This week has started with a new All Time High both measured my number of visits and unique visits. Based on Google Analytics, this week started with 14 500 respectively 14 100 unique visitors. Overall, the increase in traffic continues to be around 20 % in 2016. In total, 63 000 members have added close to 4.1 million ascents that could guide you to find the best climbs in the world.

Daniel Jung has done his second 9a+, Corona in Frankenjura. On his FB page Daniel shares the story. Photo by his brother Markus. "Sunday evening I was lucky to send my dream route "Corona" 9a+. It was allready 20:30 and dark. I didn't expect any big process that go, but suddenly I stuck the crux move! After the crux there are still some moves that needed full attention, I also had to skip two bolts that made everything even more spicy. Luckily I didn't got too nervous, and could send it up to the top. At the end I'm happy that I took the decision to go for the original beta from Markus Bock, even if it felt a more powerful. When I saw his video I didn't believe that I could climb it one day. Big thanks to everyone that spend a good time with me on that rock!"

Note that Adam Ondra son klibini yapıyor fakat çıkışını kutlamadan 40 saniye ve altı hamle daha yaparak tırmanışa devam ediyor. Bu ise rota açıcının değil kayanın tanımladiğı sınırda rotayı bitirmek anlamına geliyor. Muhtemelen kötü kaya yapısı veya ip sürtünmesi son boltun yerinde etkili olmalı. Ondra bir kez daha bir ileri adımı gösteriyor.

Dave Graham, one of the best guys out there for the last 15 years, comes on FB with the amazing news that he has done his first 8C+. In fact, this is the world's first confirmed 8C+! (c) Cameron Maier/Bearcam "WOW!!! Elated to make the 2nd ascent of @dawoods89 new rig Creature From the Black Lagoon yesterday up in Upper Chaos!!! After around 16 days of effort since the spring, I managed to figure out the incredibly subtle change to my sequence which opened the gateway for the send!! After so many days of regression and frustrating conditions, late night pondering, hundreds of failed ideas, the solution had been in front of me the entire time. A crazy arm-torque turned stand-up yoga-type movement was the enabling addition in my sequence, allowing me to engage the undercling I battled with for so long properly, and achieve the body position I needed to keep it moving forward." Continue reading the exciting mini novel which finishes with these words: "This climb suits me, but still pushed me farther than anything I have ever done that is graded 8C. Time will tell, but 8C+ seems completely logical. Photos and video coming soon up at @island_io"

Rock & Ice yere düşen karabinaların kullanımının güvenli olduğundan bahseden bir araştırma yayınladı. "Omega Pacific ayrıca El Cap in belirsiz bir yerinden düşen karabinaları da test etti. O.P.'nin araştırması düşen bir malzemenin bir taşa vurduktan sonra daha yüksek kuvvetlere dayandığını gösteriyor." Şu da not edilmeli ki Rock & Ice, Omega'nın aslında yayınladıkları makale ve alıntıya karşı olan söylemini gözden kaçırmış görünüyor. "Kayaların dibinde bulduğunuz ne olduğu belli olmayan malzemeleri kullanmayın, her ne kadar sağlam olursa olsun, bu önceliğimizdir. İkinci olarak, herhangi bir malzemeyi yukarıdan düşürdüyseniz, onu kullanmayı bırakmalısınız. Hayatınızı bir ekipmana emanet edeceğiniz zaman şüpheye yer vermemelisiniz. Ayrıca, bu profesyonelce davranmaktır da."

Nicolai Užžnik has done his first 8B, Wrestling with an Alligator in Malatal. What is interesting, he found a new beta so instead of doing the dyno and taking the swing, he just kept crimping. "I sent the boulder in my first session in Maltatal after more than 2 months without climbing because of a finger injury. I did not expect to climb it that fast because the last few holds where completely wet, so I'm really happy about that. This season didn't worked as I wanted it, due to my injury where I missed both boulder and lead European Youth Championships and now also the World Youth Championships in China.

UKC reports that William Bosi has done the seventh ascent of Ben Moon's Hubble from 1990. Moon suggested 8c+ and although none of the repeaters have suggested an upgrade some have made this speculation. Interesting is that UKC does not mention this but just state that Hubble is a 9a, meaning it being the first route of this grade in the world.

Rock & Ice has published an interesting article where they say that according to research, carabiners that have fallen to the ground are safe to use. "Omega Pacific also tested carabiners that had been dropped from unknown heights off El Cap. If anything, O.P.'s report shows that a piece of gear gets stronger while flying through the atmosphere then impacting rock—those dropped carabiners broke at loads higher than their rated strengths ." It should be noted that Rock & Ice missed out this important piece of advice from Omega which actually goes against what is said in the article and the quote. "Don’t climb on gear you salvage from the base of cliffs, regardless how sturdy our little box of kit turned out, that’s first. Second, if you drop any piece of hardware from high up, you should just retire it. When you trust your life to a piece of equipment, you don’t need the doubt. Plus, it’s a good, professional practice, anyway."

Michaela Kiersch has done her second 8c+ in Red River Gorge in 2016, Lucifer. (c) Andy Wickstrom "Sooo psyched!!!! Surprise send on one of my projects this weekend, Lucifer. It's so rewarding to know that my hustlin is paying off. I will be the first to admit that juggling school, work, and climbing has been overwhelming and challenging this year. But education is something I value deeply and I take pride in knowing that I can succeed in climbing and in school. After stuffing my face with and driving the looooong 7 hours home I snuck in some studying for this 8am exam that I'm about to take. Wish me luck!