Climbing News is a new series at Moja Gear where we bring you an assortment of stories within the community. We’ll explore what’s happening, where it’s going down, and why it’s important. Onward!

Story 1: The hunt for 5.15d

Both Adam Ondra and Chris Sharma currently have their sights set on the next level of hard sport climbing: 5.15d (9c).

Sharma has embedded himself once again at the Contrafort de Rumbau cliff in Oliana, Spain. His project—which he has dubbed Le Blond after deceased French climbing legend Patrick Edlinger—is one line to the right of La Dura Dura, the historic 5.15c (9b+) that he and Ondra worked on together.

As if he weren’t already awesome enough, Sharma is friends with Jason Mamoa—Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones. They hung out recently to watch Sharma project Le Blond. Check it out:

Ondra’s project is located in Norway’s Flatanger Cave, a hulking mouth of dark granite that has quickly become one of the world’s top sport climbing destinations. The project appears to be loaded with the typical features of Ondra routes—inversions, impossibly technical movement, finger locks, etc. Undoubtedly, after many primal screams, the route will go down.

Who will be the first to establish 5.15d? It’s impossible to tell. But this much is obvious: witnessing the two best climbers in the world go for it is an absolute privilege.

Learn more

In a commemoration of Edlinger, Le Blond himself, Alison Osius notes that he “helped popularize and legitimize sport climbing, ushering in the inspired and youthful masses. But he not only did the hardest sport climbs of his time, he climbed everything.” Read the article over at Rock & Ice.

Here’s a short clip of Ondra projecting his route in Flatanger (note the “funky strange moves”):

Ondra was the first person in the world to establish 5.15c. Watch him send Change, also located in the Flatanger Cave:

https://vimeo.com/68083454

If you’re interested in visiting the epic Flatanger Cave for yourself, visit Climb Flatanger’s website for information on climbing and accommodations.

 

Story 2: Carlo Traversi’s triple 14er day

On September 5th, 2016, Carlo Traversi completed what he calls his Triple 14er Day. Over the course of 20 hours in Rocky Mountain National Park, Carlo climbed a V14 (Jade), hiked over to Long’s Peak and climbed a 5.14a (Sarchasm), then climbed 14,259-foot Long’s Peak itself by way of Pervertical Sanctuary (5.11a trad, six pitches).

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I recently asked Carlo about his reasoning behind his achievement, which I posted over at my own blog. Overall, his love for RMNP and for all types of climbing factored into his decision. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

I’ve never considered myself as just a boulderer, or a sport climber, or a trad climber.  I’ve always viewed myself as a climber who is ready and willing to enjoy any type of climbing on any given day.  If the future continues to hold more days like this, where I can challenge myself across multiple disciplines, then I welcome those opportunities with open arms.

Carlo first climbed Jade (V14) six years ago. Here’s video of the original ascent:

Story 3: REEL ROCK 11

It’s that time of year again—the REEL ROCK Film Tour is upon us. The best stories of the rock climbing world, all in one extremely well-produced film.

REEL ROCK was started by Josh Lowell of Big UP Productions and Peter Mortimer of Sender Films. From the website: “The REEL ROCK Film Tour brings the best climbing and adventure films of the year to live audiences throughout the world. The film tour is the definitive annual event for climbing communities globally.”

And they’re not kidding—every screening is a raucous celebration of the climbing community. If you’ve never been to a REEL ROCK event, what are you waiting for? Many upcoming screenings around the United States and the world await.

Additionally, for 2016, select cities are hosting the REEL ROCK Fest, a “full weekend of wild events and good times.” The Fest events not only host screenings of the film, but they also include pro clinics, competitions, speaking engagements, and more. The next REEL ROCK Fest takes place in Seattle from September 22nd-25th.

Learn more

Check out the trailer for this year’s Reel Rock 11:

For a complete list of dates and locations of regular screenings and Fests, visit REEL ROCK’s Events page and Fest page. You can also find clips from past screenings on REEL ROCK’s YouTube page.

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