Edu Marin has done Directa open your mind R2 9a+ in Santa Linya. (c) Giancola "Yesterday was a great day for me! I knew my form was good but after a week in bed because of a nasty flu, I had my doubts for my project. Nothing is further from reality ... I got to take Direct Open Your Mind 9a + R2 and signing the fourth repetition to close a long and successful season!" In a Desnivel interview, Edu explains that he did the full line and he marked it R2 to differente it from the R1 version stopping mid-ways which Ashima Shiraishi and others have done. The R2 adds an 8c after the 9a R1 anchor.

Some of you noticed login problems last week. This was caused by some updates we did to the site that had needed to be done in order to support our new server for routes.8a.nu. All is solved now and login (especially with cookies) should go even faster now :). In the weeks to come we are also going to start testing with support for https and hopefully roll out a beta prototype for the new design for the scorecard. Please add your email to our list at routes.8a.nu if you would like to be included in the (private) beta.

Chris Sharma and Adam Ondra are the best rock climbers in the history of climbing and they certainly did not follow any structured training program. Instead, they just climbed wild and crazy and in fact, some old coaches said that their new techniques were not optimal. Surely, structured training fits some youngsters and if they have active coaches that follow their athletes' progress on a daily basis and do not just send over training programs, it can be equally good. The dilemma is of course that most kids just want to climb wild and crazy and for these guys a structured program may be the contrary of productive. The most important skill in climbing that never can be trained properly once being an adult is the intuition, especially in onsight climbing. The third best climber in the world Alex Megos did have and still has some active coaches with a holistic approach. In fact, his coaches actively hold him back when it comes to his training in order not to let him peak at a very young age. No doubt that in the short run structured and peak training will make the kids perform better at early ages but this may possibly be counter-productive for the kids motivation and technical skills.

Virtual Realiy is getting big and the main reason is that it can be viewed on every mobile device without need of external tools. You can automatically use the phone’s internal gyroscopes and browse the scene in 360. It also works great via your computer and the mouse. Coral Climb is a video production company that has shot outdoor and climbing videos since 1984 but lately they have opened a branch in Los Angeles and it's run by the Italian ex-Pro-climber Lucas Preti. They are testing this new technology and they've sent us an example of what looks like a VR camera on the head of a climber. Here we attach a link to a youtube video in VR (use chrome or firefox, not safari, to navigate in 360°). Try a 360° boulder video. There is also an option to watch it using mobile apps (more fun because you use the phone's position to look around). Just download the youtube app and you will get a glimpse of the amazing future!

In our database there are now 3.7 million rated ascents that could help you to find the best crags and routes/boulders in the world. Selecting the next destination, you can search the crag list and analyze average stars and onsight rating etc. In the Ticklists, you can select a grade and a sector and make a list of the routes or boulders you would like to try.

Michiel Nieuwenhuijsen has done The Big Island 8C in Fontainbleau. (c) Thomas Caleyron Here is what he said two months ago when he did the 8B+ variation. "One and a half year ago I tried the Island for the first time. Such an intense problem and maybe the best compression boulder in the world. Even I only have been there for 6 or 7 days, it has been on my mind since. Yesterday it went down, but this isn´t the end. The big Island always has been the main goal. It is time to go BIG! The 8C starts two moves lower Bad conditions kept me from going back to the Big Island this trip. But will be back in December for two weeks. ‬"

Everyone seems to think that the shortcut to improvement is through physical indoor training. This is probably wrong unless you are a competition climber. If you want to climb harder grades outdoors, especially do onsights, you will improve faster doing some technical and tactical sessions. The dilemma is of course that it is so easy just to follow a physical endurance or maximum power programme compared to doing some training where you actually have to think and challenge yourself also mentally. Here are some exercises that will help you progress technically and tactically. 1. Rainbow onsight - Combine hard colored routes to create new routes 2. One foot - Challenge easier routes using just your left or right foot 3. Exclude holds - Skip some holds for both your hands and feet, forcing yourself to go out of the comfort zone 4. Speed & Stop - Speed climb the routes but add two 1 minute Stop holds PS The most effective training per minutes invested overall is stretching and fall training but that is so frustrating...

Fanatic climbing reports that Alban Levier has done the 3rd ascent of Orsay roof 8C, Paris South surburb after ten days of work. "It's a very demanding line. All the kind of movements of climbing are involved. You turn your body in all the directions in this roof ! That's why it's wonderful! The whole thing adds an 8A boulder of 12 moves to the classical 8B exit (part 2). So the effort is completely different. It's nice to mix a long and brutal challenge like this. All my thoughts are going to Rémy Bergasse. Without him and his vision, maybe the line would be right now again a project!