Chris Sharma: Return to Balance

The king of deep-water soloing finds new lines to fuel his soul in Mont-Rebei, Spain. Summer in Spain is the time for psicobloc. The heat and humidity drive climbers like Chris Sharma to the sea in search of cooler temps, clean rock, and the next king line. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, he managed to make a few day missions out to Mont-Rebei, complete with a five- to six-kilometer kayak approach, and established a new 15-meter high deep-water-soloing line, which he named Trick or Tree.

"The route is really continuous, steep, and pumpy. The feeling to be 60 feet up at the lip of a cave, and just dangling by your fingertips, chalking up, and getting ready to go for a crux move. It’s so extreme and wild and spectacular, and yet controlled and safe, too. The beauty of deep water soloing is that it’s such a free form of climbing. It’s very playful, spontaneous, and creative. It allows you to interact with the wall and with nature. You’re not thinking about the grade. Psicobloc is climbing in its purest form.” Read the full story with more pictures.