The news

Last week Andreas Proft from Germany climbed the route Path of Excess Power 8a+ at Echo Valley, Spain, without a rope and barefoot.

Daniel Woods has carried out the first ascent of The Game V16/Fb8C+ at Boulder Canyon, Colorado, USA.

Almost unreal winter conditions in the Slovenian Alps have resulted in a flurry of interesting ascents. Slovenian alpinist Andrej Grmovšek provides the report.

On 04/02/2010 Alessandro Beber and Peter Moser carried out the first ascent of La Bella Addormentata (170m, 6+) in Valsugana, Northern Italy

Ellade Ossola interviews Swiss alpinist and mountain guide Simon Anthamatten, a key player in the mountaineering world with important ascents to his name which have their roots in his desire to maintain an "independent" alpinism.

Italian alpinist Claudio Corti died during the night of 3 February at the age of 81 at his home in Lecco. He will be remembered as a member of the Gruppo Ragni della Grignetta but also as a man who knew how to tackle great tests, both in the mountains...

Last weekend Dave Birkett climbed what is being hailed as one of the most important new winter routes in Britain's Lake District for the last quarter of a century, Never Ever Say Never VIII 8 or E7 5c on Scafell's East Buttress.

Diary extract and interview with Hansjörg Auer after the first ascent of Waiting for Godot, Central Tower Torres del Paine, Patagonia, carried out with Much Mayr from Austria.

The strong Italian climber Enrico Baistrocchi has managed the first repeat of the boudlery Oniyx 8c, first ascended by Markus Bock at Chironico, Switzerland. Massimo Malpezzi has the story.

Will Gadd from Canada teamed up with Tim Emmett from Britain to carry out the first ascent of Spray On, a 30m ice climb at the Helmcken Falls they tentatively graded WI10.

Centercourt, the new extreme testpiece first climbed by Albert Leichtfried and Benedikt Purner at the start of Janauary, has been repeated twice, by the Slovenians Aljaz Anderle and Klemen Premrl and the Austrians Rudolf Hauser and Helmut Holleis.

In mid-January Renan Ozturk (USA) and Cory Richards (CAN) carried out the first ascent of the Central South Buttress of Tawoche (Khumbu Valley, Nepal) in alpine style (1200m ED2 VI 5.10 M4/5).

A selection of ice climbs in Valle di Tures, South Tyrol, Italy

Hansjörg Auer and Much Mayr have recently returned from their trip to Patagonia where despite terrible weather conditions they managed to forge "Waiting for Godot" (750m, 7b) along the East Face of Central Tower to the Col which separates the Central and North Tower.

Last December the South Tyroleans Florian Riegler, Hannes Lehmyer and Tamara Lunger carried out the first ascent of Gratta e vinci (120m, M10, WI 5) at the Passo delle Pedale/Mendola. On 21/12/09 Florian and his brother Martin made the first redpoint ascent.

Reinhold Messner, his life and alpinism beyond the 8000m peaks. Interview by Erminio Ferrari and Ellade Ossola.