furthermore, you cannot include discipline which has never been within IFSC circuit. To make a new thing and include straight in the Olympic finals? Why? And it has nothing to do with climbing tradition - it shows absolutely about what we all consider climbing art - it only shows that you can go fast in medium hard route. With the rest of proposal, I think it is quite reasonable in terms of fairness, but it is incredibly difficult in terms of time and organization.

Jule Wurm won the World Championship in 2014. She stopped competing after winning the Euro Championship in 2015 in order to focus on her medical studies. Outdoors she continues to push hard and this week she did two 8A+'s, 5 TEC-B36-L5 and Zarzaparrilla Albarracin. What is your climbing life like nowadays? How about a comeback and the Olympics? Life is good, thanks:). Quite a lot of rock climbing recently. Jan (Hojer, who has flashed Bindu 8A+ (B)) and I have been to Font for a few weeks in January, then Pedriza (due to rain in Albarracin, but it turned out to be a very good alternative) and now we're in Albarracin for one week! I don't see me competing in the Olympics. So, no comeback I think, but you never know;) I really enjoy having more time for rockclimbing since I stopped competing in the Worldcup circuit.