The video of Mission to Mars at Helmcken Falls in Canada, established earlier this month by Tim Emmett and Klemen Premrl. This is the first climb ever to be graded WI 13 and as such checks in as the hardest ice climb in the world.
The video of American climber James Webb who made the first repeat of Off the Wagon sit, the 8C+/V16 boulder problem freed by Shawn Raboutou in Val Bavona, Switzerland in 2018.
French mountain guide Arnaud Petit and Jonathan Crison have led a young FFME expedition to Jordan where they established a new route up Jebel Rum in the Wadi Rum massif. Voie du Coeur (430m, 7c+ max, 7b obligatory) was first ascended with Eline Le Menestrel, Solène Amoros, Eloi Peretti, Romaric Geffroy, Guillaume Colin and Thoma Meignan
From 24 to 25 February the South Tyrolean mountaineer Simon Gietl carried out a winter crossing of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo on his own, linking Cima Ovest, Cima Grande, Cima Piccola, Punta di Frida and Cima Piccolissima.
Italian mountaineer Matteo Della Bordella reports about his repeat with Matteo Bernasconi and Matteo Pasquetto of the 40º Gruppo Ragni di Lecco climb on the north face of Aguja Poincenot in Patagonia, established in 1986 by Mario Panzeri, Paolo Vitali, Marco Della Santa and Daniele Bosisio. While this is likely to be the first repeat, it was certainly a great 800m adventure up 'a fantastic route', climbed all free and onsight.
Buildering in Scotland: after the first ascent of a hand crack below a bridge in Edinburgh, Robbie Philips has now returned to make a free solo ascent.
American climber Jonathan Siegrist has made the first ascent of One Hundred Proof, a 9a+ sports climb at Mount Potosi above Las Vegas in Nevada, USA.
Three videos from the first European Lead and Speed Climbing Championships, held in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1992.
On 9 February 2020 Julien Herry and Yannick Boissenot made what is likely to be the first ski and snowboard descent of the Boeuf - Sara couloir on Aiguille du Peigne in the Mont Blanc massif. Herry reports.
Winter mountaineering in the Zoldo Dolomites: on Rocchetta Alta di Bosconero the mountaineers Mirco Grasso and Alvaro Lafuente have made the first ascent of Apus, a mixed route that shares the first 5 pitches of Madre Tierra then ascends an evident gully all the way to the summit. Grasso reports
On Aguja Standhardt in Patagonia Belgian climbers Nico Favresse and Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll have made the first ascent the mixed climb El Flechazo (850m, 7b, M3, WI5+).
Interview with 29-year-old German mountaineer Fabian Buhl who on 7 February flew off Cerro Torre in Patagonia with his paraglider.
American rock climber Brittany Goris has made the first female ascent of Stingray 5.13d at Joshua Tree, USA.
Scottish mountaineer Greg Boswell reports about his winter climbing trip with France's Jeff Mercier to the Lofoten area in Norway which resulted in a series of new ice and mixed climbs.
Brette Harrington, Quentin Roberts and Horacio Gratton have completed Marc-Andre’s Visión, a new route up the East Face of Torre Egger in Patagonia envisaged in 2016 by the late Marc-André Leclerc.
As a precautionary measure the IFSC (International Federation of Sport Climbing) has announced that following the Coronavirus outbreak the sport climbing World Cups due to take place at Chongqing and Wujiang in April have been rescheduled.
The video of Vadim Timonov and Irina Kuzmenko climbing some of the most difficult boulder problems in Switzerland. Stand out ascents include Dreamtime 8C at Cresciano and Off the Wagon 8B+ second go in Val Bavona.
On the north face of the Aguja Standhardt in Patagonia the Italian alpinists Matteo Bernasconi, Matteo Della Bordella and Matteo Pasquetto have established Il dado è tratto. The new route provides 'spectacular' climbing. Della Bordella reports directly from El Chalten.
The video of Fabian Buhl paragliding off the summit of Cerro Torre in Patagonia on 7 February 2020.
At the Helmcken Falls in Canada Tim Emmett and Klemen Premrl have made the first ascent of Mission To Mars, a hugely overhanging ice climb they have graded WI 13.
