Chris Sharma - Notable Ascents

Notable Ascents

• Necessary Evil (5.14c).

• The Mandala (V12). First Ascent, February 2000. Several holds have broken since Chris climbed the Mandala, including the crux holds. These changes have made the problem considerably easier, and it has been widely speculated that when the problem was first climbed, the grade was closer to V14.

• Realization (5.15a) / Biographie (9a+). First Ascent, July 2001. Heralded as the world's first 5.15a upon completion.

• Practice of the Wild (8C). First Ascent, August 2004. Repeated by Tyler Landman, Daniel Woods and Adam Ondra.

• Witness the Fitness (V15). First ascent, March 2005. A 40-foot roof (12 m) problem in the Ozarks. Repeated by Fred Nicole. (Broken and maybe unclimbable.)

• Dreamcatcher (5.14d). First Ascent. A granite route on the Cacodemon boulder in Squamish, British Columbia. The route starts on a technical slab that wedges the climber against the start of the overhang. Then a dyno to a sloping rail leads to a bouldery traverse across slopers and incut crimps. The crux of the route comes at the end with a deadpoint to slopers and a jug. Repeated by Sean McColl in 2009.

• Es Pontas. First ascent, September 26, 2007. A deep water solo in Mallorca, Spain, it features a 7-foot dyno (2.1 m) that took Sharma over 50 attempts to stick. This climb, featured prominently in the movie King Lines, remains unrepeated, and is speculated at around 9a+.

• Papichulo (9a+). First ascent. 45m route starting with four-bolt 5.13d to no-hands rest followed by continuous difficult climbing on blue limestone in Oliana, Spain.

• Jumbo Love (5.15b). First Ascent, September 11, 2008. First featured in the film King Lines as an unfinished line at Clark Mountain, this route is 250 ft long (76 m), and thought to be at least 5.15b. Sharma has called it his hardest ascent to date. In climbing it, he skipped up to three clips in a row due to the difficult sequences, which resulted in falls of 70 ft (21 m) or more. Unrepeated.

• Golpe de Estado (9b). First Ascent, December 17, 2008. Golpe de Estado (Siurana, Spain) is a direct version of Estado Critico (5.14c/d), linking a 5.14d start into 5.14c climbing with a poor rest in between. Repeated by Adam Ondra March 2010.

• Demencia Senil (9a+?). First Ascent, February 20, 2009. (Margalef, Spain). Repeated by Iker Pou Jan 2010, Ramon Julian Puigblanque Oct 2010.

• French Gangster (8c/5.14b). Onsight without chipped hold, possibly harder? Originally named American Gangster but renamed as a reference to Michael Fuselier, the French climber who allegedly chipped the hold. Hardest Route in China at the time.

• Pachamama (9a+/5.15a). First Ascent.

• Neanderthal (9b/5.15b). First Ascent, December 18, 2009.

• First Ley (9a+) in Margalef. First Ascent.

• Era Vella (9a/5.14d) in Margalef. First Ascent.

• Power Inverter (9a+/5.15a). First Ascent, December 2010 (Oliana, Spain).

• Catxasa (9a+/5.15a). First Ascent, January 2011 (Santa Linya, Spain).

• First Round First Minute (at least 9b, grade still to be confirmed). First Ascent, April 2011 (Margalef, Spain).

• Fight or Flight (9b). First Ascent, May 2011 (Oliana, Spain).