[attach]454858[/attach]
The rock climbing idol of this era: Chris Sharma (commonly translated as 克里斯·夏玛, also nicknamed “Sha Ma” or “Sha Ma” by domestic climbers), hails from Santa Cruz, California, USA, and was born in April 1981. He began learning to climb at the age of 12 and attended Madonna Mountain School for preparatory studies until he was 15. By that stage, he was already an expert in competitive sport climbing, a level that most people would take at least 10 years of hard training to reach, if they ever could.
Chris Sharma rose to fame worldwide in 1996 when, at just 14, he won the U.S. National Bouldering Championship. At 15, he earned a silver medal at the World Climbing Championships, and in the same year, he completed his first-ever C-rated route (8c+, the hardest route in the U.S. at the time).
[attach]454863[/attach]
Just as Wolfgang is known for setting standards and introducing high-difficulty characteristics of sport climbing into traditional climbing on big walls (for the average person, he is...<绝岭雄风>the "Stallone of climbing" and the inventor of fingerboards), this master established a new grading benchmark for difficult sport climbs, thereby setting a milestone in climbing history. What truly cemented Sharma’s legendary status and elevated him to the level of a master was his first ascent of a route graded at that historic moment: in August 2001, Sharma clipped the last quickdraw, completing *Realization* (a famous route set by French route-setter Jean-Christophe Lafaille, who went missing on Makalu in 2007) — a 38-meter route at the French climbing mecca of Ceuse. Sharma became the first person in history to redpoint a 9a+ route.
[attach]454864[/attach]
At that time, it was considered a humanly insurmountable limit. Sharma ushered in a new era.
“He has a melancholic yet determined gaze; one of his signature moves is performing powerful dynamic moves on steep boulder problems using only one foothold...” People describe him this way. The quiet Sharma seems somewhat mysterious.
[attach]454861[/attach]
After gaining fame, he still earned numerous honors in U.S. and world championships. But Sharma remains as feline as ever — agile and graceful on steep cliffs, and low-profile and unassuming in life. Even though climbing is not as mass-market, popular, or commercialized as NBA or golf, Sharma, with his gentle personality, handsome looks, and broad appeal, could have easily achieved great financial success with just a little effort in branding or representing products. In fact, when Sharma came to China this year, he wore simple clothes with remnants of chalk on them, looking no different from any ordinary foreign climber (of course, his deep, calm eyes set him apart). Today’s Sharma remains as peaceful and carefree as he was before becoming famous, without even a hint of prima donna attitude. (He is the Jordan, the Woods of the climbing world...) From the end of 2002 to 2006, Sharma felt a bit tired. Occasionally, he would participate in some small climbing or bouldering competitions when the mood struck. But more often, he traveled around the U.S., France, New Zealand, India, and other places, following his heart to boulder around the world. As a Buddhist, he also visited India; in fact, yoga has always been part of his climbing warm-up and recovery routine, as well as his daily practice. During these years, Sharma seemed to vanish from the climbing scene. But whenever he conquered an extremely difficult boulder problem, it would cause an uproar, like a pebble tossed into the calm waters of the climbing community. Looking back at the climbing news from that time, he was always associated with terms like onsight, first ascent, V14, and so on.
[attach]454862[/attach]
In 2006, Sharma arrived at Mallorca, Spain. There, he became captivated by the fantastic limestone boulders scattered across the sea. Oh, Es Pontas — the King Line.
[attach]454868[/attach]
It’s an arch-shaped rock formation, called Es Pontas, miraculously floating above the azure Mediterranean Sea. But the route is incredibly difficult. Especially one dynamic move in the middle, arguably the hardest dynamic move in the world. Falling into the sea from that dynamic move, even the world’s best climber would find Es Pontas unforgiving. Later, he temporarily left Spain and traveled around the world to climb — France, California, Venezuela... especially visiting the world’s most amazing tabletop mountain, Venezuela’s “Lost World” (Mount Roraima) — for bouldering and travel.
[attach]454865[/attach][attach]454867[/attach]
In August 2007, Chris Sharma returned to Spain. He swam out to face Es Pontas once again... Prior to that, he had failed on the dynamic move of this deep-water solo route 50 times. The final day finally arrived. After doing a bit of yoga, he got on the route. The crux remained that dynamic move. He leaped and grabbed it, but the momentum was too strong, leaving him swinging wildly with both feet off the wall — but this time, he held on firmly. He tried to rest on the small ledge, but his feet couldn’t find solid footing, so he moved right to a shark-fin-shaped hold to recover. From there, there were 18 more moves to the top, including a V10 and a crux section. The final sequence went smoothly... He reached the top. Under Spain’s pink sunset, Sharma let out his iconic, childlike roar.
[attach]454866[/attach]
On September 26, 2007, for Sharma and the climbing world, it was another landmark. Es Pontas: 9b, first ascent by Chris Sharma, a deep-water solo route featuring a 2-meter dynamic move. Sharma tried it 50 times before succeeding, and to date, no one else has redpointed it. This was Sharma’s golden era — the undisputed year of 2008. In 2008, after propelling human climbing into a new era, Sharma pushed the difficulty level of climbing unimaginably further: On March 13, 2008, Sharma completed *Neanderthal* (9b+), a 50-meter-long overhanging route in Catalonia, Spain. If started directly with no rest points, it would be considered 9C. On September 11, 2008, at his home crag in Clark Mountain, Southern California, Sharma made the first ascent of *Jumbo Love*. This route is considered one of the ten hardest in the world: 9b+, approximately 76 meters long. Sharma himself believes it’s the hardest route he’s ever done. Some say certain sections might even reach 9C.
[attach]454860[/attach]
On December 17, 2008, Sharma made the first ascent of *Golpe de Estado* (9b), a long route in Siurana, Spain. —— This long route and its first ascent became Sharma’s hallmark for 2008. In that year, Sharma completed at least seven 9b routes, onsighted three C/D routes, and won the 2008 Mammut Bouldering Championship and the DIMA Masters. Sharma is so gifted, far surpassing others not just in technical skill, which earns him recognition among climbers. Even hailed as one of the greatest climbers of all time, Sharma remains humble and approachable — perhaps due to his devotion as a Buddhist. This may bring an air of mystery and warmth, making people not only admire his technique, his climbing shouts, and dynamic moves, but also love his character.
When some climbers heard that Sharma is a staunch vegetarian, they couldn’t believe it. Sharma’s life often shows a serene side — even his smile carries an Eastern subtlety and shyness. But his climbing style is completely different, a stark contrast to his personality: his moves are powerful and dynamic, even “violent,” full of passion.
Sharma keeps traveling the world, opening new routes, overcoming new challenges, creating new climbing standards, and promoting and teaching climbing everywhere. This is why climbers of all generations — veterans, mid-career, and newcomers — all admire and appreciate him.
American climber Randy Leavitt said of Sharma: “What do we mean by the dream of the next generation? It means standing on the shoulders of the current generation and achieving things we can’t even imagine. We never thought the Huber brothers could climb El Capitan as a crack sport route... I think when Sharma redpointed Es Pontas over the blue-green Mediterranean, he had fulfilled their generation’s dream. And Sharma, here at Clark Mountain, showed me what his dream looks like.”
In April 2009, Sharma came to China’s climbing mecca: Yangshuo. On April 2, Sharma onsighted the route “Lightning” at Leipishan A with ease. Then on April 3, he onsighted “Blue Magic” at Baishan A and “China Climb” at Baishan B. On April 4, Sharma casually onsighted a route at Moon Hill. On April 5, Sharma was working on two new routes at Baishan, expected to be graded C and A.
Finally, on April 8, at Baishan, Sharma completed his newly opened C-graded route, then easily finished an old B-graded route called “American Gangster.” When finishing “American Gangster,” he didn’t use the original two-finger pocket drilled by the French (too hard; the French had drilled two holes, somewhat compromising the purity of the extreme line). It’s said Sharma half-jokingly suggested renaming the route “French Thug.” As of this writing, Sharma has established China’s first 9a route at Baishan. The specific name is still unknown, as Sharma doesn’t usually name routes.
This post has been synced to Stone-Climber's Weibo.