The Top 12 Hardest Sport Climbing Routes in the World

A brief history of the development of climbing and how much it has evolved over time.

Emma Jensen

How did climbing begin?

Rock climbing has been around since 400 BC when a watercolor painting was found in China, however, it has rapidly increased in popularity in the past 40 or 50 years. One of the main forms of rock climbing that has seen popularity recently that will be featured in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and all over the news is sport climbing. Sport climbing branched from mountaineering in the late nineteenth century because some mountaineers wanted to focus more on the climb itself than reaching the summit. This caused people to view mountaineering as a form of entertainment, which led researchers to invest more time into developing climbing equipment. It is hard to determine the true birthplace of rock climbing as a sport but the two that stand out the most are in Italy where Georg Winkler climbed the Dolomites in Saxony in 1887 and in Great Britain where W.P. Hackett Smith, the "Father of rock climbing", climbed Napes Needle in 1886. Due to Hackett and Winkler's accomplishments climbing became a hobby in many regions of Europe, but it would take another 30 years before climbing took off in the United States.

Once climbing became a well known activity in most regions in the twentieth century, it was finally able to distance itself from mountaineering into its own sport. In the 1950s climbing boomed as new techniques, new grading systems, and new equipment allowed for the sport to flourish. Later in the 1960s the first indoor rock climbing gym was created in The Ullswater School in England which allowed for a new form of competition and training area for experienced climbers. In 1964 this lead to the development of better climbing facilities and walls by Don Robinson who incorporated a wide variety of rock climbing motions into the walls build to make it more suitable. While the United States had an increase in rock climbing with Yosemite Climbers in the 60s and 70s, the climbing gyms and facilities that are prevalent today did not become a feature in the US until 1987. With climbing equipment, experience, and technique evolving all the time, climbing has become more complex and has become a community that sees 25 million people climbing on a regular basis.

Timeline of Major Climbing events from 1886 to present:

  • 1886 - W.P. Hackett Smith climbs the Napes Needle in Great Britain
  • 1887 - Georg Winkler ascends the Dolomites in Saxony to bring rock climbing popularity in Italy
  • 1920 - Rock climbing as a distinct sport is introduced in the United States
  • 1960 - The first indoor climbing wall is built in England
  • 1962 - The Meadow Boys Club in England builds the first wall to train on for climbing
  • 1964 - Don Robinson builds the first modern indoor climbing wall
  • 1964 - The first official rock climbing guide for Yosemite National Park is released
  • 1970s - Robinson mass markets the modern indoor climbing wall
  • 1973 - Modern sports climbing begins in Europe with Kurt Alberts redpointing technique
  • 1987 - The first indoor climbing facility comes to the United States
  • 1987 - Rock climbing is recognized as an international sport

Grading system:

Sport climbs are assigned subjective ratings which represent the difficulty of the route based on geographic location of the route due to different countries and climbing communities having different grading systems.

  • Francia: The French grading system is internationally recognized for grading sport climbs and is mostly used on routes in the UK.
  • UIAA: The German grading system and other Eastern European and in Italy for Trad routes.
  • YDS: The United States grading system, also known as the Yosemite Decimal System is commonly used in the US and starts with a 5. something. Grades 1 through 4 refer to walks of increasing difficulty, once you reach 5 it is assumed you will be scrambling and somewhat exposed which may require a rope and gear. The sub grade increases when a 'harder' climb is developed, like Silence which is a 5.15d.
  • GB: The UK grading system is made up of two main sub-groups, a technical grade and an adjective grade. The adjective describes the difficulty of the climb with consideration on how strenuous the route is, availability of protection, and exposure. The numerical technical grade describes the crux (hardest) move on the climb.
  • AUS: The New Zealand and Australian grading system which is a single number that gets larger as the route increases in difficulty.

Climbing grades are specifically based on the given regions which shows how different people can interpret the areas that they are climbing in. Climbing is subjective because it depends on the geographic features that are available when people climb in the regions as well as attitude and capability to access and climb in the areas. While climbing can be seen as a sport that is purely based on skill and drive, it could also be seen as a sport that relies on location, expenses, and how you are able to access these areas that have impressive outdoor climbs.

The Top 12 Hardest Routes in the World

01 / 12
1

Silence 5.15d (9c)

The hardest sport climb in the world at the moment, located in Hanshallaren Cave in Flatanger, Norway. It is the only route in the world to have the proposed rating of 5.15d (9c) and it was bolted in 2012 or 2013 by Adam Ondra, who first ascended it on September 3rd, 2017. Adam Ondra cautiously suggested the 9c rating because it was "much harder than anything else" he had previously done.

2

Change 5.15c (9b+)

The world's first sport climb rated 5.15c (9b+) located in Hanshallaren cave in Flatanger, Norway. It was bolted and first ascended by Adam Ondra at the age of 18 on October 4th, 2012. It is one of the hardest climbs in the world at the moment with no repeats so far.

3

La Dura Dura 5.15c (9b+)

The world's second sport climb rated 5.15c (9b+), and the first of its grade to be repeated. Located in Oliana, Catalonia, Spain it was bolted in 2009 by Chris Sharma and redpointed on February 7th, 2013 by Adam Ondra. Chris Sharma climbed it a month later on March 23rd, 2013 and confirmed the rating.

4

Perfecto Mundo 5.15c (9b+)

Perfecto Mundo is located in Margalef, Spain as an old project that Chris Sharma bolted either 8 or 9 years ago but could not complete. Alex Megos became the first climber other than Adam Ondra to make the first ascent of a 5.15c (9b+).

5

Vasil Vasil 5.15c (9b+)

The third 5.15c (9b+) first ascent by Adam Ondra located near Sloup, which is a limestone crag near Brno, Czech Republic. Ondra climbed it on December 4th, 2013 but said he bolted the climb five years earlier.

6

La Rage d'Adam 5.15b/c (9b/b+)

La Rage d'Adam is a hard, steep sport climb located in the Verdon region of France. Seb Bouin redpointed the route in September 2019, and named it La Rage d'Adam (literal translation "Adams Rage") because Adam Ondra could not decipher the beta for the climb.

7

El Bon Combat 5.15b/c (9b/9b+)

This climb is located in La Cova de I 'Ocell in Spain, it is a classic climb that was first ascended by Chris Sharma on March 7th, 2015 who rated it a 9b, recently a climber by the name of Jakob Schubert has suggested it could be a hard 9a+ in 2018, but Felipe Camargo confirmed the 9b grade after Schubert in 2019.

8

Move 5.15b/5.15c (9b/9b+)

First climbed by Adam Ondra on October 20th, 2019, this climb is located near Silence and Move in Hanshallaren Cave which is in Flatanger, Norway.

9

Ali Hulk Sit Start Extension 5.15b (9b)

Ali Hulk Sit Start Extension is a combination of two climbs and a sit start, the original Ali Hulk was a 5.14d (9a) which was first climbed by Dani Andrada in 2007. An extension was then added which bumped the grade up to a 5.15a (9a+), which involved a 15-move boulder problem added to the start of the climb. Climbing the route from sit start all the way through the extension makes it a 5.15b (9b) Ali Hulk Sit Start Extension, which was first climbed in 2007 by Jonatan Flor. Laura Rogora became the second woman in the world to climb a 5.15b (9b) on Ali Hulk Sit Start Extension.

10

Apocalipsis de la Gioconda 5.15b (9b)

Located in Rodellar, Spain the climb Apocalipsis de la Gioconda was first climbed onAugust 26th, 2019 by Jonatan Flor. The climb adds 25 meters to the original climb Apocalipsis 5.14c/d (8c+/9a) which was first climbed on August 21st, 2019 by Flor .

11

Ataxia Hiperextension 5.15b (9b)

This climb is the second extension of Ataxia 5.14d (9a) , added by Jonathan Guadalcazar on December 31st, 2019 located in Techos, Spain.

12

Chaxiraxi 5.15b (9b)

Adam Ondra made the first ascent of Chaxiraxi on March 28th, 2011. The climb is a massive line located in Oliana, Contrafort de Rumbau, Spain, The route was bolted by Chris Sharma and is located near La Dura Dura which was also climbed by Ondra and Sharma.

Interactive Map of the 12 Hardest Climbs

This map represents where the 12 hardest climbs are located in proximity to each other. If you click on the dot, a pop up will appear which gives you details like the route name, area it is located, first ascent, video of the climb, and more. There is a legend located on the bottom left which uses color to represent different climbing grades. It is apparent that the hardest climbs are all located in Europe which could be due to the history of climbing and how it originated in the region.