Bernd Zangerl is one of the first famous boulderers. He opened many of the early hard core problems in Ticino and especially Magic Woods including two 8C+'s that nowadays are considered 8B+. UKC has made a new interview with the profile of Bernd, currently living and exploring boulders in the Himalaya. In general, the pioneer is very critical towards the modern 2.0 scene and the article finishes in this way: "There is high pressure in the outdoor industry, so there is also high pressure within the sport itself. Nowadays it's more important to wear the right clothes of the right brand with the right colours. You have to visit the "bouldering hot spots“ of the world and share your private moments on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Some athletes spend more time on social media, than on the rocks, because the smart use of various media channels, particularly web 2.0, enables almost everyone to reach a certain reputation by merely spending a few hours per day on the web. This was definitely not the case ten years ago." In the UKC article he is also critical towards grades and how the community deals with them, which he also said in an 8a article in 2011. He has stated that the reason for why his grades were inflated was because the first repeaters just kept confirming his initial FA grades. Here is a greatvideo of the FA of Shantaram 8C/+ outside Trondheim. The picture by © Ray Demski/Red Bull Content Pool is from Die Versorgungslinie, which he did this autumn. No FA grade but Bernd says it is his hardest ever and it was done as a five year long ground up project that took 150 tries. Other quotes from the outspoken great pioneer. - I want to mention that I don't support those "training camps“, where seven year old kids are following a training programme! - With the notion of „personal grading“ the rating has lost its original purpose, anyway. - In the end I (and also Fred Nicole) were indicted for inflation, for using overblown grades. - Depending on who is grading, or more importantly downgrading a problem, we accept the grade without any further discussions. The achievement of 11-year old Ashima Shiraishi climbing 8B boulders seems less important for the community. Why? Is she a special case of climber, because of her age or weight, her finger-size? But Ondra for example also has very specific physical preconditions, clearly differing from the average climber. Adam for sure can downgrade for example “Shantaram”, skipping two crux moves because of his extraordinary ape index. I am interested in their grade suggestions, but which weight should it be attributed to in the public? Is the “brave” repeater the only voice which holds true? For me “Shantaram” is one of the biggest highlights of my climbing career. It's an extraordinary climb and way harder than anything else I did before. (Personal grade: 8C/8C+)

Jakob Kronberger has done his third 8c+ of the last month, Vollmond in Salzburger Land. Having done also his first 9a this summer, the 181 cm tall and 14 year old should be one of the most promising teenagers out there.

EPICTV SHOP has already started the X-Mas sale. Beside their very low prices there are their some offers, ex.: 1. 300 grams of chalk when buying climbing shoes 2. Free T-shirt when buying E9 or Prana pants or sweaters The Prana Avril Pants for women cost Euro 45 including free freight and if you are a member it is even cheaper, and then you get that free T-shirt!

UIAA has published a dramatic report with the conclusion that 304 stainless steel bolts are a part of a "horror movie" and they should not be used outdoors. This means that all stainless steel 304 bolts should be removed by Titanium or 316 steel bolts and that 99% of all (1 million???) bolts placed at all crags in the world are at risk. Most critical factors are: “moderate” relative humidity location, areas NOT washed by rain, high temperatures. Limestone/dolomite is generally worse than sandstone or granite (karst rock is the worst case). UIAA says that within months some bolts will only hold few tens of kilograms. Here are some answers from UIAA, when asked for clarifications of their dramatic but unclear recommendations that Titanium must be used and why the normal stainless steel quality 304 should be avoided also at inland vertical granite crags etc. "Tests shall start soon to clarify exactly which stainless steels material will be suitable (and not only titanium) and the standard should be updated next year. The UIAA Safety Commission does not find 304 steel bolts/anchors appropriate for outdoor use because 304 anchors are not expected to last 50 years in the outdoor environment." The UIAA report has been questioned by Eman Pellizzari.

Planet Mountain has the full story.

1.Maxim Tomilov RUS - Maria Tolokoniva RUS 2. Alexey Tomilov RUS - Ekaterina Vlasova RUS 3. Seregey Tarasov - Angelika Rainer SUI Full report and here a 51 min video.

Cathy Wagner started climbing 30 years ago and now, being 50 years old, she is having her best year ever with 55 routes 8a and harder done. Just during the last two weeks, she has done three 8a's and two 8a+'s including Nosferatu in La Palais, which she did yesterday.

8a did ask Emanuele Pellizzari , equipper and bolting gear seller and producer, to give some comments in regard to the UIAA statement saying that 304 bolts are a part of a horror movie. It should be stated that 8a mainly agrees with Eman's conclusion. "Most climbers that read the UIAA press release did not understand, or wanted to understand, what it’s written in it. Most concentrate mainly on the kind of material to be used (or not used). That is the less interesting, and less important, part of it. The release only comes in two languages and a bigger effort to have it translated should have be addressed. First: UIAA places the lifespan of a bolt in +50 years. This is longer than any equipper thought or expected. This is significantly longer than any supplier with a salt of grain, will guarantee. This can be considered three or more generations of climbers: I think it’s unrealistic. I am not saying it’s bad, I am saying it’s unrealistic. Second: UIAA acknowledges that no bolter/equipper or individual climber can or will pay for the upgrade in materials they suggest. It also acknowledges that most of those materials (they use the words “cost and availability”), cannot realistically be found/bought. Even many touristic boards wouldn’t pay for the “upgrade”, or they may realize it is not worth to invest in our activity since the return to investment is much lower now. Third, and this is the point the climbing community did not understand the most, is when UIAA writes: “…the bulk of the climbing population needs to start paying for anchors, whereas in the past most had a “free ride”. Who pays, how they pay, when they pay, how much they pay, etc…this was not mentioned. If all bolts that have been drilled would be replaced according to the release, the cost we talk about amounts in a big sequence of digits… dozens millions Euro. Finally, UIAA basically discourage any new routing development unless 4 or more times more cost of equipment is used. It discourages any rebolting initiative without proper gear. With such an “official” release, it places 99.99% of bolts now in situ, on the “future unsafe side”. Any landowner that reads this, or any major of a town that understands it, might think the sport it’s unsafe and lock down any outdoor climbing activity. I hope it wouldn’t happen. A sport without development is a dying sport. I feel the sport is safe as long as its community reminds that climbing was, is and will be, a dangerous activity. My two cents is that the release had good intentions, but it’s such a step forward that the community is not willing to accept it. The industry might accept it since it poses a 4 times increase of turnover in bolting equipment. Were people using the suggested gear when it will be available (if it will be ever be), I have no clue. My lifespan as equipper will not be +50 years. As an equipper/bolter I said in 2012 that I was not paying more than stainless A4/316 to equip routes. I keep this opinion. If other climbers will pay for rebolting with what UIAA considers proper gear, it’s fine for me.

Based on some 4 000+ votes, we present the results of the opinion poll Who are your female climbing heroes?: 23% Lynn Hill 10% Alex Puccio, Ashima Shiraishi 07% Anna Stöhr, Nina Caprez, Josune Bereziartu 05% Jain Kim, Shauna Coxsey, Sasha Digulian 04% Mina Markovic, Angela Eiter, Juliane Wurm, Janja Garnbret 02% Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou, Allizee Dufraisse, Muriel Sarkany Comparing to a similar poll from 2012, Alex Puccio, Ashima Shiraishi, Juliane Wurm and Janja Garnbret are getting higher numbers. Kind of surprising is that many of the highest numbers are given to the boulderers, which is the opposite to the male, where route climbers were most popular. The 23% for Lynn Hill can be compared to the #1 male, Chris Sharma, who got 13%. The names most frequently mentioned among "Others", were Catherine Destivelle and Barbara Zangerl.

Gorka Karapeto has done Estato Critico 9a in Siurana, which is the famous route Alex Megos onsigted some years ago. The 34-year-old Spaniard did three 9a's previously.