The news

On 28 December 2016 the President of the United States Barack Obama established the Bears Ears National Monument. This proclamation permanently protects a region which includes Indian Creek, Lockhart Basin, Arch Canyon, Texas Canyon, and many other sandstone climbing areas and is the first bill that specifically acknowledges rock climbing...

At the Spanish crag Oliana Jakob Schubert has repeated Joe Mama, a 9a+ sports climb freed by Klemen Bečan.

Climbing video: Alexander Luger making the first ascent of The Gift (8c, 350m) on the Drusenfluh the Rätikon massif in Austria in 2015.

Alessio Tait introduces the stunning crag Malga Spora at Croz of Giovan. Another little sport climbing gem in the Brenta Dolomites.

The video of British rock climber Ned Feehally climbing Ned Zepplin at the Roaches, one of the UK's hardest mantels.

Big wall climbing: interview with South Tyrol’s Jacopo Larcher who last autumn, together with Barbara Zangerl made the third free ascent of Free Zodiac up the SE Face of El Capitan, Yosemite.

Italian rock climber Gabriele Moroni has repeated the famous highball boulder problem Ambrosia at Buttermilks, Bishop, USA.

Italian climber Stefano Ghisolfi has made the first ascent of Ultimatum, a 9a+ sports climb at Massone, Arco.

Twin Caves, one of the best sport climbing crags at Leonidio in Greece. Presented by Vertical-Life.info as part of our series 'Crags for each season', for which the routes and topos can be downloaded free of charge until Wednesday.

On 7 December 2016 Maurizio Manolo Zanolla, belayed by Daniele Lira shortly before his 59th birthday, made the second ascent and first repeat of Il Mattino dei Maghi, the legendary climb first ascended in 1981 by Manolo at the crag Totoga (Pale di San Martino, Dolomites) and, until now, unrepeated.

The report about the first Leonidio Climbing Festival that took place from 10 - 13 November and attracted 300 participants to this area in the Greece's Peloponnese.

The film Orbayu featuring Swiss climbers Nina Caprez and Cédric Lachat and their attempts to repeat Orbayu (8c, 500m) up Naranjo de Bulnes, Picos de Europa, Spain.

Valdo Chilese reports about the highball boulder problem Rokaloka (8A+), first ascended last September on the Orkaloka boulder in Valle di Daone, Italy.

At Fontainebleau in France Melissa Le Nevé has sent her first 8B boulder problem while Charles Albert, climbing barefoot, has made the first ascent of the 8C problem La révolutionnaire.

The first footage of Adam Ondra making the second free ascent of Dawn Wall, the hardest big wall rock climb in the world repeated by the Czech climber from 14 to 21 November 2016.

The trailer for Blocheads, the award-winning documentary produced by Alastair Lee tracing the history and development of bouldering in Great Britain.