“Wow, it actually goes.” That’s the first thing Adam Ondra said after clipping the anchor on his latest ascent, Molekuly 9a+ (5.15a), near his hometown of Brno, in the Czech Republic.
The world’s best sport climber shared the footage of his send to Instagram last night. In the caption, Ondra states that he’d tried to climb the route four times in 12 years. Only last week did he unlock the crux move, which required him to pinch down hard on “a few molecules.” Thus: Molekuly.
Ondra’s hardest sends
9a+ (5.15a) is a climbing grade that few will ever tick. Only the most exceptional elites break through to the grade. But for the 28-year-old Czech, the feat is nothing new. Molekuly is the 44th 9a+ route on Ondra’s gargantuan tick list. He’s also sent another 24 climbs that are even harder.
To date, the Olympian has sent 23 routes graded 9b/9b+ (5.15b/5.15c) and one that goes at the world’s hardest rating, 9c (5.15d). Ondra became the first to send a 9c route with his 2017 ascent of Silence in Flatanger, Norway.
Silence remains unrepeated and is widely considered the world’s hardest sport climb. His complete redpoint list is available at 8a.nu.
A lifelong climber
Ondra is, by all current measurements, the single most accomplished multi-discipline climber to date. Although he has succeeded across styles — from bouldering to trad to big wall to speed — he is a sport climber at heart.
His passion for the discipline developed early on, at the age of 3. At age 8, he onsighted his first 7b+ (5.12c). By his mid-teens, Ondra had pocketed his first 9a (5.14d) and claimed his first gold medal, at the 2009 Climbing World Cup.
As his voluminous career expanded, Ondra started developing routes, too. His imagination and sweat have yielded some of the most challenging and aesthetic lines that currently exist.
