Anak Verhoeven Climbs Her First 5.15b
She's previously climbed several 5.14d and 5.15a sport routes
Anak Verhoeven has climbed her first 5.15b with La Planta de Shiva, a 45-metre climb in the Villanueva del Rosario cave of Andalusia, Spain. It was bolted by José Irigoyen (first pitch) and Manolo Castillo (second pitch) in 2006 and climbed as a single-pitch in 2011 by Adam Ondra.
Verhoeven was one of the most successful World Cup competitors when she was active on tour, having made finals over 35 times with a total of 19 podiums. She left the competition world after an injury to focus on rock climbing. She’s since climbed around a dozen routes 5.14d or harder.
La Planta de Shiva was then repeated by Jakob Schubert before getting a third ascent by Angela Eiter, who was the first woman to climb 5.15b. It was then climbed by Jonathan Siegrest, Jorge Diaz-Rullo and Jonatan Flor, and no other ascents have been recorded.
In September 2017, Verhoeven made the first ascent of Sang Neuf 5.14d at Pierrot Beach in France, becoming the first woman to make the FA at the grade. She then made the first ascent of Sweet Neuf, which links Sang Neuf with the 25-metre second-pitch of Home Sweet Home 5.14c/d at 5.15a. She became the second woman to climb 5.15a after Margo Hayes and the first to claim a first ascent at the grade. She’s also climbed Joe Mama 5.15 and Las Meninas 5.14d/15a.
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