Barbara Zangerl, one of the leading multi-discipline climbers, has made the first ever repeat of Dave MacLeod's Achemine E9, a testpiece from 2001. (c) Riky Felderer - I tried first in toprope and it took me some time to get a good solution for the crux. The day after I gave one first lead try and fall. And the third day on....I fell once on the really last hard move. On the second try I was lucky enough! The protection is really good! There is a runout about 13m from the last camelot to the top. So you really can't fall on the last meters. But the hard part is done before. If you take a fall there, you take a biiiiiiiiig whipper. E-grades is used in UK and is a combination of how difficult and dangerous the route would be to onsight! In practice this works very well on easier routes indicating which route to onisght. For the harder routes that are always redpointed it is very hard to estimate the onsight grade. Based on the converter scales available, a safe E9 should be around 8b+.

In the male qualification, all Top-20 did all five boulders, which can be compared with the 12th semifinalist who did not do any boulder at all. More than 50% of the Top-13 were from Japan and there were just three Europeans, out of which two Russians. Among the female, all Top-3 were from Asia and the big sensation was that Shauna Coxsey did not make it to the final, although she won last four events. Interesting is also that half of the girls did not do a single boulder. Finals start at 15.00 Euro Time. Semi results.

The first Boulder Would Cup in Mumbai, India, was a great show with extremely good results for Japan. Beside gaining two golds and getting another two medals, they had another three male in the Top-9. Semi results in brackets once again indicate upside-down result in the final in comparison with the semifinal. (c) Shinji Mizumura 1. Fuji Kokoro (5) JPN - Miho Nonaka (3) JPN 2. Tomoa Narasak (3) JPN - Monika Retschy (5) GER 3. Alexey Rubtsov (6) RUS - Akiyo Noguchi (2) JPN Complete results Interesting is also that runner-up Monika Retschy was second last in both the semifinal and the final as well before the last boulder which she onsighted. The two winners of the semifinal, Jongwon Chon and Sol Sa, were #4 and #5 in the final. This confirms that it seems more difficult to start last in the final.

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.