A sleeping lion no more! Interview with Chris Sharma and a look back at his greatest ascents

Two weeks ago, Chris Sharma, 41, made the FA of Sleeping Lion (9b+) in Siurana after projecting it for one and a half years. This was his first cutting-edge redpoint since he did the FA of El Bon Combat (9b) in 2015. Photographer Rikki Giancola has, since November, travelled with him from Barcelona to Siurana, doing long day trips, twice a week.

"He is a motivation machine. Toni Arbones was his belayer and mental coach. Chris fell on the same move I think 15 times and that move was near the very end of the route. Arbones helped him a lot with dealing with the fact that for some moments he thought he couldn’t do it. [The day he did it] Was epic and all the climbers on the Pati in Siurana were shouting and celebrating with Chris.” We recently caught up with Chris and he was kind enough to give us the inside scoop below.

Where do you get the motivation to keep pushing hard, being over 40, and how does that impact your daily life?
Well, I’ve been climbing about 30 years. And even though I’ve embarked on new chapters in my life with family and business etc, climbing is still a huge part of me and something that gives me so much joy, especially when I’m able to climb with good sensations on amazing routes like Sleeping Lion.

How did you find the line and how much time do you spend searching for new lines?
I think every time I was in Siurana over the last 15 years I would always look at that section of the wall and dream if it might be climbable, then one day I took the time to put some bolts in to have a closer look and I was pleasantly surprised to find a a perfect line just barely there.

What was hardest thing about projecting Sleeping Lion?
The route pushed me in many ways. Physically of course but also mentally and emotionally. It’s one thing to feel capable of something but it’s a whole other thing to restructure your life around an objective like that and bring it into reality. It’s definitely more challenging balancing all the elements of life these days but climbing is such a grounding activity for me so it felt really good to make the time for this.

Specifically though the last hard move of the route, move #54 or something…. I fell off there 16 times over three months. So there was a big psychological element in being able to endure that and not lose hope. Very happy it finally clicked.

What do you think was the most critical thing that made it all come together?
I guess, I worked the route into submission. In that process I also worked my own ego into submission as well. When I got to the point that I didn’t even really care anymore I was able to let go and go all out a little bit harder.

Do you have more "Sleeping Lions" on the horizon?
I have several other routes, multi pitch and DWS in mind but I’m also happy to float for a while until the next thing captivates me in an organic way without forcing the agenda.

Chris started making headlines at age 14 when he won the USA nationals in 1996. The next year he won silver at the World Championship and then he won his first-ever Lead World Cup. From 2000 to 2004, he did one Boulder WC per year and his worst result for four straight years was bronze.

Taking a look at everything he has accomplished on rock over the past nearly 30 years is nothing but astounding.
1996 SuperTweak (8c) at age 15
1997 Necessary evil (8c+) FA
2001 Biographie 9a+ FA
2004 Practice of the Wild (8C) FA
2007 Es Pontas 9a+ DWS FA
2008 Jumbo Love (9b) FA
2013 La Dura dura (9b+)
2023 Sleeping Lion (9b+) FA

Chris has done nine routes 9b and harder, out of which he has bolted each of them, and made eight FAs. When it comes to 9a+, he has done twelve, out of which ten are FAs. When it comes to onsight climbing, he has done seven 8c's and his latest was in 2022. Bouldering, he has also put up a couple 8C's.