Jernej Kruder does Big Fish (8c+/9a)

Jernej Kruder has done the second repeat, after Matty Hong, of Chris Sharma’s Big fish (8c+) in Mallorca. ”Crux starts at about 15m and finishes at 20! 8c+/9a.”.

The 34-year-old is one of the very best multi-discipline climbers out there. In 2018, he captured the Boulder World Cup title, and outdoors he has sent a 9a+ deep-water solo, a 9a+ first ascent, a 9a trad climb, multiple 8C boulders, and multi-pitch routes graded up to 8c. Here is the Slovenian’s full report. (c) Michael Piccolruaz

”After sending Es Pontas (9a+) back in 2016, I set my eyes on Alasha, which at that time was the second hardest psicobloc line in the world. I spent many days and put in a lot of effort, but the route simply wouldn’t let me through. At some point, I gave up. It was a hard decision, but luckily for me, Chris opened another line — Big Fish. It was slightly lower in grade but with the crux nearly 20 meters above the sea. The moves seemed doable, but the place was dark and intimidating.

I returned in 2023 to give it my full effort. After a few days, I got comfortable with the height and even managed to reach the last hard move. Then the weather turned bad, and my head gave in. I left Mallorca empty-handed. Last year, I bought plane tickets again. But just before leaving, I decided to stay home due to poor weather and to prepare better for my upcoming trip to Yosemite.

This year, things were completely different for me. I focused entirely on outdoor climbing. I did some hard multipitch routes and bouldering lines, and I even managed to finish two of my trad projects on the last days of my trips. I was quite happy with my season so far, so the only thing left for the year was to check out Big Fish again. I didn’t have high expectations — I hadn’t trained or climbed hard since my trip to Squamish. Honestly, I just wanted to see if it was worth coming back in December. My first touch after two years felt surprisingly good. I didn’t feel too weak, and I felt very comfortable high above the water. Falling twice from the first hard move on the first day was more of an introduction to falling again than a real attempt to send.

The next day was different. I was there with just two friends — Jairo and Carlos. I felt ready to commit. The sea was calm, and the air was dry. I cruised through the first section. Then time seemed to stop. I was completely in the moment — no sound of my friends cheering, no music from the speaker, no thoughts about the past or the future. Just pure focus on the next move. I climbed through the crux and suddenly found myself standing on top of one of my favorite lines in the world. After the conditions deteriorated, I spent the rest of my trip simply enjoying the island and checking out new projects. On my last day, I sent Face Your Fear (8b) on my second go.”