The great documentary film about climbing in Yosemite is now available on Netflix. If there is one film you should see to get the background and the future of climbing, it is Valley Uprising! Trailer. Valley Uprising is the epic history of the Californian rock climbers. The larger-than-life characters of Yosemite carved out an "extreme bohemian" lifestyle in the Valley, living on red wine and boiled potatoes, clashing with National Park authorities, and pioneering the boldest climbs on Earth. The torch has been passed across three generations of climbers; through rivalries, tragedies and triumphs, the art of Yosemite climbing has advanced beyond anyone's imagination.

Here are the winners of the first Euro Youth Bouldering Cup: 97: Matteo Rosseau - Franziska Sterrer 99: Peter Ivanov - Asja Gollo 01: Allessandro Castellani - Laura Rogara Complete results

Tamas Zupan has set a new record of dedication by doing his second 8C, Zunami in Saalachtal, driving 7 000 kilometers to reach his goal. - I was there with my friend in the middle of March and I climbed some boulders in the lower sector and I tried Gizmo 8B, which is a variant of Zunami. I live 600 km far from Saalachtal and I could travel there only on Wednesdays because of my work. I woke up at 4:30 a.m., started my journey from home at 5 a.m. and I came in Saalachtal at 11 a.m. I climbed until 2 p.m. and I arrived at 8 p.m. I climbed ’Gizmo’ on the second trip and finally I could manage ’Zunami’ on my 6th trip. The first move is incredible complex because in the same time you should move separately your all limbs when make the crossing movement, after it is really crimpy, overhanging and that’s why I really liked it.

Piotr Schab has done the FA of Stal Mielec 9a/+ in Dolina Kluczwody. The Polish teenager is #7 in the 8a ranking game. Video of the ascent. - It used to be an 8c+ but after big changes in the Cave (removing artificial holds - 2012) it became a real challenge and was named the hardest route in whole Polish Jura.

The Rhapsody elimination was originally graded 8c+ but later it seems the four experienced trad climbers; Sonnie Trotter, Steve McClure, James Pearson and Jacopo Larcher have agreed on 8c/+ in order to fit to their other hard core trad routes. What is kind of strange is that all these five experienced trad climbers have Rhapsody as their 8c/+ personal trad best at the same time that all five have done a bolted 9a! Making this trad/sport comparison it seems even stranger that all five did their 9a much faster compared to the time they spent on Rhapsody. This should suggest that for the trad experts, the Rhapsody is as difficult as a 9a sport route. Jacopo has commented that the Rhapsody elimination is much harder than Mind Control, the most popular 8c+ in the world that some think is 8c.

Sweaty fingertips are a serious problem for many climbers, which can be solved by Antihydral, a cream that you apply on your fingertips in the evening once or twice a week. Many climbers have reported that it is actually a game changer but it will take some time to understand when and how much should be applied. Just Google to find a webshop near you. Squamish Climbing Magazine has some practical tips.

Gabri Moroni reports on Instagram that he has done Chris Sharma's Practice of the Wild 8C in Magic Wood, to which he gives a personal 8B+ grade, commenting. "Took me 2 days. 1 quick session a week ago and another full day of work today. And I basically did it twice for a little dab on the try before the send. I know I am in my best form ever but I didn't feel this thing to be 8C..." It should be mentioned that six out of seven repeaters have all marked it soft and many have it as a personal best. Furthermore, Gabri was the first who gave a personal grade to Mind Control, upon which most agree now.

Jacopo Larcher has made the fifth ascent of Dave MacLeod's Rhapsody, which is an 8c/+ trad elimination at Dumbarton Rock. MacLeod spent 70 days and took many 20 meter falls, which was featured in the great E11 video, youtube trailer. Back in 2006, Rhapsody was considered to be the hardest trad route in the world. (c) Richard Felderer - I spent 9 days on it and I climbed it on my 7th lead attempt. For the grade, I agree with everybody's opinion: 8c/+. That thing is hard! It also takes some time to get used to the weird glassy rock. About safety, it's completely different from the other hard trad routes I did, as the first part is very safe (a crack with bomber gear). After you place the last bit of (small) gear, you have to climb a loooong way to the top. The good thing is that you will never hit the ground, but you can take some really big falls, which could end up in injuries if the rope coils around your leg while falling. I wasn't afraid about the gear, but I was worried to hit the ledge if I would fall off the top. I know James took the falls from the top and nothing happened...but I wasn't very psyched to try that out. But yes, it's an elimination. Even if the climbing is brilliant! It's not nice to denigrate Dave's work, as he put so much effort into it. He hurt him self, but he kept on going for it, demonstrating dedication and passion. I'm glad he put up this route. At the time (and still now) he pushed the level of trad climb forward! And I think that should be respected (especially from the people who've never seen or tried the route). Jacopo is talking about the controversies all the four first ascentionists were involved in. First James Pearson, #3 repeater, questioned the grade and the nature of the route he had not done. Later Sonnie Trotter, #2, questioned Steve McClure's third ascent saying he had used eliminated holds which also MacLeod agreed upon. Steve thought their comments deamened the quality of the route defining it as an elimination. Steve also thought Trotter had done the FA as MacLeod in fact had not placed any gear on his attempt referring to that MacLeod in fact had first climbed and placed gear for on the first 25 meter of the route and later reversed to the ground. In practice, this means that MacLeod climbed on top rope for 25 meters out of Rhapsody's 35 meters and did not place any gear on his ascent.

Stefano Ghisolfi together with Jenny Lavarda won the 13th Melloblocco (results). Stefano shares some comments on the world's biggest Bouldering meeting. (c) Claudio Piscina - I think this was one of the best edition, four sunny days and a lot of people. The boulders were really cool, and a bit harder than previous years, the organization was perfect all days. There were 12 competition boulders, more than the past years, so climbers had the possibility to climb more on problems set (brushed and cleaned) by Simone Pedeferri during the past months. There were 2800 participants and the valley was full of people. EpicTV will release soon a video with interviews and climbing during these days. During the evenings were presented many videos from Jorg Verhoeven, Mauro Calibani, Stefano Ghisolfi, Silvio Reffo, Simone Pedeferri, and people had great fun. Noteworthy is that a local newspaper reported that the police had found drugs in 16 out of 23 Melloblocco "suspicious faces'" cars on Saturday night.