Jorge Díaz-Rullo Says Sleeping Lion Is Hard 5.15b
The Spanish climber didn't initially give his thoughts on the grade when he first announced his ascent three days ago
Spanish climber Jorge Díaz-Rullo recently announced that he made the third ascent of Sleeping Lion in Siurana. Chris Sharma established the route in March 2023, grading it 5.15c (9b+). The ascent came nearly 10 years after completing his first 5.15c, La Dura Dura in Oliana, Spain. Located at the famous El Pati crag, Sleeping Lion is a route characterized by stacked double-digit boulder problems separated by poor rest positions.
Alex Megos picked up the second ascent of the route early last month, instead suggesting a grade of 5.15b. “In the end it took me 8 days and I would suggest [5.15b], as both the [5.15c’s] I did took me at least twice as long,” said Megos. “Very happy to hear what other repeaters will say in the future!” When he initially announced his Sleeping Lion send, Díaz-Rullo did not comment on the grade of the route.
Today, Díaz-Rullo shared thoughts on Sleeping Lion’s difficulty via two thoughtful Instagram posts. “This is perhaps one of the parts that I like the least after finishing a project, I feel that the important thing is the work behind it and the experiences we create with our own challenges,” started Díaz-Rullo. “However, giving an opinion and proposing a personal graduation is not just a number, it’s also something that is part of this game.”
After talking about his experience on the route, he went on to say: “I feel really responsible with my decision of the grade and I know it shouldn’t be that way, but even so, I feel a bit stressed. It would be very easy to not listen to what people think, follow Alex’s latest opinion or say I climbed another [5.15c]. It’s been hard, but I’ve been trying to avoid all of this before making a decision.
“Based on the whole process and my experience on these levels, if I had to choose a personal grade in relation to my body and my climbing style, I think it could be a [5.15b] in the hard range, and I think it could become confirmed in this grade. I’ve climbed [six 5.15b’s] and [two 5.15c’s] before, and that’s all I can compare it to at the moment. But I’m really curious to know what the following repeaters think about the difficulty, because I think it depends a lot on the style and morphology of each one, this can sometimes make a big difference.”
You can read his full comments on the grade of Sleeping Lion in his Instagram posts linked below. Díaz-Rullo kicked off 2024 strong, sending three hard routes over four days in early January – a 5.14d/15a, a 5.14d, and a first-go 5.14c. In 2023, Díaz-Rullo had the best climbing year of his life In February, he made the first ascent of his first-ever 5.15c, Mejorando la Samfaina in Margalef. The following month he repeated Alex Megos’ The Full Journey 5.15b, also in Margalef. Seven months later, he bagged his second 5.15c with a repeat of another Megos line, Bibliographie in Céüse.
Alex Megos’ second ascent of Sleeping Lion
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