Adam Ondra has had a great weekend. First he did the FA of Vicious Circle 9a+/b in Osp/Misja Pec, which he bolted last year. (c) Luka Fonda "Left start into Sanski par. Bouldery and short 8c+ into the most of the Sanski par 9a (without first six moves). I would say two 8c+'s with a bad rest in between. Super powerful and resistant climbing. The next stop was Medveja, a new secret zone in Croatia. It was one of the best days of climbing ever as I onsighted two 8c's ('The Core' is considered 8c+ by those few, who repeated the route) and the first ascent of 'More', 9a. World record maybe? Haha. Most of the routes are slightly overhanging, crimpy on super solid rock with a minimum of Sika and in general fitting my style pretty well. The last day I tried a project in Pandora, a different zone in Istria, which is definitely pretty hard in the region of 9b or more. Something like 20m of bouldering in the roof. Definitely a lot of rock around there worth returning for."

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Brooke Raboutou reports on Facebook that she has done Southern Smoke 8c+ in Red River Gorge. Previously the 14-year-old did several headlines on 8a including one about an 8b+ that she did four years ago. Brooke's parents are Didier, one of the leading climbers both on the rock and the competition scene some 20 years ago, and Robyn Erbesfield - the world's best competition climber between 1989 -1995 and a very successful trainer.

Simon Carter, a professional climbing photographer for 25 years, reports on Facebook: "I've seen a lot of really impressive climbing over all the time I've spent at Oliana over the years... and add to that today's jaw-dropping sends by 18 year-old Swedish climber Kajsa Rosen. First up she hiked Fisheye (8c) first shot (after only working it twice yesterday), for her first of the grade, and THEN casually flashed Los Humildes pa Casa (8b+) soon after (pictured). Kajsa Rosen; a name to watch out for for sure!" Simon is spot-on as the young Swede has had an extreme development over the last few years. In the past year, she was #9 and #10 in the last two Lead World Cups she did. So how much beta did you get and do you still plan to get yourself a station wagon and hit the road? I saw a french guy climbing it and he told me about a knee bar. I heard some screaming from below but it was very windy. My plan is to do some comps and some rock climbing and have fun. I graduate this year so hopefully I will have some more time for climbing.

James Webb has traveled to Finland to take part in Sisu Masters with an amazing line up including Daniel Woods and Dave Graham but also to try Nalle Hukkataival's Boulders. First they had to crush some ice on the top of the Globalist in Sipoo and then James just flashed it and gave it a personal grade of 8B. The best flash boulderer in the world has now flashed 13 8B Boulders, four out of which were originally graded 8B+. (c) Nico Backström "Absolutely incredible boulder from Nalle that I've wanted to climb on for so long. Perfect rock, amazing movement. One of the best!" Next up could be Hukkataival's famous Sisu or Lappnor Project that the Fin has been trying for six respectively four years speculating that it could become the next level.

Margo Hayes, who was #6 in Vail Boulder WC last year and got two silvers in Youth World Championships, has had some great days, first winning the US Lead Nationals and later doing Pure Imagination 8c+ and Omaha Beach 8b+ on her second go in Red River Gorge. (c) Christine Ruana. You will find more photos on Margo's website. How was the two experiences and what is this year plan and ambition? I am truly honored to have become National Champion. It has been a dream of mine since I watched the competition for the first time in my Hometown in 2011. It was an incredible experience for that dream to come true! As for Pure Imagination, it has also been a goal of mine for a very long time. Since Sasha's send of the climb several years ago, I have know that I wanted to climb it someday. I have a poster in my room, and I always thought it looked like one of the most beautiful climbs in The Red River Gorge. It felt surreal to actually clip the chains. This coming year, I am taking time off of school before attending University. I would like to take time to focus on climbing, art, and learning French. I hope to compete in several world cups as well as climb outdoors!

For many years the very best climbers have been below average height and the best examples of this are; Ramonet (159 cm), Daniel Woods (169 cm) and Dai Koyamada (165 cm). Lately, more guys above 180 cm have been making headlines and as a matter of fact, in 2015 most of the very best were above 180 cm with Jan Hojer at 187 cm as the tallest. Based on that, I wrote two articles saying that the average height of the very best in 2015 was almost 180 cm. Interestingly, during the last weeks, many people below 170 cm, including the mentioned above, have struck back creating headlines.

carl dawson, a Kalymnian local who does 7c+ being 65 years old, has made a hiking and scrambling guide over Kalymnos which Kalymnos Adventure Center has picked up and started organizing different hikes. (c) Birgitta Lovernius The easiest one is the 3.3 km Italian Path, "Little Chinese Wall", which goes across the island from Pothia to Vathy. "This path history goes back to the Italian occupation of Kalymnos, 1912-1943. A well-build cobbled road connects the city of Pothia with the valley of Vathy and offers an enjoyable hiking and a magnificent view." More info on the hiking topo that also includes the path to come up on the top of Grande Grotta and some more difficult paths that could be considered as scrambling.

Edu Marin, who won one World Cup in 2005, has had an impressive year with the ascents of Chilam Balam 9b and two 9a+'s. Apart from that, he finished his Alps project with his father. "Samsara 8b+, Lofer, (Austria). This route was opened by Alex Huber, and supposed the last route of The Marins’ Alps Project. It goes by three impressive roofs with a very technical and demanding fissures. A mixed route where you have to protect the most of the pitches with friends. I arrived to Samsara quite psychological and fiscally worn out due to we spent already two months climbing the hardest routes of the Alps (Orbayu, Digital Crack, Voie Petit ...) I knew that was the last challenge to complete successfully the project and that was even more exciting!!! Such a great experience to achieve all the goals proposed by the hand of your father, was something magic and unforgettable, the best present that we could give us each other!!"