Fanatic Climbing has made an interview with Alban Levier, who won one Boulder WC in 2015 and who has been one of the most productive boulderers in the world in the last few months. - I’ve been training for the next comp season for the last 4 months (it starts in April). I think my training is paying off. I feel good, so I’m profiting from it! I´m physically on form so I´m just trying not to fix any mental limits on myself. So I´ve simply said I´ll try some hard lines which have received few repeats, and it’s all going right!

A petite belayer makes the falls softer but with a 33% weight difference it starts to get dangerous. In the gyms, the smaller climber can often attach some 15 kilograms to their harness but in reality it is not practical and it can be a big problem outdoors. With all the new kids in our sport, the weight difference problem is increasing. At ISPO 2016 Edelrid presented an OHM balancing weight differences, which won the IPSO award. The OHM works like an assisted braking resistor that you place in the first bolt. The friction is increased and helps the lighter climber not to be pulled high from the ground or thrown against the wall. One potential downside is, however, that when your partner is high up with a lot of rope drag it will be harder to give a dynamic fall unless you have a friend removing the OHM.

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Michael Füchsle had climbed since the late 80s and used to do FAs up to 8a+ in the early 90s. After Intestinal breakthrough 2005 with a full-body paralysis Michael has begun to climb again in 2012. The 49-year-old is 90% severely disabled and has next to a colostomy (stoma ILEO) strong polyneurophathy in legs and arms as well as several anal fistulas. Last year Michael participated in two International Para Climb events where he could occupy the 5th place respectively, and did some Boulders up to 7B in Austria and England. In 2016, he is going to compete in the World Championships in Paris and possibly go for an 8a, training some 10 hours a week.

Adam Ondra has joined up czech rope producers - TENDON. "Follow your Quest" is a challenge they started last year to motivate fanatic climbers to overcome their limits. "Describe the process of realization and let us share your experience." Follow your Quest video. The winner will fly to Flatanger and climb with Adam Ondra for one day. He will give advises for your climbing project or you can just chill out with other great climbers in a beautiful Norwegian landscape.

Alban Levier, the winner of one World Cup last year, who just did the FA of a 9a boulder route and two 8B+'s, has done the 3rd ascent of L'alchimiste 8C in Fontainebleau. The FA was done some 20 years ago by Marc Le Ménestrel as an 8B but some ten years ago someone broke several holds with a hammer. Nalle Hukkataival made the post chopping FA last autumn. Alban thinks it is an 8C and said that according to Bleau.info Nalle had suggested 8C/+, which made the Finn comment on Facebook. "I never proposed a grade for L'Alchimiste for the reason that I spent a long time trying it and then climbed it very quickly after discovering the easier way. Trying it with the wrong the method for weeks skewed my perspective so I chose to leave the grading to future repetitors. Well done!!"

8a has visited ISPO 2016. From what we have seen there we can predict it is possible that in the future customized climbing shoes will be available on a larger scale. While testing and buying Saltic shoes in a shop you can select up to four different mid-soles as well as the preferable thickness of the rubber. Saltic will then hand-make your shoe and send it to your shop, where you will get it within two weeks. If they had just presented this innovation, they would have probably won the ISPO gold award. La Sportiva representatives said they had been doing it in this way for several years with their athletes and that they had been thinking of doing it on a larger scale. In general, to get the same stiffness as a result, smaller shoes should have less thick mid-soles compared to bigger ones, i.e. the demands for stiffness varies between a 40 kg and an 80 kg heavy climber. It could also be of interest to have much thicker rubber in your indoor training shoes than in the ones you use outdoors.

Cathy Wagner, who started climbing in 1986 and had her most productive year in 2015, has started this year up really nice with six routes 8a and 8a+. Last weekend the 50-year-old did two 8a's in her second go in Gorges du Loup. During the last 12 months, the grand lady has done 60 routes 8a to 8b and in total she has done 527 of them. Maybe it is time to step up to 8b+ before turning 51!