2 September 2021
Adam Ondra chipping opinions
Adam Ondra has presented some interesting thoughts in regards chipping. Here is part of what he says.
"Myself, I have changed from a purist to more pragmatist over the years. Having climbed in many areas and seeing the evolution of those crags, putting up quite a few routes myself, I care more about leaving nice and safe routes and using more โaggressiveโ ways of cleaning. Without this practice, some areas would not exist or they would simply be not nice to climb. Take for example Margalef, one of the most famous climbing areas. All the pockets are extremely sharp there and without filing down the edges of the pockets, most routes would be just incredibly painful. With the use of glue, it is very difficult to draw the line between reinforcing holds (avoiding existing holds to break) and creating hold. My rule is to use as little glue as possible. Rather just try to get rid of all possible loose holds and reinforce something only when it is necessary, especially when I do not manage to โhammer downโ or โcrowbar outโ certain loose blocks, yet it still feels loose and dangerous. โReinforcingโ a flake that barely holds its own weight is already creating an artificial hold for me. Nevertheless, putting up new routes is a lot of work and we should embrace all the guys and girls working hard at the crags, putting up routes that we all can be entertained by. On the other hand, it is a very difficult ethical question to set clear guidelines on what is OK and what isnโt OK when you put up a route."
"Myself, I have changed from a purist to more pragmatist over the years. Having climbed in many areas and seeing the evolution of those crags, putting up quite a few routes myself, I care more about leaving nice and safe routes and using more โaggressiveโ ways of cleaning. Without this practice, some areas would not exist or they would simply be not nice to climb. Take for example Margalef, one of the most famous climbing areas. All the pockets are extremely sharp there and without filing down the edges of the pockets, most routes would be just incredibly painful. With the use of glue, it is very difficult to draw the line between reinforcing holds (avoiding existing holds to break) and creating hold. My rule is to use as little glue as possible. Rather just try to get rid of all possible loose holds and reinforce something only when it is necessary, especially when I do not manage to โhammer downโ or โcrowbar outโ certain loose blocks, yet it still feels loose and dangerous. โReinforcingโ a flake that barely holds its own weight is already creating an artificial hold for me. Nevertheless, putting up new routes is a lot of work and we should embrace all the guys and girls working hard at the crags, putting up routes that we all can be entertained by. On the other hand, it is a very difficult ethical question to set clear guidelines on what is OK and what isnโt OK when you put up a route."
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Jorge Diaz-Rullo reports on Instagram that he has made the first ascent of Cafe Colombia in Margalef. At 27, heโs already stacked four 9b+ sends and now heโs adโฆ
26 January 2026
Sean Bailey FAโs Duality of Man (9c)
Sean Bailey reports on Instagram that he has done the first ascent of Duality of Man (9c) in Dry Canyon. โ After four total years and three seasons of climbing,โฆ
23 March 2026
Jorge Diaz-Rullo proposes 9c for Cafรฉ Colombia
Jorge Diaz-Rullo elaborates on the reasons for him to suggest 9c for Cafรฉ Colombia on Instagram, which he took down last week after projecting it for 240 sessioโฆ
Related
25 March 2008
Ondra does something hard, again...
Jamie Emerson is currently in Switzerland where he and his friends are steadily sending hard and classic problems. In visiting Cresciano he ran into Adam Ondra making quick work of Dreamtime, 8B+.
A video of Adam on the problem can be found on Jamie's website where you can also find high quality phโฆ
22 September 2008
8c+ (9a) by Adam Ondra & Bock
Adam Ondra has done two 8c+'s in Frankenjura, Planets Collide and Matador which Markus Bock put up in 2007 and suggested 9a for. Adam says, "in my opinion more 8c+ than 9a, but others should feel free to say more about grade". He also did Showdown, 8c "Stiff grading from nineties, I was very lucky".โฆ
28 September 2008
European Youth Series - Imst
1. 89: Fabrice landry FRA - Matilde Brumagne BEL
1. 91: Mario Lechner AUT - Dinara Fakhritdinova RUS
1. 93: Adam Ondra CZE - Berit Schwaiger AUT
Overall, the Austrians dominated as always and in the youngest female category, 4 out of the Top-7 were Austrian girls born -94!
Related news
25 March 2008
Ondra does something hard, again...
Jamie Emerson is currently in Switzerland where he and his friends are steadily sending hard and classic problems. In visiting Cresciano he ran into Adam Ondra making quick work of Dreamtime, 8B+.
A video of Adam on the problem can be found on Jamie's website where you can also find high quality phโฆ
22 September 2008
8c+ (9a) by Adam Ondra & Bock
Adam Ondra has done two 8c+'s in Frankenjura, Planets Collide and Matador which Markus Bock put up in 2007 and suggested 9a for. Adam says, "in my opinion more 8c+ than 9a, but others should feel free to say more about grade". He also did Showdown, 8c "Stiff grading from nineties, I was very lucky".โฆ
28 September 2008
European Youth Series - Imst
1. 89: Fabrice landry FRA - Matilde Brumagne BEL
1. 91: Mario Lechner AUT - Dinara Fakhritdinova RUS
1. 93: Adam Ondra CZE - Berit Schwaiger AUT
Overall, the Austrians dominated as always and in the youngest female category, 4 out of the Top-7 were Austrian girls born -94!
Favorites
Jorge Diaz-Rullo reports on Instagram that he has made the first ascent of Cafe Colombia in Margalef. At 27, heโs already stacked four 9b+ sends and now heโs adโฆ
16 March 2026
Ondra flashes 3*8C in two weeks
โI stopped focusing on competition bouldering after last yearโs World Cup in Prague, partly because I can already feel it on my body, especially in my shoulders. The modern competition style, with a lot of jumping from one hold to another, is very demanding for the shoulders.
Outdoor bouldering isโฆ
26 January 2026
Sean Bailey FAโs Duality of Man (9c)
Sean Bailey reports on Instagram that he has done the first ascent of Duality of Man (9c) in Dry Canyon. โ After four total years and three seasons of climbing,โฆ