The news

On 18/12/2009 Chris Sharma made the first ascent of Neanderthal 9b at Santa Linya, Spain.

Paolo Tassi and the joy of skiing: skiing freely between the emotions of art which renews itsself with each snowfall.

Located close to picturesque Ascoli Piceno, with over 100 routes San Giorgio is a little rock climbing gem in central Italy.

After 10 years of trying the Italian climber Sandro Neri has managed to repeat Emicrania 8b at Ceresera (Belluno).

Dave Macleod analyses his ascent of Echo Wall on Ben Nevis. Climbed in July 2008, this terrifying route represented a new level of trad climbing for the 29 year old Scottish climber.

British alpinist and journalist Ian Parnell remembers Guy Lacelle from Canada, one of the world's leading ice climbers who died in an avalanche last Thursday in Hyalite Canyon, Montana, Canada.

This autumn Italian climber Mario Prinoth discovered, bolted and freed The Search, a 35m line up the smooth limestone face close to Capanna Bill on the Marmolada, Dolomites.

On 28/11/2009 the Danish climbers Kristoffer Szilas and Martin Ploug reached the summit of the hiterhto unclimbed Ren Zhong Feng (5800m) in the Sichuan range in China via their route Lost to Ice (TD: M4, WI4, 1300m). During that period four Hungarian climbers went missing on the same mountain.

A pleasant little crag above Positano, on the Amalfi coast, Italy, with fifteen pitches from 6a to 8a.

Albert Leichtfried and Benedikt Purner have carried out the first ascent Moonwalk WI6/M7, at 1000m the longest icefall in Austria.

Hansjörg Auer has carried out the first free ascent of Vogelfrei (8b/8b+ 400m), on the South Face of the Schüsselkarspitze, Austria.

British climber Stevie Haston has made a flash ascent of Greenspit in Valle del Orco, Italy

From 20 - 22 November the Italians Enrico Bonino, Nicolas Meli and Francesco Cantù carried out the first ascent of "Ramri Keti" (1100m, WI5+/M7/5a) up the North Face of Hama Jomjuma (5970m, Khumbu, Nepal).

Austrian Mountain Guide Albert Leichtfried has made the first ascent of La lingua pura (7c, 6c oblig, 200m) on the North Face of Monte Monaco close to San Vito lo Capo in Sicily, Italy, together with Paul Mair.

One of the most important bouldering areas in Europe is located close to the small village of Targassonne in the French Pyrenees. Electra Brunialti and Enea Colnago introduce these beautiful granite boulders.

Polish climber Mateusz Haladaj has repeated Erfolg ist trainierbar reclimbed 9a at the Adlitzgraeben in Austria and Los Inconformistas 9a at Rodellar, Spain.