The Adrenalist

Powered By Degree Men

Adam Ondra Becomes First Climber to Conquer La Dura Dura

Tweet

Comments

Earlier this month, 20-year-old Czech climbing phenomenon Adam Ondra proved that he is indeed, as The Guardian states, “a rock star at the height of his powers.” Ondra successfully ascended what is considered the world’s hardest sport climb, La Dura Dura (“The Hard Hard”): a bulging limestone wall in Catalunya, Spain. At 5.15c, the route has the same grade as Change, another extraordinarily difficult climb in Norway that Ondra established and made the first ascent of in October. Ondra firmly declares that La Dura Dura is more difficult—and since he is the only one to have climbed either route, we’ll have to take his word for it.

Adam Ondra completed La Dura Dura route after an estimated 70 tries over nine weeks during which he and fellow climber, Chris Sharma, helped each other piece together the movements, establishing a rivalry for the route’s first ascent. In Big UP Productions’ video above, you can watch the climbers’ disparate approaches to their sport and witness their friendly competition. You can also hear the inhuman grunts and screams that, besides history-making climbs, have become Ondra’s calling card. It seems that to climb at the highest level, Ondra has figured out how to tap into something primitive within himself. Let that be a lesson to us all that we all have the innate power to pish ourselves to the next level.

Add Your Voice To The Conversation: