Charles Albert reports on Facebook that he has done one more 8C FA, La révolutionnaire in Fontainebleau. The 20-year-old stopped using shoes about four years ago. (c) Neil Hart "I'm the only one who tried it. It took me some 20 sessions during 1,5 year. There is like 8 moves and the climbing is pretty basic just compression with bad holds in a roof up to a big swing I think it's harder with shoes. It's just a weird pocket for the right foot and I don't think the shoes fits there. In February, he did a direct version of Le pied à coulisse 8C (+) which is said to be impossible with shoes. Even so, Charles suggested 8B+ for his version. In practice, we do not know what grade his last FA gets for the guys using shoes but it could actually be 8C+ or even harder. We will follow up with an article discussing the potential need to adjust some grades because the lines are more easily done barefoot.

Charles Albert na Facebooku oznámil, že spravil prelez ďalšieho 8C vo Fontainebleau. Tentokrát sa jedná o prvý prelez La révolutionnaire, jeho vlastného projektu. Tento dvadsaťročný lezec prestal používať lezečky pred štyrmi rokmi. (c) Neil Hart "Som jediný, ktorý tento projekt skúšal. Zabral mi približne 20 návštev počas jeden a pol roka. Dokopy má 8 krokov a štýl lezenia je celkom jednoduchý, kompresia v strope za zlé chyty a následne do veľkého kyvadla. Myslím, že v lezečkách je to ťažšie. Na pravú nohu je tam zvláštna dierka a nemyslím, že by sa tam lezečká zmestila. Charles preliezol vo februári priamu verziu Le pied à coulisse 8C (+), o ktorej sa hovorí, že ju nie je možné preliezť v lezečkách. Napriek tomu pre svoju verziu navrhol obtiažnosť 8B+. V podstate nevieme, ako ťažký jeho boulder je za použitia lezečiek, no je možné, že by sa mohlo jednať o 8C+ alebo ťažšie. V nadväznosti na túto novinku prinesieme článok, kde rozoberieme možnú úpravu obtiažnosti ciest a bouldrov, ktoré bude jednoduchšie preliezť bez použitia obuvi.

karoline sinnhuber, #5 in a Boulder WC this spring, has done her thrid 8B, Heart shaped box sit in Weststeiermark. ""It is a power-endurance problem in a roof which suits me pretty well with some tricky heel- and toehook features. (c) Chris Rauch gave me the perfect beta :-)" What about your injury, winter plans and the Olympics? Before the World Championships in Paris I got an inflammation in my biceps tendon. Had to make a break then and after some weeks I started to do some easy lead climbing again. The tendon is still not fully healed, but thank god it's getting better :-) After Christmas I'll spend nearly 2 weeks in Ticino, afterwards the gym is calling again for the preparation for the World cup season 2017. About the Olympics: I think the selected format is not perfect. For me it's unintelligible why a Boulderer should compete in Lead and Speed too.

Jorg Verhoeven won the World Cup in 2008 and this year he has been on the podium in a Boulder WC (photo: (c) Heiko Wilhelm). He has also done the first repeat of the 25-pitch-long Dihedral 8b+ in Yosemite (photo: (c) Jorg Verhoeven). Please explain how your climbing interest has shifted over years and why it has been like this? I've always been drawn to many different types of climbing, already during the first years of doing world cups I found myself in the mountains or doing multipitches. Throughout the years I slowly moved from training - sportclimbing/bouldering - competitions to more adventurous stuff like alpine ridges, multipitch climbing in the Alps and abroad, trad climbing etc. What are your plans for 2017 and what about the Olympics? 2017 will see some more adventures like trad climbing in England, multipitch routes in Morocco and maybe even a short Yosemite trip. I will probably do some bouldering comps, but not more than 5 or so. The Olympics is quite a while ahead of us and frankly I will be too old to join the Games. By then I most likely will have ended my competetion career (about time after almost 20 years) and I will probably be hanging on an arctic bigwall or something... How do you think the scene will change it 10 years and where do you see yourself in 2026? We'll probably see a bigger drift between the competitive and the outdoor scene. To be cutting edge in one discipline you will need to specialize. Of course there'll always be climbers that do not specialize but they won't be pushing the limits of the sport. Already now there's not really a climber that can push the limits in more than 1-2 disciplines. Adam is amongst the best (not the same as pushing limits) at several disciplines, but only if he specializes for a certain period. I think the main point to understand is that most of the times, non-specializing athletes are not looking to be 'the best' at something. I can only speak for myself, but I've always aimed for personal goals, that have little to do with the actual level and its maximum. For example I've set myself 9b as a goal, although 9c would be pushing limits.

There are now over 4.1 million star-rated ascents in the 8a database that could help you to find the best routes and boulders in the world. There are four different ways to find and use the Ticklists. 1. You can search crags from the top right bar on the website. Later you can select grades and print your ticklists out. 2. You can go to our responsive mobile site beta.8a.nu, which will direct you to the nearest crags or you can search for Ticklists for specific crags. 3. You can download Ticklists with our 8a.nu App.

Eva Eskilsson from Mountain Spirit Guides has spent some weeks in Peloponnese, Greece and here is her report and recommendations. "Probably my favorite place on Peloponnese was Kiparissi, because of the amazingly pretty setting. However the most spectacular climbing there (on Babala wall) is reserved for strong climbers (routes from 7c and up). Nedousa and Lagada was also amazing for sport climbing, and in a more mountainous atmosphere, completely different to the dry and warm Mediterranean cost (even though it’s just 30min drive from the sea). There are several big sectors and much more climbing then I expected (good from 5b to 8b), and I would like to spend a lot more time in each of these places. Nedousa is a crisp river gorge with fresh water, forest, and beautiful camping spots, but also not far to drive to from Kalamata (as a hotel can be nice this time of the year). Lagada is more open and even higher in altitude, closest larger town is Sparta, and it is popular spot for Greek climbers. Still we didn’t meet any other climbers and the routes remain unpolished and almost completely free from chalk (at least in November). In Varasova we did one of the long routes to the summit of Varasova (the mountain, 900m) which was quite an adventure. The face is unfortunately interrupted by 300m of scrambling on a ledge, but still offers 600m of climbing and a great ambiance above the sea." Aris from Kalymnos will publish a new Best of Greece topo early in 2017.

Jorg Verhoeven 2008 de bir Dünya Kupası kazandı ve bu yıl da podyumdaydı. (foto: (c) Heiko Wilhelm). Ayrıca Yosemite'deki 25 ip boylu Dihedral 8b+ rotasının ilk tekrar çıkışını yaptı (foto: (c) Jorg Verhoeven). Nasıl oldu da tırmanışa olan ilgin böylesine değişti ve bugün bu noktadasın? Her türlü tırmanış beni her zaman çekiyordu. Yarışmalarda ilk yılımda kendimi dağlarda, çok ipboylu tırmanışlarda bulmuştum. İlerleyen yıllarda yavaşça bu noktaya doğru evrildim. 2017 için Olimpiyatlar için bir planın var mı? 2017 de İngiltere'de geleneksel tırmanış, Fas' da çok ipboylu tırmanış belki küçük bir Yosemite turu olabilir. Muhtemelen birkaç kısakaya yarışması olacak. Olimpiyatlara daha var ancak sanırım o zamana bu iş için biraz yaşlı olacağım. Neredeyse 20 yıldır yarışıyorum ve bu daha fazla sürmeyecek. Herhalde o zaman bir duvar tırmanışında asılı filan olacağım. 10 yıl içinde tırmanış nasıl değişecek ve sen kendini nerede görüyorsun? Muhtemelen yarışmacı ve maceracı taraflar arasında daha bir ayrım göreceğiz. Sivrilmek için özelleşmen gerek. Tabi ki her türlü tırmanışı yapanlar olacak fakat sınırları zorlayamayacaklar. Şimdiden 1-2 disiplinde sınırları zorlayan tırmanışçı neredeyse yok. Adam, birçok disiplinde en iyilerden o da bir süre o dalda özelleşirse. Bence temel nokta şu, özelleşmemiş atletler en iyi olmak gibi bir derdi olmayanlar. Kendi adıma konuşacak olursam benim şahsi hedefim 9b çıkabilmek 9c ile limitleri zorlamak değil.

Stefano Bertone is our new editor-in-chief translating news for Italy and France where also Andrea Schwartz helps out. Previously we have local editors for Spain, Poland, Turkey and we are always looking for more guys that could help out. A country specific editor can also post local news such as competition invitations etc.

As the Combined Olympic event will take place over three days, it would be best to select who will participate in Tokyo based on qualifications run in the same format. On the other hand it is practically impossible to make World Cup organizers set up such 3-days events. The World and Continental Championships would be as close as you could come but even so, such championship with several hundreds of athletes doing qualifications, semi and final will not be the same as the Olympics with just 20+20 participants. At the same time, it would be important for both competitors and IFSC to organize a pre-Olympic rehearsal event that also could make the final selection for the 20+20 that will compete in Tokyo. Such event could run early in 2020 in Tokyo as the Combined World Championship where only 50 + 50 selected can compete. Possibly the 6 + 6 best that have not qualified to the Olympics in 2019 yet, could be selected from the pre-Olympic event. During 2019, 8 + 8 can qualify through the Continental Championship with extra spots for Europe and Asia. The remaining 6 + 6 could qualify through the Combined ranking that already IFSC are running. The selection for the 50 + 50 to the pre-Olympic Combined World Championships in early 2020, could be based on the 8 + 8 qualified from the Continental Championships and the rest from the Combined World Cup 2019. Another possible qualification way could be that the three World Champions from 2018 are guaranteed a spot.

Eva Eskilsson z Mountain Spirit Guidesstrávila niekoľko týždňov na peloponézskom polostrove v Grécku a toto je jej report spolu s odporúčaniami. "Mojim asi najobľúbenejším miestom na celkom Peloponéze bolo Kiparissi, hlavne kvôli úžasnému prostrediu. Najkrajšie lezenie (v sektore Babala wall) je ale skôr pre tých silnejších (cesty od 7c vyššie). Nedousa a Lagada boli takisto super čo sa športového lezenia týka, hlavne preto, lebo majú viac horskú atmosféru, ktorá je kompletne odlišná od suchého a teplého podnebia pobrežia Stredozemného mora (napriek tomu, že sú od mora autom cca 30min). Každá oblasť je rozdelená na niekoľko veľkých sektorov a celkovo je v nich omnoho viac lezenia, ako som očakávala (dobré cesty od 5b až po 8b) a rada by som v každej z oblastí strávila omnoho viac času. Nedousa je svieža skalná úžina s pitnou vodou, lesíkom a krásnym miestom na kempovanie, ale takisto to nie je ďaleko autom od Kalamaty (keďže hotel by mohol byť v tomto ročnom období dobrým a pohodlným riešením). Lagada je otvorenejšia a vyššie položená, najbližšie väčšie mesto je Sparta a je obľúbenou oblasťou gréckych lezcov. Napriek tomu sme na žiadnych nenarazili a aj cesty sú stále neošmýkané a relatívne bez magnézia (aspoň v novembri tomu tak bolo). Vo Varasove sme vyliezli jednu z dlhších ciest no vrchol Varasovy (hora vysoká 900m) a bolo to celkom dobrodružstvo. Lezenie v stene je bohužiaľ narušené asi 300 metrami popoliezania po polici v jednoduchom teréne, no aj tak stena ponúka celkovo 600m lezenia a úžasnú pohodu nad morom." Aris from Kalymnos plánuje na začiatku roka 2017 vydať sprievodcu "Best of Greece" - To najlepšie z Grécka.