30 Climbers Have Sent La Rambla 5.15a – Here’s Who
As one of the 5.15a trilogy climbs, the overhanging route offers a variety of climbing styles. It's already been climbed twice this year
La Rambla is a 41-metre 5.15a at El Pati in Siurana, Spain. It’s become one of the most-climbed routes at the grade and already has two ascents in 2023, by Michaela Kiersch and Séb Berthe.
Originally bolted and climbed by German powerhouse Alex Huber in 1994 as a 35-metre 5.14d, it was later extended by Dani Andrada to become what it is today. Andrada didn’t make the first ascent, instead it was opened by Ramón Julián Puigblanque in 2003.
The route has pockets, cracks, crimps, side pulls, and hard underclings. It’s sustained and overhanging. It starts with a 5.13 crack that leads to a traverse left and back right with stiff 5.14 climbing. It gets more overhanging “with violent moves on small holds and crimps,” said Jonathan Thesenga in 2012. The crux at 35 metres is descrbed by Puigblanqué: “You have to make the two-finger pocket. If you get the pocket with your right hand you can clip Huber’s intermediate belay and you’ve done [the 35-metre] La Rambla. If you are going for La Rambla Direct [the 41-metre version], you have to take the pocket with your left hand – this is the key move. I made it to this point four or five times.”
La Rambla is part of the 5.15a trilogy, along with Realization/Biographie at Céüse, and Papichulo at Oliana. Adam Ondra climbed La Rambla in five tries and Alex Megos climbed it on his second attempt. In 2017, Margo Hayes made history by becoming the first woman to climb 5.15a with her redpoint. Here’s everyone who’s climbed it to date.
La Rambla Sends
Ramón Julián Puigblanque in 2003 (FA)
Edu MarÃn Garcia in 2006
Chris Sharma in 2006 – a day after Edu MarÃn
Andreas Bindhammer in 2007
Patxi Usobiaga in 2007 – after nine tries
Adam Ondra in 2008 – after five tries
Enzo Oddo in 2011
Sachi Amma in 2012
Felix Neumärker in 2013
Sangwon Son in 2013
Alexander Megos in 2013 – on his second attempt
Daniel Jung in 2014
Jonathan Siegrist in 2015
David Firnenburg in 2017
Matty Hong in 2017
Margo Hayes in 2017 – first woman to climb a confirmed 5.15a
Stefano Ghisolfi in 2017
Jacopo Larcher in 2017 – a day after Stefano Ghisolfi
Klemen Becan in 2017
Séb Bouin in 2017
Tomás Ravanal in 2018
Gerard Rull in 2018
Jon Cardwell in 2018
Piotr Schab in 2019
Dave Graham in 2019
Gonzalo Larrocha in 2019
Cédric Lachat in 2019
Chaehyun Seo in 2022
Michaela Kiersch in 2023
Séb Berthe in 2023
