Chris Sharma – From Prodigy to Deep Water Solo
Contents
Bio
Chris Sharma is a pioneering American climber who is known for his sport climbing and bouldering accomplishments all over the world, especially during the years of 2001 to 2013. He was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California, and started rock climbing at the age of 12 at Pacific Edge Climbing Gym.
He was considered a prodigy, and to this day is one of the most influential rock climbers of all time. Sharma won the gold medal at the adult 1996 US Open Bouldering Nationals at age 14, and when he was fifteen, he claimed the first ascent of Necessary Evil, the hardest sport climb on American soil at the time. He went on to win bouldering gold at the 1999 X Games and the 2001 Munich Bouldering World Cup, according to Climbing magazine’s profile of Sharma.
Stats
Ape Index: 1.03 / +2.5″ DOB: 4/23/1981 Started Climbing: age 12 Highest Grade: 5.15c
In 2001, he completed the entire Biographie/Realization route, becoming the first person to do so, and in the process climbed the first 9a+ (5.15a) in the world. After this accomplishment, Sharma stepped away from competitions to begin a personal journey to focus on “King Lines,” a term that refers to iconic routes that motivate him. He continued to push the limits of climbing, and in 2008, he was the first climber to tick the grade 5.15b (9b) with the first ascent of Jumbo Love.
Chris Sharma now lives with his wife, Jimena Alarcón, and their two kids in Barcelona. He’s still a professional climber who especially enjoys deep water soloing and has climbed in beautiful places like Spain, Australia, and all over the United States. He teamed up with his friend Jason Momoa and American Ninja Warrior Meagan Martin on the climbing competition series The Climb, which premiered on HBO Max in early 2023. He also founded several climbing gyms in Spain and California: Sender One (Santa Ana, opened 2013), Sharma Climbing BCN (Barcelona, 2015) and Sharma Climbing Gava (2021).
You can keep up with Chris by following him on Instagram, Facebook, and on the Climbing Gold podcast.
Notable Climbs
FA Catalan Witness the Fitness (V14/V15) – 2016
In 2005, Chris claimed the first ascent of a V15 (8C) boulder problem called Witness the Fitness, located in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas – here’s a really old video of him working on it back when he was rocking dreads. Fast forward to 2016, when Sharma claimed another first ascent, this time at Cova de Ocell in Spain. He called it Catalan Witness the Fitness (about 8B+/8C, with later repeaters calling it V14 or V15), an homage to the Arkansas route that was also a horizontal roof problem with a similar crux.
El Bon Combat (5.15b/c) – 2015
Back in March of 2015, Chris finally claimed the first ascent of El Bon Combat, a project at Cova de Ocell near Barcelona that he had worked off and on for eight months. He suggested the grade 9b/+ (5.15b/c), making it his hardest first ascent, as well as the second hardest route he’d completed thus far. Chris said in an interview with Planet Mountain that this climb was “more than just an athletic test, it’s spectacular, inspiring, though-provoking.”
La Dura Dura – 2013
In 2009, Chris Sharma bolted a route called La Dura Dura, but it became one of the few routes that he himself would give up on, saying “I never saw myself being able to climb it.” He invited Adam Ondra to give it a go, and the duo spent time over the next year working on it in a collaborative process.
Adam Ondra clipped the chains in February 2013, with Chris claiming the second ascent a month later in March. This climb was symbolic of the passing of the torch, the world’s strongest rock climber of the generation passing on the title to the next generation.
Climbing magazine calls La Dura Dura the world’s first 5.15c, and it sat at the top of the grade scale until Adam Ondra climbed Silence at 9c (5.15d) in 2017.
Jumbo Love (5.15b/9b) – 2008
At Clark Mountain in California is Jumbo Love, the world’s first 5.15b, and it was first climbed by Chris Sharma in 2008. Although it was originally bolted by Randy Leavitt, Sharma re-bolted it to create the massive 250-foot pitch that would become Jumbo Love. Now it’s one of the most iconic routes in the United States and the world.
Biographie/Realization – 2001
At the young age of only twenty, Chris completed an extension of Biographie in Ceuse, France, and named it Realization. This route was the first 5.15a in the world and a major milestone in Chris’ climbing career. He linked the first and second section of Biographie, and in the process was the first person to ever complete the entire route. You can watch the ascent on YouTube.
The Mandala (V12) – 2000
In the Buttermilks of California, The Mandala was a world class boulder problem. Sharma made the first ascent at 18, and the V12 has since become a testpiece for hard boulderers.
Necessary Evil (5.14c) – 1997
The route Necessary Evil is a direct start to Route of All Evil (5.14a). After Chris claimed the first ascent, it became the first 8c+/5.14c in the United States and was one of the hardest sport climbs thus far. The route is located in Arizona’s Virgin River Gorge, and it took Chris seven days before he was able to redpoint it, saying “it has some of the smallest holds I’ve ever pulled on..”