Two Sendy Days for Adam Ondra
In France and Italy, Ondra onsighted 5.14a/b and made second-go 5.14c and 5.14d redpoints
Photo by: Petr Chodura
Two days after making the second ascent of James Pearson’s Bon Voyage 5.14d, one of the hardest trad lines in the world, Ondra made a quick stop to Gréolières, France where he sent Stéroïde Bull 5.14c (8c+) on his second try. The route was first established by Enzo Oddo several years ago.
The following day, on his way back home to Czechia, Ondra stopped in Albenga, Italy. He onsighted Kalmia-Moci 5.14a/b and then redpointed Narcissus, grading the route 9a. He sent it on his second go. The route was established by Matteo Gambaro in 2020 and graded 5.14d/15a. It was then repeated by Seb Bouin late last year. Like Ondra and unlike Gambaro, Bouin used kneepads on the route, leading to the 5.14d downgrade.
“On top of that, Seb and I used different beta/direction (in our opinion more logical and intuitive) in the upper part, making it much easier,” said Ondra about the route on Instagram. “We believe that the original way without the kneepads could even be a [5.15a]. The way [Seb and I did it] is probably the lower end of [5.14d]? Absolute kingline though.”
After a solid 2023 on the rock, Ondra has already put down some hard onsights and redpoints this year. In early February he onsighted Rock Me Baby 5.13d in Austria and Finement Con 5.14a and Le Brilliant Saoul 5.14b in Buoux, France. He also redpointed Inga 5.14c in Nice, France. February 14th was his biggest day of the year so far, making the second ascent of Bon Voyage 5.14d trad.
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