Grades are important for selecting your challenges and to measure real progress. At the same time, many climbers want to stay away from personal gradings as it sometimes create polemics. Time Comparison Grading (TCG) can be used as a grade reference for both the guys who want to share or stay away from personal grades. If the prerequisites are the same when it comes to; Beta, Style, Condition and Form, one could speculate that there are one grade step in between; Onsight, Flash, 1, 4 or 30 sessions invested, see the TCG diagram. There are of course many exceptions and some climbers have a more steep or flat performance curve, also depending on type of rock. Once you have done a personal best you should be able to enjoy personal best' in all other Time/Effort categories. TCG is the base 8a have used when we have speculated on both down - and upgradings over the years and it might be the best way to explain how gradings work in practice. Please feel free to share your opinion.

Three weeks ago, Jakob Schubert ripped a pulley when he was flashing Nagual 8B in Hueco Tanks. His plan plan is to start climbing easy again next week and he hopes to be back 100 % after another two weeks. "The goal is now to make the other pulleys stronger so they take the function of the ripped one, which will probably stay ripped forever. After a while the other pulleys should be strong enough and it doesn't matter that there is one pulley less. That's how they treat a pulley rupture nowadays." Prior to the 8B flash, the #2 in both the Lead and Boulder WC last year, had over just 2.5 days of bouldering done six 8A+ and flashed three 8A's, including several personal grades. Jakob plans to do all Lead WC's and some Boulder WC's in 2014.

José Luis Palao 'Primo' (pic with him on 'Digital System' ©Christian Checa) trained for a week under Patxi Usobiaga's advice in order to get the power-endurance needed for his projects in Sta. Linya and it was well worth it cause he quickly sent two hardcore routes there: Analógica Natural (8c+/9a in the topo) and Fabela pa la Enmienda (9a in the topo), both 8c+/9a in his opinion. We had a short chat with him in this interview in Spanish. A month ago, the strong woman with an eternal smile in her face, Raquel Hernández (pic© Eudald Ros), sent her first 8c, Fish Eye in Oliana. In the Spanish site we had a great, long interview with her decorated with beautiful pics, where she, amongst other things, tells us that the process was a "story of patience and self-improvement" with an unexpected setback in the middle which forced her to "completely stop climbing and start from zero level."

Santoku - Ticino Bouldering from Marina Cotting on Vimeo.

IFSChas had their 9th Plenary Assembly and informs that the World Championships 2016 and 2018 will take place in Paris and Innsbruck. This means that the event for the fourth and fifth time in a row will be held in Europe. IFSC has also rechanged the dates for the Youth World Championship to September 20-24 in New Caledonia. This will be the third in a row outside Europe and it means that most competitors will have to take at least 1.5 week leave from school.

Isabelle Faus has done Trice in Flagstaff which has been considered the first 8A+ in the world established by Jim Holloway in 1975. Here is an 8a article about the legend. Carlo Traversi did the second ascent in 2007. Isabelle (20) has previoulsy done one 8A+ and six 8A's, the first one being 16 years old. Last year, she was #25 in the Vail Boulder World Cup.

Here is a list of all the boulders with 30 ascents and more between 6A+ and 7A that have the highest star quality average. Almost all are found in USA which Bishop as the most frequented area and only one boulder is found in Fontainebleu. Check the comment for the full list down to 2.1 stars. 7 Bishop 3 Hueco Tanks, Yosemite, 2 Chironico, Cresciano, Joe's Valley 2.5 Trick or Treat 7A HP 40 2.4 JBMFP 6C Joshua Tree, Sign of the Cross 6A+ Hueco Tanks, Drone Militia 7A Bishop, 2.2 Suspended in Silence 6C Bishop, Viper 6C+ Bishop, Cocaine corner 6C Yosemite, Pinch Overhang 6C Horsetooth, Das Auge des Waldes 6B+ Zillertal, Fight or Flight 6B Hueco Tanks

Kleman Becan has written a nice blog about his FA of Water World 9a in Osp. Klemen bolted it almost two years ago and at first he could only do two of the first 30 moves which is followed by a 30 m 8b. Than the rain come creating a small lake under so he had to go by boat or tyrolean traverse to the route. The Slovenian has been a successful competition climber since 1996 having won one Lead World Cup and been #2 in two Boulder WC's.

Francis Sanzaro, who has published A Philosophy for Bouldering (Stone Country Press, 2013), shares his thoughts on what kind of boulders will be the first graded 9A. What do you think? "Are the hardest boulders the ones not with a specific style, but with many styles "within" a problem? I wager that those who are able to climb at the limit of their style and also work on their practice until they can climb at the limit in their non-style, will send the first 9A. It is this type of problem that will see fewer repeats than the problem which gets worked on for years by someone, since being able to have no style is more difficult than working your style to the limit.

Ramon Julian has after six tries over three days done Power Inverter 9a+ in Oliana which was open by Chris Sharma in 2010. In total, the 159 cm tall, has done ten 9a+ during the last eleven years and he has won 20 World Cups including one Euro and two World Champions. Combining rock and competitions, Ramonet has been the most successful climber the last 12 years.