Adam Ondra Repeats Sharma’s Stoking the Fire (5.15b)
Last day, last try and in the last light of the day, Adam Ondra clipped the chains of Chris Sharma’s Stoking the Fire (5.15b) at the Santa Linya cave, Catalunya, Spain.
Become a member to unlock this story and receive other great perks.
Already have an Outside Account? Sign in
All-Access
Intro Offer
$3.99 / month*
- A $500 value with 25+ benefits including:
- Access to all member-only content on all 17 publications in the Outside network like Rock and Ice, Climbing, Outside, Backpacker, Trail Runner and more
- Annual subscription to Climbing magazine.
- Annual gear guides for climbing, camping, skiing, cycling, and more
- Gaia GPS Premium with hundreds of maps and global trail recommendations, a $39.99 value
- Outside Learn, our new online education hub loaded with more than 2,000 videos across 450 lessons including 6 Weeks to Stronger Fingers and Strength Training for Injury Prevention
- Premium access to Outside TV and 1,000+ hours of exclusive shows
- Annual subscription to Outside magazine
*Outside memberships are billed annually. Print subscriptions available to U.S. residents only. You may cancel your membership at anytime, but no refunds will be issued for payments already made. Upon cancellation, you will have access to your membership through the end of your paid year. More Details
Last day, last try and in the last light of the day, Adam Ondra clipped the chains of Chris Sharma’s Stoking the Fire (5.15b) at the Santa Linya cave, Catalunya, Spain—claiming the route’s second ascent. This was his eleventh 5.15b send, according to 8a.nu.
After falling on the route repeatedly, Ondra says, “I somehow managed to convince my body to stay there,” in a video posted on Facebook by Pucseries Patxi Usobiaga. “It was some kind of miracle.”
Sharma made the first ascent of Stoking the Fire on February 6, 2013—the day before Ondra sent La Dura Dura (5.15c) in Oliana. Sharma described the climb to Rock and Ice in an interview the day after his ascent: “The style of the route is very steep, powerful and continuous … there aren’t any
places to shake and you just have to climb super tight and precise nonstop.
“There is like a seven move crux with a bunch of left-hand underclings and several hard stabs to a two and one finger pocket. The climbing is very involved and complex. For every hand move you have to do several foot moves.”
He called the route “pretty solid” 5.15b.
Stoking the Fire was one of two unrepeated 5.15b’s routes established by Sharma in the Santa Linya cave, according to DPM. The other route, still unrepeated, is called Neanderthal.
Ondra came close to sending Stoking the Fire last year, and despite feeling out of top form this year, he managed the ascent.
In the video by PUC video, Ondra says: “This trip to Catalunya has been a bit of a struggle, maybe. I wasn’t as strong as I wanted to be, but in the end, sending Stoking the Fire—such a beautiful route and an amazing fight—was an experience that I will not forget for a long time.”
Watch Chris Sharma working Stoking the Fire (5.15b):
Related Articles
