New 5.15 From Chris Sharma In Spain

Posted March 9, 2015 at 6:16 am · Comments { 11 } · Photo: Chris Sharma on his new 5.15 in Spain

It’s a bit hard to believe, but it’s been almost two years since Chris Sharma climbed La Dura Dura, that 5.15c in Spain first climbed by Adam Ondra.  In the interim Sharma has been focusing his efforts elsewhere, but now…he’s back with a new 5.15 called El Bon Combat.

The scene of the crime is once again in Spain, but because this is Spain this new route is not at Siurana or Santa Linya or Margalef or Oliana.  No, Sharma’s new route is at an area less than an hour from Barcelona called Cova de Ocell.  On Instagram he suggests the route to be roughly 5.15b/c, which incidentally is the hardest FA he has ever completed.  This is also somewhere around the 7th 5.15b or harder he has established in Spain.

Today I climbed the first ascent of El Bon Combat 9b/+ 📷@giancolafoto Two years ago after climbing La Dura Dura It was time to mix it up. Years of single pointed focus on pushing the limits of sport climbing had taken a bit of a toll. It was time to get back to the roots of climbing, travelling, having fun, being spontaneous and opening up to new inspiration. It's interesting though, we always gravitate back to who we are. What's the next step, where do we go from here? Well if we are open to it, life has a way of guiding us along. My friend @marti_boncombat had a project that I'd heard about at Cova de Ocell 40 min from Barcelona and when I checked it out I was drawn back to and reminded of what my life has been about for so long; the lines that grab our imagination and inspire us to take our game up a notch , The King Lines . Something created by Mother Nature as if it were designed to be climbed, perfect shapes, just barely enough to find a path up, something worthy of dedicating yourself to 200%. Since June I've tried this line and it's reawakened my passion for straight up, at your limit, hard climbing. After many Close calls and a ton of effort it finally came together today. So psyched to be back in the flow and very excited for more. Mucho agradecimiento a @marti_boncombat para la visión de equipar ese vía tan perfecta, a @marc.lemenestrel por compartir ratos tan bonitos juntos hablando de la vida al pie de vía, a @giancolafoto por grabar y asegurarme todos los días de ese viaje largó , y por su puesto a mi chica preciosa @alarconjimena por ser un apollo increíble en mi vida te amo ❤️❤️❤️! And of course thanks to all the support from everyone who has been following and sending me good vibes and messages! 😄 Stay tuned for the video soon! Tambien tengo muchas ganas de compartir pronto un nuevo proyecto que tengo aqui en Barcelona. Va a ser de otro nivel! @prana @redbull @evolvusa @sterlingrope @petzl_official @walltopia @climbskinspain @clifbarcompany @metoliusclimbing @sanukfootwear

A post shared by Chris Sharma (@chris_sharma) on

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11 Responses to New 5.15 From Chris Sharma In Spain

  1. Ri March 9, 2015 at 9:41 am #

    Can someone tell us why the route name is in French when the route is in Spain?

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    • PadCaddy March 9, 2015 at 11:39 am #

      The twitter handle of the person who bolted it is @marti_boncombat. Probably a clue to the name.

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    • Jonas Wiklund March 9, 2015 at 1:58 pm #

      I think “El Bon Combat” is Catalan. And the route is in Catalonia.

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  2. James March 9, 2015 at 10:00 am #

    Chris: “Imagine five 8A boulder problems stacked one on top of the other, with a few rests, but nothing great.” “It’s at least 9b, but I’ve decided to give it the b+ slash grade because, who knows, perhaps it’s even harder.”

    The first part of La Dura Dura which Adam graded with the same grade of 9b/+ is 7C, 7C, 8A+, 8A

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  3. Jer March 9, 2015 at 2:26 pm #

    The real question is: did he do it with his hands and feet only?

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  4. Bob March 9, 2015 at 5:10 pm #

    I think its more than 7. Rad

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    • Narc March 10, 2015 at 2:19 pm #

      I count 7 here: http://www.hardclimbs.info/climbers/chris-sharma

      Are there others?

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      • Bob March 10, 2015 at 2:37 pm #

        Well you said 7 5.15’s, which would include 9a+ as well… Of which there are several.

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        • Narc March 10, 2015 at 2:45 pm #

          You are correct. I confused myself. I was thinking 5.15b and up.

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  5. Jonah March 10, 2015 at 1:58 pm #

    From reading the article around the interview I think this is his 7th 15b in spain that he has established.

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  6. Van March 11, 2015 at 8:50 pm #

    thats awesome. seems like just the other day i was psyched to watch him get his first 15b. always an inspiration, not just in terms of difficulty, but his routes always look so fun!

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