It’s been a busy year for Mr. Adam Ondra, and we’ve consolidated his progress so far. Who else do you know that sends a new 5.14 weekly?
Statistically, Ondra is the most accomplished sport climber of all time, and he remains light-years ahead of most of his peers. Enumerating his ridiculous list of lifetime climbing conquests became a clerical duty long ago.
Starting in 2019 through the Olympics, Ondra limited his capacity dramatically to train indoors. He only logged 10% of his usual outdoor output. But this concession produced a humdrum Tokyo Olympics performance in 2021.
Now he’s back to his former self. The 29-year-old pro refocused most of his efforts outdoors in 2022. In addition to bagging a bunch of elite routes throughout Europe and winning two IFSC tournaments, he also ascended into (get it?) fatherhood.
Although his resume weighs heavy on sport climbing, Ondra has pulled down a handful of impressively stout boulders with new bestie Will Bosi this year. His sessions seem to involve a heavy rotation of familiar characters, with Bosi and Stefano Ghisolfi chief among them. He’s also climbed a wide range of styles, and pure sport climbing difficulty appears to dominate his priorities less than in previous years.
So, what makes for a productive season when you’re Adam effing Ondra? Let’s take a look at the numbers.
Fresh Ink in the Guidebook: Adam Ondra’s Tick List
Between January 1 and July 20, Ondra sent 51 routes between grades 5.13b and 5.15b. Of those sends, he onsighted 23 routes, flashed two, and redpointed 26. Eight of those redpoint goes were first ascents (FA).
He even managed to FA a V15 boulder problem at one point.
Before we get knee-deep in send stats, note that 5.13d/8a is the softest grade on his tick list. Is it possible that he’s climbed anything easier than 5.13d in 2022? Yes. Has he publically logged anything easier than 5.13d? No.
All of the data below comes directly from Ondra’s 8a.nu logbook. We fully expect the list to grow, maybe even double, before 2023.
Sport Climbing Tick List, 2022
- Bomba (5.15b/9b), Redpoint (FA)
- Wonderland (5.15b/9b), Redpoint (FA)
- Furia de Jabali (5.15a/9a+), Redpoint
- Trofeo dell’Adriatico (5.15a/9a+), Redpoint
- Bombardino (5.15a/9a+), Redpoint (FA)
- Sprengstoff (5.14d/9a), Redpoint
- Il Guerriero del futuro (5.14d/9a), Redpoint
- Pungitopo (5.14d/9a), Redpoint (FA)
- Omen Nomen (5.14d/9a), Redpoint
- Hogo Fogo (5.14d/9a), Redpoint (FA)
- Mezzo secolo (5.14c/8c+), Redpoint (FA)
- Dirty Harry’s Brother (5.14c/8c+), Redpoint
- Solitary Souls (5.14c/8c+), Onsight
- Goosfraba (5.14c/8c+), Flash
- Fast and Furious (5.14b/8c), Redpoint
- Mauthausen (5.14b/8c), Redpoint
- Palindrom (5.14b/8c), Onsight
- Resilienza (5.14b/8c), Redpoint (FA)
- Prospettiva Nevski (5.14b/8c), Onsight
- En Horabuena (5.14b/8c), Redpoint
- Magic Mushroom (5.14a/8b+), Onsight
- Mr. Cheki (5.14a/8b+), Redpoint
- La pequena Mowgli (5.14a/8b+), Onsight
- Ultor (5.14a/8b+), Redpoint
- Diretta Italo-Spagnola L2 (5.14a/8b+), Redpoint (FA)
- Zero Tolleranza (5.14a/8b+), Onsight
- Pu-erh (5.14a/8b+), Onsight
- Autista (5.14a/8b+), Onsight
- Štyri myši (5.14a/8b+), Onsight
- Tanec s vlkmi (5.14a/8b+), Onsight
- Hovno Stropus (5.14a/8b+), Redpoint
- Napalm (5.14a/8b+), Redpoint
- Tres tristes triceps (5.13d/8b), Onsight
- 2 Scopeloni (5.13d/8b), Redpoint
- Braboletta (5.13d/8b), Redpoint
- Zona Rossa (5.13c/8a+), Onsight
- Pa la China (5.13c/8a+), Onsight
- Sensacions (5.13c/8a+), Onsight
- Occidentaliskarma (5.13c/8a+), Onsight
- Stand By Me (5.13c/8a+), Onsight
- L’Occhio della Tigre (5.13c/8a+), Onsight
- Graue Eminenz (5.13c/8a+), Onsight
- La Cura del Tempo (5.13c/8a+), Redpoint
- La Hovno (5.13c/8a+), Onsight
- Buscando a Pepillo (5.13b/8a), Flash
- N.N. (5.13b/8a), Onsight
- Incantesimo (5.13b/8a), Redpoint
- L’occhio della tigre (5.13b/8a), Onsight
- Solarium (5.13b/8a), Redpoint
- Jeeg Robot (5.13b/8a), Onsight
- Obsidián (5.13b/8a), Onsight
Observe the stack at 5.15 or harder. In 2018, Ondra became the first climber to flash 5.15 with “Super Crackinette” at Saint-Léger, France.
No other climber — to our knowledge and at the time of writing — can say the same.
In terms of bouldering, his list is substantially shorter by comparison but still pretty rowdy by mere mortal standards.
Bouldering Tick List, 2022
- Sviní ponor (V15/8C), Redpoint (FA)
- Charizard (V14/8B+), Redpoint
- Volání lásky (V14/8B+), Redpoint
- Super Human (V14/8B+), Redpoint
- The Swirl King SS (V12/8A+), Redpoint
- Nápoj Lásky (V11/8A), Redpoint
- Ledové království (V11/8A), Redpoint
- Zpěv vánice (V11/8A), Redpoint
Another First: Parenthood
It would be remiss to leave out what the man himself called his “most valuable medal.” On May 2, 2022, Ondra and his wife Iva welcomed their firstborn, Hugo.
Hugo’s still a little young to unleash a reign of terror on the handholds of the world. But we can only imagine what might happen once his lats fill out a little. In the meantime, we’d bet he’s working on his scream.
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