A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
Adam Ondra is widely considered to be the best rock climber in the world.
He has established or repeated many of the worlds 9bs, put up the first 9b+ with Change and the first 9c with Silence. He's onsighted multiple 9as and became the first person to flash 9a+ when he climbed Super Crackinette on his first try. He is also an extremely strong boulderer with multiple ascents of boulders up to 9A.
While his hardest ascents are notable what sets Adam apart from his contemporaries is his depth of experience. At the time of writing he has onsighted 64 8cs, 21 8c+s, 3 9as and climbed 188 routes graded 9a or harder. He has also won the world cup 7 times and the world championships 5 times.
[1] Adam's logbook https://www.adamondra.com/list-of-routes
[2] Interview with Magnus Midtbø, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-5yuVuDFzU
[3] Profile in the New York Times, 2021 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/sports/olympics/adam-ondra-climbing.html
[4] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/adam-ondra-the-100-x-9a-or-harder-interview.html
[5] Interview with Rob Greenwood for UKClimbing.com, May 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI95jOOBBno
Adam Ondra is widely considered to be the best rock climber in the world.
He has established or repeated many of the worlds 9bs, put up the first 9b+ with Change and the first 9c with Silence. He's onsighted multiple 9as and became the first person to flash 9a+ when he climbed Super Crackinette on his first try. He is also an extremely strong boulderer with multiple ascents of boulders up to 9A.
While his hardest ascents are notable what sets Adam apart from his contemporaries is his depth of experience. At the time of writing he has onsighted 64 8cs, 21 8c+s, 3 9as and climbed 188 routes graded 9a or harder. He has also won the world cup 7 times and the world championships 5 times.
[1] Adam's logbook https://www.adamondra.com/list-of-routes
[2] Interview with Magnus Midtbø, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-5yuVuDFzU
[3] Profile in the New York Times, 2021 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/sports/olympics/adam-ondra-climbing.html
[4] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/adam-ondra-the-100-x-9a-or-harder-interview.html
[5] Interview with Rob Greenwood for UKClimbing.com, May 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI95jOOBBno
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Climbed twice! On the 10th May his t shirt dabbed the pads on the first move so to put the ascent beyond doubt he went back and repeated it with his short off.
[1] https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJ9pKkmIgll/