New 5.14d Slab by Adam Ondra Among the World’s Hardest
Other hard slab routes include Cryptography, Cosmic Energy, Dewin Stone and Meltdown
Adam Ondra has made the first ascent of a slab route in Italy that he’s called Niobe and graded 5.14d, which makes it one of the hardest in the world.
“It was pretty crazy just to find the sequences,” said Ondra about Niobe. Adding that the intense slab moves add “a very interesting element” which he said is foot endurance. “The rock is such low friction that you really have to push in a certain direction so you don’t slip off.”
While in Arco, Ondra also climbed several classic slab routes, including Tom and Jerry 5.12d, one of Heinz Mariacher’s iconic lines. Mariacher, one of the world’s most influential climbing shoe developers, established many of the area’s hardest routes in the early 1980s, including Super Swing 5.12d. His climbs continue to attract veteran climbers every year. In 2019, Magnus Mitbø visited Arco and, after climbing Tom and Jerry, said, “The holds are terrible, and you feel like you’ll be spit off the wall the whole way up. The routes also feel way harder than the grades. People were really good at this style back then, and maybe humbler too.”
While Ondra has climbed hard slab in the past, he’s mostly known for tackling steep and powerful routes. He’s climbed the most 5.15s of any climber ever and is the only person to flash 5.15a with Supercrackinette. His most difficult sends to date include Silence 5.15d, Change 5.15c, La Dura Dura 5.15c, Vasil Vasil 5.15c, Zvěřinec 5.15c, and many others.
Hard Slab
While there are dozens of hard slab climbs around the world, the following is collection of what are likely the most difficult, of which Ondra’s new route can be added.
Meltdown 5.14d: The route was first attempted and bolted by Johnny Dawes in the 1980s but wasn’t freed until 2012, when James McHaffie made the first ascent and proposed the grade of 5.14d. Dawes, widely regarded as one of the world’s best slab climbers at the time, came close to sending the route. Meltdown was later repeated in 2018 by Spanish climber Ignacio Mulero, who said after his ascent, “Slippery slate slab, weird moves, perfect! There are not too many places in the world to climb on rock like slate.” Veteran climber Steve McClure has also attempted the route, describing it as “a world of no holds.”
Dewin Stone 5.15a: Franco Cookson’s 5.15a slab at Twll Mawr in the U.K. is called The Dewin Stone. Long known to local climbers as a major unfinished project, the route adds a direct start to The Meltdown, continues through the original line, and finishes up The Meltdown Direct, a 5.15a extension added by Cookson in 2022. Cookson said: “For years now, I’ve been completely obsessed with the idea of pushing slab climbing as far as it will go. James McHaffie’s The Meltdown opened my eyes to what sustained slab climbing entailed and hinted at what the future could hold. I went abroad to try to find benchmarks on other hard slabs, but discovered the best climbing was right on my doorstep here in North Wales. What we have here is world class, not just in difficulty, but also in quality. I just love it so much.”
Cosmic Energy 5.15a: In 2018, Alessandro Zeni made the first ascent of Cosmic Energy at Bilico in the Italian Dolomites, completing the route after 62 redpoint attempts. Standing roughly 25 metres tall, the climb is distinctive in several ways. “The crux is located in the middle, four really small crimps that require perfect footwork,” Zeni said. “The route doesn’t let up, and at three-quarters height there’s another finger crux. Despite being short, there are nevertheless 52 moves.” Zeni added that the bolting respects the character of the other routes at the crag, making the line fairly runout.
Cryptography 5.15b: In January 2020, Alessandro Zeni returned with the first ascent of Cryptography at Saint Loup, Switzerland. He spent several days traveling to the crag to work the highly technical line, which links Bain de Sang 5.14d, established in 1993 by Fred Nicole, with Bimbaluna 5.14d/5.15a, first climbed by Fred’s brother, François Nicole, in 2004. Cryptography is possibly the hardest slab route in the world.
