Stefan Bednar has done his second 9a in Misja Pec, Martin Krpan. "cooolba ! :) again many thanks for support and music during ascent to : ClimbIstria.com, where we got the picture.

Adam Ondra: 30 Chris Sharma: 18 Ramon Julian: 12 Sachi Amma: 10 Alex Megos: 7 Dani Andrada: 6 Enzo Oddo: 4 Seb Blouin, Iker Pou, Jakob Schubert, Stefano Ghisolfi, Steve MC, Ethan Pringle, Dave Graham & Dani Woods: 3

Megan Mascarenas has done her second 8A flash, Chill Style in Elevenmile Canyon, and she is #3 in the 8a ranking game. Last month, the 17-year-old won the Adidas Rock Star and of the two World Cups she has done in 2015, she won one and was third in the other. In other words, there is no other male or female who has better competition statistics. (c) Eddie Fowke

The 8a scorecard was introduced in 2000 and it was immediately a great success. Today, we received our 60 000th member. Currently some 100 new members sign up every week. In total in the database there are now 3.6 million ascents that will help you to find the best crags and climbs around the globe. Our highest priority is now the redesign and we hope to present the new design for the scorecard within some weeks.

Alex Huber, who has made cutting edge ascents in all climbing styles during the last 25 years, has done the FA of Il Capitano 8b+ trad in Sardina. The 47-year-old is also known for his hard FA grades and for having strong opinions about grade inflation. Here is his own story with great pics of Il Capitano, where he was actually belayed from a boat.

1 - Adam Ondra (101) 2 - Ramonet (40) 3 - Alex Megos (38) 4 - Chris Sharma (30) 5 - Dani Andrada (28) 6 - Sachi Amma (20) 7 - Seb Bouin (18) 8 - Markus Bock (16) 10 - Patxi Usogiaba; Enzo Oddo (15), 12 - Gaby Moroni (14), 13 - Matthieu Bouyoud; Dave Graham; Cédric Lachat (13), 16 - Jonathan Siegrist; Dani Woods (12), 20 - Magnus Mitboe; Lukasz Dudek; Stefano Ghisolfi; Steve McClure (11), 23 - Iker Pou; Edu Marin; Domen Skofic (10) "Rai" has published on the forum this list based on this statistics. It should be mentioned that especially Adam Ondra has given a personal 8c+ grade to many 9a's, meaning that his total number is at least 110 if topo guides had been used as a reference.

Robert Ryan from the USA started climbing some 40 years ago and he is now on a climbing trip to Kalymnos for the fifth time. Today, he led a 6a meaning that he is almost on pair with his hardest grade ever. - I am climbing like two, three days a week and actually back in my gym there is a guy 89 years old also pushing hard. You know, I started in the Gunks known for the hard grades so I have not really climbed harder than 6a before.

Sterling has for a long time been one of the market leaders in the manufacturing of high quality, durable climbing ropes. We tested the new Evolution Aero 9.2 recently. This new rope is an evolution of the Fusion Nano 9.2 where they have changed the core designs and developed the sheath to provide better falls and increased durability. Editor note – the New Nano IX is offered at 9.0 mm. 9.2 mm ropes are normally recommended only to the top climbers who value weight and reduced rope drag over durability. Having used the rope for three months, I must say that this is the most durable thin rope we have ever tested. At the same time it is very soft when it comes to the dynamic elongation. We have also tested their 9.8 mm biggest seller, the Evolution Velocity, which has proven to be an extremely durable and high quality rope. The Velocity is used by Chris Sharma when he projects and it stands up to all his long falls. For today’s wide range of sport climbers, these two ropes offer two excellent choices in weight, handling and performance. Interesting is also that Sterling has started to ship ropes with middle marks. Specs for the 9.2 Aero and 9.8 Velocity UIAA Falls: 7 & 6 Weight: 56 & 62 g/M Dynamic Elongation: 33 & 26% Static Elongation: 7.7 & 8.6 % Impact Force: 8.5 & 8.8 kN

Alex Puccio has done Free Range (aka Cage Free Assis) 8B in Boulder Canyon meaning she has done four 8B's and flashed one 8A during the last four weeks. "Didn't think that was going to happen so quick. Tried it a couple tries when I sent the stand a while back. Then went back today and after figuring out all the moves with Isabelle (Faus) it took a few tries from the beginning. Psyched to tick this one off the list. Isabelle will take it down soon!" Last year, Alex was #2 in the Boulder World Championships. Only four months ago she needed a knee surgery for a torn ACL and now it seems she is taking female bouldering to the next level making 8a news with pictures from Chris Motta every other day.

Alex Megos reports on Facebook, "First day back in the ‪#‎redrivergorge‬ after 3 years! FINALLY did "Southern Smoke Direct" 5.14d (9a) today after failing on it 3 years ago. As well did a project(?!) to the left of "50 Words for Pump" which I would say is as well around 5.14d (9a).