Imagine connecting a device to your harness that instructs a camera equipped drone to automatically film you from five meters above your head. The number of videos exploiting drones has dramatically increased in the last few years. This has been observed mainly in bouldering as it is still hard to follow a climber on a 30 m long route. The Airdog can also be the perfect tool for you and your trainer to analyse your training and progress on projects. One drawback is that the battery capacity is just 10 - 18 minutes at the moment and then it takes one hour to recharge it. One possible solution for this is to wait to turn it on until you have come to the hard spectacular sequence high up on the route and then you can turn it off and the Airdog returns back to the base. Another setback is of course the price, 1 699 Euros, plus the additional cost of the camera. Here you can purchase the drone for 1 000 Euros, which includes a camera and ability to recharge the battery in an hour while still at the crag. Someday, the norm at a crag may be existence of several hovering drones at any time. This is easily a prospect some will welcome and others will dread. 8a has been in contact with the producers who informed us that a demo will be conducted at Railay before its market release in February.

Tara Reynvaan reports on Facebook that Jonathan Siegrist has done his fourth 9a+, Power Inverter in Oliana, and the good news is that there is a video being made. Jonathan has done 14 routes 9a and harder to date. He is also famous for comparing Era Vella 9a with some 8c's he has done.

The Norwegian Federation is looking for a head coach for their Youth Team who will be responsible for some 6 - 8 guys, based on a 30 % position making some Euro 11 000 per year.

Tazio Gavioli has done 118 pull-ups, 46 of while were completed in one minute and 11 + 8 one arm pull-ups. He is also a three times Guiness world record holder. This link contains a list of unofficial records for timed pull-ups and chin-ups. "The Italian Butterfly started as a rock climber but with no rock around he got obsessed with pull-up training. He has done 8a but at the moment his focus is not rock climbing. - I have fun in what I'm doing and this is the most important thing; I'd like one day to try and why not to get some hard routes as Action Directe for example! In relation to my strengths, "I'm not a good climber". I'm just able to climb on-sight around the 7a+/7b, not more. I should climb to get better... I got my last ascent 14 months ago. Probably in the first months of the next year I'll be again on a TV show, maybe to do again my Guinness World Record about "one arm climbing" or, I don't know, maybe "the most number of pull ups in one minute. I think that 150 two hands pull ups should be possible."

Janja Garnbret, who's won all the youth comps she's entered, was superior at La Sportiva Legends in Stockholm. The 16-year-old completed all five problems in only seven tries, while the other four world class females did just three altogether. Adding to that extreme result, Janja is primarily a lead climber who in the three WCs she entered in 2015 was #2, 2 and 3. (c) Lars Lindwall

Alex Megos reports on Facebook that he has done yet another 9a, "Did "Victimes del Futur" 9a today! After giving it 2 tries after my onsight of "Victimes del Passat" 2 days ago... A powerful lock-off is the crux and the freezing temps made everything harder since everybody struggled with cold fingers. But having a great time here!!!" Alex has done 47 routes 9a and harder and in our stats is #3, after Adam Ondra and Ramon Julian Puigblanque. However, when it comes to the biggest number of 9a's done the last year, Megos is #1 with more than 15 of them.

Ramon Julian has done his second 9a FA during the last week, Widowmaker in Margalef. "Four tries during two days, impressive over hang opened by Vicent Palau." Ramonet climbed his first 9a in 2002. 2015 has proven to be his most productive year with six 9a's and two 9a+'s. In total, the 34-year-old has done 46 ascents 9a and harder.

Lukasz Dudek one of the best Polish climbers, has recently done a long 40+ move boulder in Kusięta, Poland. He suggested the grade of 8C for it!

The problem is a combination of an existing boulder and a large, new wall. The new part is the most difficult section. "Obsesja" begins with "Forest Gump 6C, continues with 12 new moves, flows into "Szatańskie Wersety 8A/+, and finishes with "Egzekutor 7B+".

On Alpine Wall Tour Łukasz wrote:
"After about 40-50 days spent on this project I finally managed to join all the moves into one big sequence. For the first time I've had an occasion to face a problem which took me so much time. I don't know how hard it is. I can be only sure that I've come to the end of my physical abilities. Neither in the past nor in the future will I be able to do anything more difficult. The problem took control over my mind, it became an obsession of some kind... I'm glad I'm free now..."

It is good to note that the name of this Boulder, "Obsesja", means Obsession in Polish.

Łukasz maintains the lead in the Polish climbing community for the last few years. He does the hardest routes and deals with myths (Pandemonium).
He is a multi-talented climber, who has done some difficult multi-pitch routes as well (End of Silence, Kaisers neue Kleider, Brento Centro, Silbergeier, Bellavista).

For years Łukasz has climbed in Poland, too, where he finds ever new challenges, as it is easy to see. Congratulations!!!

source: wspinanie.pl
photo: Jacek Matuszek
translation: D.

Planet Grimpe reports that Edward "Ned" Feehally has done The Big Island 8C in Fontainebleau. Ned has previously done several 8B+'s and one 8C. In 2012, he was #6 in a Boulder WC.

FAZA brushes was created in 2014 after three years of experimenting testing wood species, shapes and different technologies. The preparations included more than 1 000 broken brushes. They collect the branches from different woods in Bulgaria, near the crags. "FAZA is the first climbing brush in the world with glued bristles!" and they brush chalk off really good, and the life span seems almost endless. Kind of expensive but as you actually can get a unique brush it might be a very nice Christmas gift.