If it had ended on Saturday, Adam Ondra’s spring holiday to Spain would have already gone down as probably the best two weeks of climbing anyone has ever had. He’d already onsighted multiple 5.14c’s and done the FA of a possible 5.15a. An amazing bit of climbing by any standard that would have most of us kicking our feet up and celebrating.
buy premarin online https://langleyrx.com/dir/premarin.html no prescription
But Ondra was not done.
At Oliana on Sunday, the last day of his trip, PlanetMountain reports that Ondra did the FA of Chaxi Raxi (5.15b) after 7 days of work. The line apparently involves climbing a V14 crux near the second bolt followed by hard 5.14 climbing with good rests along the way.
buy dapoxetine online https://langleyrx.com/dir/dapoxetine.html no prescription
Not too tired, Ondra finished the trip with an onsight of Blanquita (5.14c) an hour after finishing Chaxi Raxi.
Check out PlanetMountain for the full report and a quick interview with Ondra about these ascents.
[poll id=”105″]
This kid is ridiculous lol
loading...
Nothing surprises me anymore . . . this kid is a goddamn alien and it is clear that he can climb anything he wants to. This fucker is going to onsight Realization and the crag will simply explode the moment he clips the chains.
loading...
Agreed. The only thing that would be surprising at this point was to read about him actually failing on something.
loading...
Jesus…
loading...
Ondra’s success to me emphasizes the need to treat climbing (and especially climbing goals) personally. It seems evident that there is a strong genetic component to our sport, and the meteoric rise of many climbing stars seems to evidence this. Apparently Dave Graham sent his first 5.14a within a year of climbing. This was simply not possible for me. I considered myself a great athlete, pretty fearless and committed back then, but I was struggling on 10’s. This is why I sometimes feel that training is kind of silly. If I like to climb, I should just climb, and use the added time that I could have spent training enjoying something else. There’s no reason that I should get attached to specific grades to measure myself because what someone can achieve with a certain amount of effort is so highly variable between people. So props to everyone having fun and trying hard out there, from Ondra on down 🙂
loading...
I agree that there is a clear genetic component to climbing, and I am confident I will never do anything remotely resembling this performance. I’ll never climb these routes, or probably anything else on that wall, but here’s why I still love hearing about this stuff, and pay attention to pro climbers in general:
While this is clearly a case of someone using genetic gifts that I simply do not posses, I also see someone who is pushing their own personal limits. Watching the video of his trying again and again to redpoint Golpe de Estado (screams and all) is inspiring to me because it reminds me that big breakthroughs take a lot of work and a lot of failure. Despite his inherent ability, Adam Ondra had to work his ass off for years to get where he is now, putting away thousands of pitches of climbing to hone his skills. He’s probably done more pitches of climbing, regardless of the grade, in the last 3 weeks than I have in the last couple of years. The fact that despite all of this he still seems to be improving tells me that, though everyone is going to have a final plateau at some point, most people’s theoretical limit is probably way above what they currently climb, because most people don’t devote themselves to training to reach their limits on anywhere near this level, myself included. So when I look at a boulder problem or route that seems impossible at first, I can have hope that with enough trying and training, it can become not only possible, but even easy-feeling some day.
And who can’t say that this is just straight up awesome in the sense that watching anybody, even a stranger, have a great success is somehow personally gratifying?
loading...
Does anyone else find it suspicious that Adam Ondra and Superman have never been in a picture together?
loading...
This has nothing to do with Adam Ondra but found this “deep water soloing” game online and had to post:
http://www.foddy.net/GIRP.html
loading...
You won’t do it because you believe you won’t do it mr ‘great athelete’ and i do agree goals should be personal but it basically comes down to how much you want it against how much your willing to commit.5.10 isn’t a physical limit for anyone, i know a guy with one arm climbing 7a. ‘Genetics’ is such a cop out
loading...
I don’t think I was trying to bring up a cop-out. And I never meant to imply that I think that I am a ‘great athlete’ on any universal scale. What I was saying was that 5.14a was literally impossible for me within my first year, and that it is possible for others. Many people who know me think I was diligent and passionate about climbing from the start, so I think your statement that I could have done it if I ‘tried harder’ is naive. I have since climbed grades significantly higher than 5.10, but that doesn’t mean it was all possible within the first year. I agree with Dylan’s points about being inspired. I’ve watched the Dosage films more than anyone I fear 😉
loading...
Personally, despite the obvious boost that genetics plays in one’s personal strengths, I still love training, and work hard every day to climb what I can. The harder I work on my training, the more I’ll enjoy my trips outdoors when they happen. It’s not about being THE best, so much as about being MY best.
In an on topic note… This kid’s had an unprecedented run, the latest news-feeds still haven’t sunk in to my brain-box yet.
loading...
I think the takeaway is that, while genetics certainly plays a role in how we all develop as climbers, the limiting factor for pretty much everyone, from gumbies to Ondra, is actually investment — how much you’re willing or capable to invest your time, your body, your mind, and yes, your whole life to climbing. Ondra might be blessed (and a little cursed, let’s be serious) with monkey genes, but the reason he’s gotten this far is because of how much his life revolves around climbing. I, on the other hand, might be cursed (and a little blessed, I guess?) with genes that make me crave buffalo chicken pizza and beer, but the main reason I’m not climbing 5.13s right now is because… well because I’m posting on the internet about climbing instead of actually climbing! And this just got weirdly meta, because I’m actually going to the climbing gym now, and I’ll probably be wearing jeans which might be holding me back (because they’re not very elastic/I haven’t invested enough time into stretching them out yet).
loading...
Daustin’s right….investment is the name of the game…
The reason the Huber’s and Nicole’s and Raboutou’s and Vijdmar’s and Traversi’s and other pedigrees produce such strong climbers primarily involves, not their bloodline, but their dedication to the sport. Each of their stories involves discovering climbing at a young age and the sport/activity/lifestyle/passion enveloping them completely (I submit DG is a freak…obviously the best kind)…I think it’s only when you’re consumed and committed for so long, that progression is magnified to the bounds we see today…
Bisharat sorta talked about this when he said, “This weekend, I saw a 5-year-old in the gym in Boulder running laps on 5.10s. He was back-stepping, matching feet, and otherwise exhibiting flawless technique. Aside from a few people like Chris Lindner, we’re still awaiting for the emergence of an entire generation of people who have been rock climbing since birth. Without exaggeration, in fewer than 20 years, I believe that 5.15 is going to be a warm-up, and that 5.14 will be the new 5.12–the grade that “average” people can work toward and attain.”
Interestingly he also notes,
“When someone comes along with Chris Sharma’s belief in himself, Dave Graham’s genetics and technique, and Wolfgang Gullich’s dedication to training, then things will be pushed closer to the limit of what’s possible. It sounds like Adam Ondra may be the guy who possesses this rare cocktail.”
…funny to see Daustin reppin’ Ondra, instead of tellin him to ‘grow the f@#k up’
loading...
Fantastic stuff, and it’s true… the kid obviously has the motivation/belief, and the awesome-gene. While we haven’t seen reports of him training like a masochist, he really hasn’t seemed to be challenged yet, and that’s what usually pushes climbers to train hard.
loading...
He has almost 1,000 rotues now on his scorecard (most 5.13b and up) so not only is he gifted he’s been out there getting things done as you say
loading...
Don’t forget that Ondra is 5 yers past puberty, and his wailings make that assumption debatable. I am not saying he isn’t the cutting edge of the sport, but the ability to heal tendons and maintain 5% body fat and to continue to build muscle at a fast rate is the result of the that narrow window of life called being a teenager.
How many competitive 30 year old gymnasts are there? yep, few. why? it is a sport for when you are 18 for ‘men’, and 13 for ‘women’.
Climbing is getting to be the same way. I am more impressed by a 40 year old climbing 5,14 than I am some random, well-trained teenager. … and yes, I am 40.
loading...
“build muscle” are you seriously using this in reference to Adam Ondra??? LOL!
loading...
Two thoughts…
First, all this talk of genetics has be thinking, I read that Ondra has a negative ape index and is a pretty average height (for a girl) which makes me wonder when women will be climbing 5.15 sport. My gut tells me the Narc will be doing some posts about this in only a couple years. Ondra has blown the lid off the tried and true genetics excusses (ie all hard climbers have +4 ape and 6’2″ like sharma et.al.) When the young women of climbing begin bolting their own projects or going after undone projects that strongmen have failed on (…meltdown) I believe the disparity of male and female grades might disappear altogether.
Second, I wonder how much of Ondra’s uber-strength on limestone would translate to other styles of climbing. Enzo Oddo’s recent exploits in the US plus his accent of Biographie proves his is an all-arounder for the next generation. If Ondra make a trip state-side where would you like to see him go? Vegas? RRG? Heuco? Florida? lol
loading...
the valley OR indian creek, with a rack of cams =)
loading...
He has proven himself on a pretty wide variety of styles of climbing both sport and bouldering already so I’m not sure there is much to slow him down, especially here in the States. Perhaps at a jessery-intensive area like Rifle it might take him a bit to figure things out, but at a place like the RRG I’m think he’d be able to onisight just about any route there that he tried.
loading...
No doubt Ondra would onsight everthing in sight at RRG. If he went to Colorado would he flash some of the new testpieces in the park? My gut instinct says yes, but it is fun to think about. Much of the limestone he climbed in the last two weeks looks somewhat similar and with Ondra climbing hundreds of high-end limestone routes, it’s as if he already knows exactly how a route will climb even on the onsight. I know if I climbed that much of one kind of rock that I would be much stronger in that style.
loading...
No doubt Ondra would onsight everthing in sight at RRG. If he went to Colorado would he flash some of the new testpieces in the park? My gut instinct says yes, but it is fun to think about. Much of the limestone he climbed in the last two weeks looks somewhat similar and with Ondra climbing hundreds of high-end limestone routes, it’s as if he already knows exactly how a route will climb even on the onsight. I know if I climbed that much of one kind of rock that I would be much stronger in that style.
loading...
Haha this was a pretty astute prediction, Narc
loading...
Thanks for noticing 🙂
loading...
OK, now I’m sure that his bones are hollow and he drinks helium instead of water.
loading...