Routes as sport in World

First 9c of the world. The climb begins with 20 meters of sustained 8b climbing to a knee-bar rest, before entering a 10-move 8C crux with some V13 and V9 cruxes towards the anchor.

video of the FA

La Dura Dura means 'The Hard Hard', named as such because it was then regarded as one of the hardest rock climb in the world by non other that Chris Sharma .

Chris tried the routes for years, describing it as "horrifyingly" difficult and perhaps "not for me", until he invited Adam to try. They figured new beta together and the route was finally freed by Adam Ondra in February 2013, the second 9b+ at the time (after Change 9b+ in Flatanger, also freed by Ondra)

Chris Sharma and Adam Ondra regard it as being slightly harder than Change. No other climber has managed to repeat it yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1P97VVt6_k

Ascents

:

• Adam Ondra - 7 Feb 2013
• Chris Sharma - 23 March 2013

The route is 45-degrees overhanging with a boulder problem to pull over into the final slab. 25 moves of 8c+ to reach a poor rest. Then 10 moves to reach the crux: a jump from a mono to a big pinch. Afterwards endurance 8b+ with few rests. Yellow rock at the bottom that goes to white and at the top it is grey.

Ascents

• Adam Ondra - 20 October 2013
• Seb Bouin - 18 June 2019

First 9b+ of the world.

An 8c section (the "approach walk") is followed by an almost blank 50° overhanging sequence that gave the route its name ("Adam's rage" because Adam Ondra came to try but could not decipher the beta).

The boulder problem is then followed by an easier 8b .

It took 5 years, on and off, for Seb to free the route. This first ascent comes just a few months after Seb repeated Move (Flatanger), another 9b/+. Checkout the video of his journey to climb this route.

According to Sachi Amma, the crux part is really bouldery and reachy. It is V14/8b+ for me. But it can be V13/8b or V15/8c by physique and ability.

CANADAS FIRST 5.15! Which took Megos 7-8 visits to Ravens for. Easy to spot walking into the crag, as the streaked nature of the line, makes it look like a massive, silver lighting bolt, into the cliff. Extremely delicate moves off micro holds, that look like nothing but dimples of limestone, go up the stunning, sharp streaked prow. The extension above the Orginal Prow Project that was bolted by Peter Arbic. Sonnie Trotter added 10 bolts creating Alex Megos' insane and mega steep, test piece. Another hard Boulder problem (Vhard) consisting of bad slopping dimples and tiny beyond micro-edges and a mad dash to the anchor!

The direct start to The Unknown Stunt Man. To say this route has footholds as hand holds is a massive understatement! The foot-hand match crux spat Ondra off close to 20times. Hard 15b apparently

Britain's first 9b!

This is a linkup of four routes. The line starts with Raindogs (5.13b), moves onto and through the crux of Rainshadow (5.14d), onto Batman (5.14d/5.15a) and then finishes up on Batroute (5.14b).

Ends at the second anchor.

The line contains the first 8m of 'Le Roi Lézard' (8c+) until a rather bad rest (8b/8b+ up to there). Then turns right into the 8B crux of 'Des Scènes Bizarres dans la Mine d'Or' (9a+) and finally adds a “new” last 8A+ jump that results from a broken hold. To be finished into some meters of 7b+. * Source lizardclimbing.com

Variant of 'La cène du lézard'. Start by 'Focus Pocus'.

Meoise is a route that Pirmin Bertle created from the combination of the hardest sections of Chromosome X and Chromosome Y. Repeated by Adam Ondra on 27-Jan-2018. He also proposes to downgrade it to 9a+.

A combination of Bain de Sang and Bimbaluna. Maybe one of the hardest slabs in the world.

Described by Jon Siegrist as "Absolutely incredible route with no place to hide. Resistant like hell."

The route links a section of 8c into a steep and crimpy upper half to create a 45-meter endurance test-piece.

It was the first 9b to be freed by a female climber.

Ascents

• Adam Ondra - 22 April 2011
• Jakob Schubert - 9 January 2016
• Angy Eiter - 22 October 2017 - first 9b by a female climber
• Jonathan Siegrist - 6 May 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmfkrjlsFzU

Apocalypto with its 25m extension in the middle of the cave.

A 60 meters long endurance challenge that connects three routes. 'Pata Negra' at the beginning, the crux of 'No pain no gain' and ends at the lower off of 'Botanics'.

Downgrade to 9a+ proposed by Sébastien Bouin .

The second extension of Ataxia.

The route has a first part made of 25 very sustained movements graded 9a+, followed by a second 8c part with 12 movements including a dyno.

A knee bar has been found in the first crux (the sequence was downgraded from 8a to 7c+), however a hold has broken higher up on the dyno which makes it significantly harder to throw. All in all the route is still considered 9b

Ascents

• Chris Scharma - 7 May 2011
• Adam Ondra
• Jakob Schubert
• Sachi Amma
• Piotr Schab

This route connects Pachamama 9a+ and Papichulo 9a+ and was described by Adam Ondra as demanding "incredible power endurance without any rest."

Initially this connection seemed utterly extreme - perhaps even 9b+ like neighbouring Dura Dura freed by Ondra in 2013 - but was then rendered more "humane" when Ondra discovered a new sequence to get across the traverse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVlGxVE_0uc

Ascents

:

• Adam Ondra - 8 Feb 2017
• Seb Bouin - 16 April 2019

An alternative start to to La Fabela but with the same first anchor (where there is also a good rest). The second part is the same as "La Fabela pa la Enmienda", linked it is called Catxasa R2.

Same start and same end as "Mercenaris del Passat". There is also a variant with a different finish, equipped by Chris Sharma.

First repeat by Adam Ondra, Feb-2016

Repeats by Adam Ondra, Alex Megos, Stefano Ghisolfi.

Repeats by Stefano Ghisolfi (13/01/2018) and Daniel Woods (25/02/2018).

Direct start of Estado Critico.

A "hard and beautiful" king line test piece put up by Chris Sharma. Originally graded 9b+, J. Schubert has suggested it could be a hard 9a+. Felipe seemed to confirm the 9b grade.

Ascents:

• Chris Sharma - 7 March 2015
• Jakob Schubert - 2 December 2018
• Felipe Camargo - 18 April 2019

FA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk4YrOtVTLg

The route is a connection of two established 8c+: Starting to the left of Za staro kolo in majhnega psa from a separate bolt, the line traverses right and leads into the upper section of Sanjski par.

Extremely physical and athletic at the beginning, extremely crimpy and core oriented at the same time.

links Move into the second, 8b crux of Project Hard

A start variant of 'One Punch'.

Starts with Noi and finishes some 70 moves later on Anaconda. Repeated by Adam Ondra.

This route would be the 3rd 9b in France if you count Akira and C.R.S.

Ondra tried the route for six days and sent it on the 3rd go of the day after falling just below the top on the previous try.

FA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTjZ2JHJDJo

An exit variation of 'Le poisson pilote'.

A controversial route which has been unrepeated to this day.

When it was put up in 1995 by Fred, only a handful of 9a (Action Directe, Bain de Sang, Om and Hugh) had been freed,9a+ was still a few years away, and Fred was an unknown climber on the international scene. The grading of this route, a long roof problem that can be bouldered, leading to an easier face, was met with a lot of skepticism.

Alex Huber said that Fred wasn't experienced enough to grade a route this hard. Ben Moon said that the 9a wasn't even established yet. Some said the route had been manufactured and that the holds had been filed after the ascent to make any repeat harder (a claim later debunked). Jibe Tribout explained that Fred was using very powerful and unorthodox methods but that some easier beta existed and would likely lead to a downgrade.

Yet nobody has been able to repeat Fred's ascent (which he worked for 3 months and was only witnessed by his wife/belayer but which Pete Ward and Tim Kemple from Climbing Magazine say is credible). Is it because of its manufactured reputation? Because the boulder problem is sketchy? Because the climb is in an area where there's not much else to climb?

A few well known climbers have tried the line such as Dani Andrada and Jibe Tribout but none have been able to snatched the second ascent. So go and try it...if you can!

C.R.S stands for "Cowboy a Reaction Stupide" (Cowboys reacting stupidly) and is also the acronym for the anti-protest French forces, not really known for their brain power.

For such a short route, only 22m, the route must pack a punch!

Adam says “The style is definitely power resistance. There’s a very physical roof on pinches and pockets leading to a very crimpy exit on the final bulge"

It took Adam 3 days to work the route and at the time was his fastest 9b ascent.

FA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yYV9yASRBI

A pure resistance route.

Repeated by Adam Ondra 13-Apr-2011

As Iker Pou describes it: "a perfect roof, well not quite perfect, because it even descends, about 20 meters long across a series of pockets. A authentic ‘fiesta’ of monodoits and two-finger pockets across a roof that is scary just to look at." The climbing is obviously ferocious and extremely physical: "Very few footholds, and those that exist are very bad so you have to constantly dyno them from one pocket to the next."

Nicknamed the French Chilam Balam for its length and sustained difficulty.

The route was bolted in the late nineties and is made of two parts: The first part (added later) is the extension start. The second part is the original "Les yeux plus gros que le ventre" (which means having eyes bigger than belly).

Description

:

The first roof part is around 20-25 meters and weighs in around 8b+. After you reach a good rest and you can change your rope.

Then you have a bouldery crux featuring a one finger pocket to reach another rest. Until here it could be an 8c route.

Then there is one resistant 9a to do. This 9a part is starting with big tufas, and after this a series of bouldery sections: 7A, 7A, 7C+/8A and finally a 7B.

All these boulder problems are amazing. Especially the redpoint crux of the route in the 7C+/8A boulder. There are incredible moves to finish on a tufa dyno.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUX3ORVKjfk

One of Britain’s most famous multi-pitch rock climb.

First 5.15 in Japan.

A more direct exit of Ace of Spade.

Originally by Dave Graham graded as 5.14b, two key holds broke off making it considerably harder, thus the II.

the most difficult route in China as 2019

Repeated by Adam Ondra in 2012.

Extension traverse of Pedigree Chum.

Slightly overhanging wall with poor pockets and a dyno before the rest.

Climbed by Josune Bereziartu (2005).

Downgrade to 9a proposed by Sébastien Bouin .

Starts with an 8B boulder and ends in Ali Hulk.

Connects 'Seta Negra' and 'Circo Ibérico'

A powerful, mostly traversing route.

Ignacio Mulero, 2nd ascensionist, grades it at 8c+/9a.

Extension of Ataxia.