The news

Numerous crags at the Grampians are at risk of closure. The Australian Climbing Association Victoria is asking climbers to submit their thoughts by Sunday 24 January 2021 to the government agency Parks Victoria against the plans which, if adopted, would ban access to about 80% of the area’s rock climbs...

South Tyrolean climber Florian Riegler has made the first ascent of Skinwalker, a difficult single-pitch trad climb on the outskirts of Bolzano.

On Saturday 9 January 2021 French paraclimber Solenne Piret made a remarkable ascent of Onde de Choc, a 7B boulder problem at Fontainebleau.

Beneath a heavy snowfall Czech rock climber Martin Stráník has made the first ascent of Teorie Tygra, an 8B+ boulder problem at Vesec in the Czech Republic.

German climbers Alexandra Schweikart and Christopher Igel have established Space Force (8a+/230m) a new multi-pitch climb in Valle Bavona, Ticino, Switzerland.

Stefano Ghisolfi has made the first ascent of Erebor at Eremo di San Paolo close to Arco. Graded 9b/+, this is currently the most difficult sport climb in Italy.

American rock climber George Whitmore has died at the age of 89. Together with Wayne Merry and Warren Harding he made the first ascent of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite in 1958.

Aris Theodoropoulos introduces Arcadia, a brilliant new crag close to Leonidio in Greece.

The video on Luca Rinaldi repeating Power of Now, the 8C boulder problem established by Giuliano Cameroni at Magic Wood in Switzerland.

Switzerland’s Cédric Lachat has climbed his seventh 9a+, Super-Crackinette at Saint Léger du Ventoux in France.

Watch the video of German climber Alexander Megos sending the 8C boulder problems Dreamtime and The Story of Two Worlds at Cresciano in Switzerland.

Today at 7.00pm the premiere of the film documenting the efforts of French climber Julia Chanourdie to become the third woman in the world to climb 9b, on Eagle-4 at Saint Léger du Ventoux in France.

Italian climber and new router Maurizio Oviglia once again focuses on the safety of climbing bolts and anchors on sport climbs in seaside environments and has launched a campaign to raise funds in order to re-bolt some marine crags in Sardinia with titanium bolts.

On Sunday 27 December at 7 pm the première of Change, the full-length film that documents the repeat of the world's first 9b+ at Flatanger in Norway. Ghisolfi will be online on youtube to answer questions.

At Black Rocks in England James Pearson has repeated the extremely dangerous gritstone testpiece Harder, Faster while his wife Caroline Ciavaldini has repeated Gaia. Pearson’s is only the third ascent in 20 years, while Ciavaldini claims the third female ascent.

German rock climber Alexander Huber frees Highway, a 30-year project established by Thomas Schäfer and Norbert Wich on Waidringer Steinplatte in Austria.