Chris Sharma Sends Catalan Witness the Fitness (V-Hard) in Spain
Back in the bouldering groove, Sharma has established a new Witness the Fitness at Cova del Ocell near Barcelona. He named the monster roof climb Catalan Witness the Fitness and it’s speculated to be around V15.
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Chris Sharma had dreadlocks when he made the first ascent of Witness the Fitness—a futuristic V15 roof problem in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. It was 2005 and WTF was the hardest boulder problem he had climbed. Sharma later moved to Spain, cut his
dreads and put bouldering on the back burner to focus on sport climbing.
Back in the bouldering groove almost 11 years later, Sharma has established a new WTF at Cova del Ocell, 40 minutes from Barcelona (same location
of his recent FA El Bon Combat (5.15b/c)).
He sent the monster roof climb yesterday, December 4, and named it Catalan Witness the Fitness. It’s speculated to be around V15.
“I’ve been trying this line on and off for quite some time,” Sharma wrote on Instagram, “so it felt good to see it through finally. It’s been [a] great
process getting back into the bouldering groove!”
Sharma says he’s not sure about the grade, but the new line links an 8B/+ (V13/14) into an 8A+ (V12), “so whatever that means,” he writes. “It will be
really cool to see more climbers try it and get their opinion!”
UKC asked Sharma if this means he plans to focus more on bouldering.
Sharma responded: “Well it’s been fun bouldering a bit lately so I’m psyched to do a bit more of it, and this Cove de Ocell is quite unique and nearby
where I’ve been living so it’s been a fun thing to work on.
“But I never felt like I gave up bouldering, it’s all climbing you know.”
Stay tuned for video footage.