In July, 2001, Chris Sharma made the first ascent of Realization (AKA Biographie), the world's first confirmed 5.15 (9a+), in Ceuse, France. This short film shows the process he went through trying the route for many weeks over several trips, and the actual footage of the historic first ascent.

Following on from Greg’s review of the popular Evolv Bandit Lace I’ve also been testing out the Bandit in its more recent guise – the Bandit SC. How would this shoe weigh up in the crowded all-rounder market? As Velcro is a trade name, and isn’t actually used on these shoes Evolv can’t call it the Bandit Velcro, so SC stands for...

Evolv have brought out an update to their popular Optimus Prime shoe – the new version being known simply as the Prime SC [strap closure]. Having had a pair of the previous incarnation – and liked them so much they became one of my main shoes for bouldering and trad climbing – I was keen to see how the new Prime performed. 

This is the 2nd update for use with Scottish Rock Volume 1 by Garry Latter. There are some completely new crags and some additions to existing crags. Erraid offers some of the best granite outcrop climbing and bouldering in the UK.

This is a short video of a recent bouldering trip to the magical Fontainebleau forest. I've made several trips to Font and it never fails to amaze me, the sheer volume of rock always comes as a surprise. Add this to the setting, one of the most beautiful forests in Europe, and it becomes very difficult to beat.

I was looking for something different; nothing too frightening, well bolted routes with a good range of grades in a scenic location and, reasonably quiet. Too much to ask? Sicily didn’t disappoint. It is a mid grade paradise with hundreds of perfectly bolted lines in a beautiful coastal setting.

As with many subjects, there's an absolute wealth of information available on the internet on how to keep your skin in primo condition for rock climbing. However I believe that much of this advice is a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Being a believer that prevention is better than cure I've laid out some top tips to keep your fingers primed for crushing.

Ueli takes Jonathan Griffith through a few of his thoughts on climbing, along with some video of his normal training life to high mountain escapades, hard mixed, and ice climbing.

With a flat profile, semi asymmetrical last and medium level of rigidity the Bandit Lace embodies the all-round rock shoe. Having quite a broad forefoot, I did find the toe box a bit narrower than is the average and as such it did pinch a little straight out of the box. Fortunately however, due to a fairly soft compromising upper the shoe does give pretty rapidly, and after just one full session down the wall...