It’s a testament to Adam Ondra’s dominance of elite-level climbing that I can read the above headline and think…”Only 8c+?”
Just kidding. Most people don’t care (or need) to learn the byzantine systems of climbing grades. Instead, we can just appreciate Ondra’s zeal for the sport and its technical difficulties, which shines through even to outsiders (maybe it’s all that screaming?).
The hardest-climbing dad in the world was in fine form during his latest trip to Slovakia. Here, he headed to Velká Pec, a steep crag in the Male Karpaty range. Ondra swiftly dispatched several new routes with obvious, overhanging obstacles that even non-climbers can recognize as brutal.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
First ascents include a short project he named Haremyeb, 8c+.
“The rock is really good,” he wrote via Instagram, sounding as thrilled as always. “It feels almost like sandstone. At first, I envisioned this blind dyno into a three-finger pocket behind the lip of the roof, but after six unsuccessful tries, always frustratingly missing the pocket, I opted for a very technical kneebar with a left-toe hook, pinching the hell out of this lip of the roof. This route has one chipped hold, and it will probably be possible to do it without this hold.”
Ondra made another first ascent with Black Roof of Ashes, also 8c+. He had to first excavate, then re-condition the old project from under its blanket of campfire soot.
”Chipped roof, old abandoned project, brutal power endurance climbing with poor footholds,” he said on 8a.nu.
View this post on Instagram
He also flashed Anacunda, suggesting an upgraded difficulty from 8b to 8b+, Gripped reported.
Ondra has spoken.
The internet has reacted variously. Some praised him as “superhuman,” some noted the incredible speed at which he can take off his shirt, and one commenter gushed, “I love u u are the best climber ever ❤️.”
Others trolled the world’s best sport climber. If it’s an Ondra ascent and the grade doesn’t start with a 9, the harpies descend.
One light-duty take called the sending jag “daily Adam-ness,” while a more playful commenter asked Ondra, “You still climb?” Finally: “No screaming in this video, what happened Adam?”
Yeah, what happened, Adam? Mix in a little effort, geez.
