The young French crusher Seb Bouin was still rehabilitating an injured finger, but as you might have heard, that doesn’t stop this BD Athlete from sending 5.15. Kinder synced up with Bouin in Terradets to chat about torn pulleys, get some advice and film the Frenchman on his project, Definicion de Resistencia Democrata (5.15a).

Babsi Zangerl had a stellar trip to Siurana. While hanging at the famous El Pati sector, she onsighted her first 5.13d and then cranked two 8b+’s in one day, sending El mon de Sofia and Projeto Moro. But perhaps the coolest part of her trip is the fact that she finally booted up and tried her first 9a. A veteran of hard climbing from boulders to big walls, Babsi, believe it or not, has been saving the mythical 9a grade … until now.

Last try, best try … at least for BD Ambassador Jacopo Larcher. While projecting the uber classic La Rambla (5.15a) in Siurana, Jacopo’s time was running out. In fact, at the last possible moment—with a plane to catch in just a few hours—Jacopo hiked to the base of La Rambla, roped up, and sent in style.

Not a great quality video but worth a post considering how awesome this problem looks. Tyler Thompson on 2nd ascent of New Moon V10/11in Hope, BC at The Grid.

Awesome video featuring David Lama on the Cerro Torre.

Full movie can be seen here.

We are very pleased to announce that Dan Beland has made an ascent of Golden (5.14b) at The Cathedral near St. George, Utah. Coming off a strong January in El Salto, Mexico, Dan tried the route last week only to arrive at the top of the rig yesterday after only a few days of quick links. Congratulations Dan! No stranger to hard climbing, Dan will be on the road for the next few months and hopes to return to Squamish in June to finish off the Big Show.

Dan Beland on Golden (5.14b). Photo courtesy of Yannick Neufeld © Please do not post without permisson.

Nice video featuring Chris Sharam and Pol Roca as they hit the USA.

Great little article suggesting that climbing does not lead to an increased risk of developing osteo-arthritis and that strength of the fingers is correlated with athletic difficulty.

This study examines the osteological changes in the hands and fingers of rock climbers that result from intense, long-term mechanical stress placed on these bones. Specifically, it examines whether rock climbing leads to metacarpal and phalange modelling in the form of increased cortical thickness as well as joint changes associated with osteoarthritis. This study also attempts to identify specific climbing-related factors that may influence these changes, including climbing intensity and frequency of different styles of climbing. Radiographs of both hands were taken for each participant and were scored for radiographic signs of osteoarthritis using an atlas method. Total width and medullary width were measured directly on radiographs using digital calipers and used to calculate cross-sectional area and second moment of area based on a ring model. We compared 27 recreational rock climbers and 35 non-climbers for four measures of bone strength and dimensions (cross-sectional area, second moment of area, total width and medullary width) and osteoarthritis. A chi-squared test for independence was used to compare climber and non-climber osteoarthritis scores. For each measure of bone strength climbers and non-climbers were compared using a manova test. Significant manova tests were followed by principal components analysis (PCA) and individual anova tests performed on principal components with eigenvalues greater than one. A second PCA was performed on the climber subsample and the first principal component was then used as the dependent variable in linear regression variable selection procedures to determine which climbing-related variables affect bone thickness. The results suggest that climbers are not at an increased risk of developing osteoarthritis compared with non-climbers. Climbers, however, do have greater cross-sectional area as well as second moment of area. Greater total width, but not meduallary width, indicates that additional bone is deposited subperiosteally. The strength of the finger and hand bones are correlated with styles of climbing that emphasize athletic difficulty. Significant predictors include the highest levels achieved in bouldering and sport climbing.

For full article, please follow this link.

The video of margo Hayes sending La Rambla (5.15a) is back up and worth the wait.

Nice little video of Fabian Buhl solo redpointing Ganesha (8c) at the Sonnwendwand, Loferer Steinplatte, Austria.