Climbing
Get to know Adam Ondra, one of the world’s best climbers
From his first ascent of the world’s hardest route, at 5.15d, to climbing a 5.15a route on his very first attempt, here’s why the 26-year-old Czech superstar is one to watch.
21 min
Age of Ondra part 1
Czech Republic's Adam Ondra has set out to be the best climber in every aspect, and he has achieved that.
Get to know all about climbing sensation Adam Ondra in the new episode of Reel Rock above and read on for more.
“It took me four weeks to finally link crux one,” Adam Ondra says to the camera, while describing the hardest sequence of what he termed the Silence (first ascent September 2017) route located in an enormous cave in Flatanger, Norway.
The Silence climb was a project like no other for Ondra. In addition to the four weeks it took him to work out the hardest moves, the entire climb required seven trips and four years to complete. This line, rated 5.15d, is the pinnacle achievement in rock climbing today – it’s the only route in the world with that rating – and to date only Ondra has completed it.
Ondra used his feet to complete one of the hardest moves in Silence
© Sender Films/Red Bull Content Pool
Ondra dominates all the sub-disciplines of rock climbing
“Big wall, bouldering, hard new routes, competition. It's like one runner excelling at everything from sprints to ultra-marathons,” professional climber, Will Gadd, says of Ondra. “Nobody else has dominated all the sub-disciplines of rock climbing.”
In addition to his success on the on rock -- where he’s far and away the best -- he’s also won indoor World Championships in both bouldering and sport, a first in climbing’s history.
The Czech-born climber is a true multi-disciplinarian
© David Robinson/Red Bull Content Pool
To complete the hardest routes in the world – and take first places in competition climbing – the 26-year-old from Brno, Czech Republic, obsessively trains his body and mind. Here’s how he makes it work.
He started climbing aged six
As the son of climbers, Eva Ondrová and Miroslav Ondra, his parents got him on the rock by the age of six. “I was born for climbing, preferably climbing hard,” he said in one film. At the age of 13 he climbed his first 5.14d – half his lifetime ago.
In 2013, Ondra beat Chris Sharma, then considered the world's best rock climber, in a friendly competition to make the first ascent of the world’s hardest route, La Dura Dura (5.15c). In typical Ondra style, his screams echoed through the limestone canyon, as he leaped between micro holds. He yelled even louder when he fell. The route required nine weeks of work and 70 attempts to make it to the top. “It’s really cool to see such a fine-tuned climbing machine,” Sharma said.
21 min
La Dura Dura
A legendary climber and the young phenom hot on his heels team up to send the world's hardest route.
Repeating the world’s hardest big wall free climb
In 2016 Ondra visited Yosemite with one goal in mind, to repeat the Dawn Wall (5.14d) on 3,000-foot [914m] El Capitan, the world’s hardest big-wall free climb. The route ascends the tallest, blankest swath of the granite formation and it required seven years of work from the first ascent team of Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, culminating in a 19-day continuous ascent in 2015. It also became a media frenzy, making headlines worldwide. Ondra completed the route in fewer than seven days, calling it “bold, scary – and hard too!”
Ondra on the Dawn Wall in 2016
© Sender Films/Red Bull Content Pool
He trains the body and the mind
Today he’s coached by Patxi Usobiaga and physiotherapist Klaus Isele. He also works with a ballet instructor to perfect his body position and develop his fluidity. “If the cat is going to catch an animal it has to go very slowly,” his instructor tells him in one scene in the latest Reel Rock series.
The attention to detail and thought Ondra puts into climbs is legendary
© Sender Films/Red Bull Content Pool
He also routinely practices intense visualisation. By rehearsing hard climbs in his head – complete with powerful screams -- he envisions success and perfection.
Visualising the possibilities of yet another route
© Sender Films/Red Bull Content Pool
Climbing 5.15a on his first attempt
This year, in the latest instalment of Reel Rock, Ondra is again the main attraction, as cameras follow him on his quest to become the first person in the world to flash (first attempt) 5.15a. He visits one area to find conditions not quite right, too humid, and he slips midway up another climb. However (spoiler alert), he finally succeeds on the 20-metre sport climb Super Crackinette in St. Léger, France.
30 min
Age of Ondra part 2
Adam Ondra challenges himself to flash a 9A+, which means he only gets one ascent to make it to the top.
Ondra takes on the crux of Super Crackinette brimming with confidence, jumping up and stabbing into a mono pocket to nab the nearly impossible sequence on his first try. After that, he flows through the climb almost effortlessly, showing his two-decades worth of training paying off. He also makes the first ascent of Disbelief, a 5.15b, in Acéphale, Alberta, Canada.
28 min
Age of Ondra part 3
Adam Ondra heads to Canmore, Canada, to take on Fight Club, a 9B climb, and master it in just one day.
Watching footage of Ondra train and attempt the hardest lines in the world is like watching the sharpening of a diamond blade – each rough spot is smoothed out, each painstaking step is taken toward perfection. To date, he’s completed more than 60 routes rated 5.15.
Even greater achievements to come?
Ondra’s currently releasing a series of films called Road to Tokyo, where he’s training to win gold at indoor bouldering, sport climbing, and speed climbing at the 2020 Olympics. Will he be the first person in the world to climb 5.16a? Is that even possible? Stay tuned to find out.