Ondra Releases 5.15c Footage & Claassen Does a 5.14d… or is it V14?

This article originally appeared on Climbing

In an attempt to make space for the newsworthy ascents that occur with ever-increasing regularity, our weekly news roundup tries to celebrate a few outstanding climbs (or interesting events) that for one reason or another caught our attention. We hope you enjoy it. --The editors

Paige Claassen does Legacy (V14/5.14d)

Paige Claassen has done the fourth ascent (by my count) of Legacy, in the Rocklands. Though it was established relatively recently, the route has some real lore around it: It was found by Dave Graham, bolted by a local climber, tried for five seasons by Fred Nicole, and then snagged by Giuliano Cameroni in 2019. Nicole got the second ascent shortly afterward; Paul Robinson repeated it in 2022. The savage little route is generally considered the first 5.14d in South Africa, but though it's protected by bolts, and though Paul Robinson described the landing as so bad that falling from the top would be deadly, Legacy climbs more like a boulder problem. The difficulty consists of three hard moves on razor-blade edges right off the deck, after which Giuliano Cameroni thought it was 5.13d. (Claassen, a seasoned rope climber, says it’s more like 5.12d.) Claassen toproped Legacy for three days, then started giving lead attempts, sending on her fifth day of effort. "It's thin, it's hard, and I'm not sure if it's a boulder or a route," Claassen wrote on her Instagram. "Either way, nice to apply myself to something that I wasn't sure I'd have the strength for when I arrived." --Steven Potter

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Vadim Timonov Flashes Two V14s

I personally don't think that Russian climber Vadim Timonov got quite enough international acclaim for his ascent of Backflip Sit (V17), in Djan-tugan, last June. The world's quiet was probably caused in part by Russia's war in Ukraine, which has put climbers like Timonov (who was outspoken against the war early on), in an awkward position vis-a-vis the rest of the world; and in part by the fact that Timonov has been rather timid about the grade. At first he conservatively called Backflip Sit V16/17, which is what most outlets, Climbing included, reported on; but then he quietly upgraded it to full V17 in an 8a.nu comment several days later. Still, Timonov has once again affirmed his place in the world of elite bouldering with his flash of Mirta (V14), a Cape Town crimp testpiece first climbed by Paul Robinson and very nearly flashed by Daniel Woods back in 2018. Mirta was a nice capstone to Timonov's short but highly productive trip to South Africa, where he also flashed Cosmic Artifact (also called V14, though Timonov thinks may be easier); got the FA of G-master (V15); made the third ascent of Dave Graham's Parzival (V15); and dispatched several other V14s and V13s. Strong work.--SP

Max Bertone, 16, Sends His Second 5.14d

If you follow the World Cups, you know who Oriane Bertone is. Meet her brother, who is two years her junior and, like Oriane, has already proven himself to be one of the world's best climbers. On paper, he's got the genes and the gold medals from Youth World Championships and Youth Cups to back it up. But watch him move and you'll see a fierce combo of precision and pure joy, which feels like explanation enough for his early success.

Over the weekend, following the annual Tout a Blocs competition in Argentiere, France, Max sent this second 5.14d--Redoublement d’effort, near Briancon. He called it his hardest, telling 8a.nu he prefers long endurance routes to short, powerful ones. Despite it being "out of style," he sent the line over the course of four sessions. Likewise, his first of the grade, TCT (5.14d), took him just three tries.

Max began climbing at age six. He's yet to compete in the Open circuit, but when he does, I have a feeling he will continue to follow in his sister's footsteps. --Delaney Miller

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Adam Ondra releases footage of world's third 5.15c

2012 and 2013 were a special time for fans of climbing history, thanks in large part to one man: Adam Ondra. Back then, when sending a 5.14d was serious news, Ondra, a lanky 20-year-old, was pushing the sport into grades that felt unreasonably hypothetical to most of us, FAing three 5.15c's in a 14-month period and cementing his place as the successor to Chris Sharma as the world's leading sport climber. Ondra's first two 5.15c's, Change (October 2012) and La Dura Dura (February 2013), were huge, photogenic routes in prominent crags and widely featured in various climbing films. Though it took him 25 or so days of effort over two years, Ondra's third 5.15c, Vasil Vasil, never quite got the same attention. Sloup, in the Czech Republic, may be Ondra's favorite local crag, but it was not exactly on the international crusher circuit until Will Bosi finally made a visit last year. Plus, the business section of the route is barely taller than some boulder problems: Vasil Vasil starts with seven or eight moves of burly 5.13d, which is capped by a four-move boulder problem, the crux move of which is reputedly V13 on its own. Aside from a few photographs and a two-move clip in Ondra’s 2014 film, Change, not much information existed about Vasil Vasil until Ondra released a film about the climb this past weekend. Though it contains some fun contextualizing narration from Will Bosi and the uncut footage of Ondra's send, the best part of the film comes at the end, when Ondra tells us that sending Vasil Vasil was so meaningful that he threw a party to celebrate, inviting several climbing friends. It was at that party, in that climate of festivity, that he met Iva Veymolova, who he later married. --SP

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Watch Jakob Schubert on Alasha

In October 2021, Jakob Schubert made the first repeat of Chris Sharma's second most iconic deep water soloes, Alasha (5.14d/5.15a), on the northern coast of Mallorca, Spain. Now he's released an excellent video about it.

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