Fresh off his well publicized ascent of Jumbo Love (5.15), Chris Sharma made a brief stop in Utah’s Maple Canyon last weekend. In short order he managed to onsight T-Rex (5.14b), Divine Fury (5.14b), Whole Shot (5.13d/14a), and Toxic Turkey (5.13c) along with a few other 5.13s. Especially impressive is the beta intensive nature of the overhung climbing on these routes in the Pipe Dream Cave. They are usually climbed with a high amount of jessery (kneebars, heel-toe scums, etc.) to stave off the inevitable pump. Given his impressive fitness level, it should be interesting to see what happens when Sharma visits Rumney for this weekend’s Nor’easter festival.
On the subject of 5.14 onsights, off the top of my head I can’t think of any other 5.14 onsights done in the U.S and here Sharma has done 2 or 3 in short order. If you can think of any others, leave them in the comments.
Chris Sharma pulling down in the Pipe Dream Cave
Photo: John Evans
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