16-Year-Old Pepa Šindel Climbs His Fifth 5.14d
It's his fourth of the grade in 2024, sending routes in Slovenia, Spain, and Germany earlier this year

On July 6, Czech climber Pepa Šindel sent Hades 5.14d (9a) in Götterwandl, Austria. The limestone endurance route has been climbed by several of Europe’s best sport climbers in the past, including Adam Ondra and Jakob Schubert. Šindel tried Hades last summer but didn’t manage to finish it up. “Last week everything came together and I finally clipped the anchor,” he said on Instagram. “My hardest [5.14d] so far…it gave me a hard time.”
Hades is Šindel’s fourth 5.14d in 2024 and fifth of the grade ever. He’s one of the most promising young sport climbers in the scene right now. In early November 2022, at only 15 years of age, he sent Chiroptera 5.15a (9a+) in Súľov, Slovakia. With the ascent, he became the second youngest climber to send 5.15a. The youngest ever to climb the grade was Ondra.
According to his 8a.nu, in July 2023, Šindel sent his first 5.14d by making the first ascent of Hypoxia Extension in Harmanec Krpcovo, Slovakia. In January this year, he sent his second of the grade, Martin Krpan in Mišja Peč, Slovenia. The following month, he climbed the popular Victimes del Futur 5.14d in Margalef, Spain and Sever the Wicked Hand 5.14d in Frankenjura, Germany.
Šindel was recently featured in a film with Ondra, which you can watch below. The two spent a day climbing at a new crag at Harmanec Krpcovo in Slovakia. In the video, Ondra makes the first ascent of Ratatouille, a 5.14d line envisioned by Šindel.