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10 of the World’s Hardest Sport Routes

Here is a list of 10 of the hardest sport routes ever climbed. Some of the routes have only one ascent and so the grades have not been confirmed. There are three graded 5.15c and two 5.15b/c. Many of the world’s most difficult sport routes were first climbed by Adam Ondra or Chris Sharma, who are both currently projecting their own 5.15d climbs.

Change 5.15c: The world’s first 5.15c, still unrepeated. Adam Ondra’s sent the well-known test-piece in the Hanshelleren Cave of Flatanger in Norway in Oct. 2012.

La Dura Dura 5.15c: The world’s first confirmed 5.15c. First climbed by Adam Ondra in Feb. 2013 and later repeated by Chris Sharma. The esthetic route is found in Oliana, Spain.

Vasil Vasil 5.15c: Another 5.15c by Adam Ondra from Dec. 2013. Vasil Vasil is at Stare Skaly of Sloup in the Czech Republic. Ondra’s third 5.15c first ascent.

Adam Ondra on Vasil Vasil 5.15c Photo courtesy Adam Ondra
Adam Ondra on Vasil Vasil 5.15c Photo courtesy Adam Ondra

Move 5.15b/c: Another Hanshelleren Cave route that Adam Ondra sent in Aug. 2013. The hard line has never been repeated and therefore the grade has not been confirmed.

El Bon Combat 5.15b/c: Chris Sharm’s first ascent from March 2015. Located in Cova de Ocell of Spain, it is Sharma’s hardest first ascent to date. It was equipped by Marti Iglesias Galobart.

Stoking the Fire 5.15b: First climbed by Chris Sharma in Feb. 2013 in Santa Linya, Spain. Repeated by Adam Ondra in Feb. 2016.

Fight or Flight 5.15b: Chris Sharma made the first ascent in May 2011. The Oliana, Spain route has been repeated by Adam Ondra in Feb. 2013, Jakob Schubert in Dec. 2014 and Sachi Amma in Feb. 2015.

First Round First Minute 5.15b: Another Chris Sharma first ascent from 2011 in Margalef, Spain. Repeated in Feb. 2014 by Adam Ondra and in Dec. 2015 by Alex Megos.

Jumbo Love 5.15b: The first and only 5.15b in the U.S.A, sent back in 2008 by Chris Sharma. The 76-metre route is at Clark Mountain in Nevada and was repeated by Ethan Pringle in May 2015.

Fightclub 5.15b: Canada’s first and only 5.15. First climbed by Alex Megos in Aug. 2016 after a number of days of effort. Route bolted by Peter Arbic in the 1990s and Sonnie Trotter in 2016.

Alex Megos Fightclub Photo Brandon Pullan
Alex Megos Fightclub Photo Brandon Pullan

The Other 5.15bs: Golpe de Estado 5.15b, Neanderthal 5.15b, C.R.S 5.15b, Iron Curtain 5.15b, Le Planta de Shiva 5.15b, Chilam Balam 5.15a/b, Chaxi Raxi 5.15b, La Capella 5.15b, Golpe de Estado 5.15b, Ali Hulk 5.15b, Akira 5.15b, Delincuente Natural (extension) 5.15b, Meiose 5.15b, Vicious Circle 5.15a/b, Supernova 5.15a/b, Meiose 5.15b, Marina Superstar 5.15a/b, Lapsus 5.15b, La Capella 5.15a/b, Es Pontas 5.15a/b and Empreintes 5.15a/b.

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