Diego Marsella has onsighted Maskoking 8b in Rodellar which actually is an interesting personal best as he is 43 years old and started climbing 30 years ago. "I train three times a week. Quality six routes from 8a to 8c around 20 - 40 moves. Two times free boulder and campus board. The last day physical training and interval bloc. I am working in a gym as a route setter."

Cathy Wagner is having her best year ever, although being 50 years old she has done 57 routes 8a and harder. Two days ago she did En mémoire des mutants in Pic st Loup giving the confirmed 8b a personal grade of 8a. " Perhaps 8b for those climbers who still use no knee bars and...have no brain. Basically second go."

During the Puurs Worldcup, 16-year-old Celine Cuypers from Belgium broke the world record (220 cm) by 17,5cm, to 237,5 cm. Check her great website with a short video "Encouraged by Nils and without any preparation, except for practicing some dynamic moves on the boulder at which I am not so good, I decided to give the dyno competition a shot." The 16-year-old is a previous successful competition climber who has done routes up to 8b+ and onsights up to 8a.

Alex Megos reports on Facebook that he has done the FA of a 9a+/b in Frankenjura. In total, there are now 24 routes 9a and harder in Frankenjura out of which Alex Megos has done the FAs of six. Megos's latest is also the first with a slash grade. "Steep and HARD! After 5 days of trying did the first ascent of "Supernova"!!! In my opinion the hardest route in the #frankenjura o I would give it 11+ (9a+/b)! Thanks to Joshi Schulz for letting me try that thing and thanks to @arnaudpetit_climb for the picture!!!

Alex Puccio seems to be back stronger than ever just three months after her knee surgery and can know add her hardest flash ever, Mysterious Wayz 8A (+) in RMNP. (c) Chris Motta "As much as I would like to say I flashed my first V12 that moment will have to wait a bit longer. This Is a fun short power climb! :) Definatly completely my style and thanks to Joel, Chris and Josh for going out early today!

Lars Gilberg has used the new Kalymnos guidebook with the free App for a week and he says it is the best topo ever. "If in need for guidelines in life, some people turn to the Bible. Others go to bed reading the Kalymnos guidebook. The new edition was presented in Massouri a week ago. So many climbers were gathered at the Wild Sport climbing store that even the Norwegian best selling crime author, Jo Nesbø, was impressed. He just came to Kalymnos to climb after speaking to 4000 of his fans in Athens. I've spoken to a number of climbers using the new guide during the last week, and so far they have all been full of praise. Considering the number of routes has increased by a 1000 since the last edition, it’s amazing the books size is up only from 340 to 448 pages. They’re all packed with useful info, presented in a delicate and user-friendly way. In fact, this should be a manual to every club around the world on how to do it. Unfortunately, there are so many guidebooks that are not giving info on essential facts like length of routes or when the sun hits. Aris Theodoropoulus is the man behind all the kalymnian guidebooks, and also the man behind a big percentage of all the routes on this island with all the biblical references, from the crag Prophitis Andreas to the summit of the Island, Prophitis Ilias. Of those two, I have to admit, I know the latter one best. It is a stunning running destination. Theodoropoulos himself raises the Q in his intro of the book: Is it sensible to make a printed book in our digital age? His answer: Many climbers say they love to have a book coz it has a soul that a digital topo does´t provide. However: This time Theodoropoulos has included a free app for tablets and smartphones for everyone buying the book. Lots of my friends have been using both the book and the app the last week. One of the smart features with the app is that it will be updated regularly. It also has GPS coordinates for the crags. I don´t have any factual backing for saying this, but I guess the younger generation might feel that the app is all they need, whereas oldies who grew up with paper books and printed newspapers like to own the book. I’m afraid I belong to the last group. I have been coming to Kalymnos to climb every year since 2001, when Aris convinced me about the richness of rock over a dinner in Tonsai. Now that I’ve been 17 times to Tonsai and 15 to Kalymnos, one of the differences I experience is this one: In Tonsai there is not much left to climb, but in Kalymnos the number of unclimbed routes is increasing from year to year. Just look at this timeline: First edition of the guidebook came in year 2000 with 200 routes. Second one in 2003 with 500 routes. Third in 2006 with 850 routes. Forth in 2008 with 1100 routes. Fifth in 2010 with 1700 routes. Sixth in 2015 with 2700 routes. According to the author, this is probably the last time that all routes fits in one book. This time he has left out a few not so popular crags to give place to new ones. I should probably not finish off this article without touching the issue that a lot of climbers were discussing before the book came - and after: Which routes are downgraded? I have found examples of routes sliding from 7c to 7a+ over the last two guidebooks, but there is also a lot of routes that has been upgraded, som even with two grades. This is a natural process, I guess, not only because some stalactites are breaking, but also because grades are nothing like exact science, just numbers meant to guideline people who want to play. To sum up: I have around 20 guidebooks from all over the world in my bookshelf at home, and this is the best one so far.

Sachi Amma, who has done nine routes 9a to 9b in 2015, reports on Facebook that he has done New Baseline 8B+ in Magic Woods. "I sent New Baseline 8B+ on my third go!!!!! Unbelievable!!!!! I expected that it is possible to climb in a day. But not that fast.

Petr Blaha, who started climbing in 1994 and did his first 7c+ when he was 31 years old, is peaking with Abyss 9a in Gorges du Loup, being 39 years old. During the last year, he has done three 8c+'s out of his total of six and all in Gorges du Loup. (c) Yoann Estepa How do you train? There are no shortcuts for progression, train hard, rest regularly, stay motivated, avoid injuries. Do that and you will progress. Training, up to 30 hours a week. Weightlifting and the calisthenics Monday plus Wednesday, twice a day. Tuesdays and Thursdays are dedicated to finger strength training, campusing or fingerboarding in the morning, two or three hours in climbing gym at the evening. Friday is a rest day, I spend Saturday and Sunday at the cliff all year round, I try do spend some time Sunday night on campus board. Three weeks of training, one week rest.