Adam Ondra - first ascent of Change

Last summer, Black Diamond athlete Adam Ondra made a highly productive trip to Hanshalleren, a massive granite cave outside the small town of Flatanger, Norway. Adam not only made short work of the cave's established hard routes (including onsighting two routes graded 5.14c/8c+), he made the first ascent of Thor's Hammer (5.15a/9a+) and bolted a futuristic project out the steepest section of the cave. On October 4, Adam managed to link this 55-meter-long beast, establishing Change, the world's first route graded 5.15c/9b+. Along with his recent first ascent of La Dura Dura in Oliana, Spain, Change stands as one of, if not the hardest route in the world.

Chris Sharma Free Climbs a Giant Redwood Tree

Like most kids, Chris Sharma grew up climbing trees. Born and raised in Santa Cruz, California, Sharma’s earliest climbing experiences involved scaling the limbs of trees in his parents’ backyard. In 1992, a 12-year-old Sharma traded trees for both indoor and outdoor rock climbing when he discovered the sport in one of the earliest indoor climbing gyms in the U.S. He quickly went on to be recognized as one of the best rock climbers in the world, winning both national and international climbing competitions as a teen, and ultimately pushing global standards into the realm of climbs rated at 5.15. (For a primer on climbing grades and terminology, click here.) His iconic first ascents of routes named Realization (5.15a) and Jumbo Love (5.15b) were the first of those respective grades in the world and milestone achievements in the sport of rock climbing.

Beyond Good and Evil

"In the house of pain, we were chained together searching for our truth, beyond good and evil". This quote from Nietzsche inspired Andy Parkin and Mark Twight, the openers of this mixed climbing route, that became a reference. Listed extremely difficult, North oriented, this route was appealing for François Damilano and François Marsigny, the repeaters of the route. Last winter, it was time for the up-and-coming generation, represented by Marion Poitevin and Sébastien Ratel to meet the challenge. Three duos, three experiences, three encounters… echoing the Trilogy alpine series.