IMAGINE ADAM ONDRA lying on his back, eyes squeezed shut in concentration, while a physiotherapist holds his heel in space, helping him visualize and strengthen his body specifically for a move.
The therapist helps him mimic a crux on Silence, the 45-meter, world’s-first 5.15d Ondra climbed September 3 in the Hanshalleren Cave in Flatanger, Norway. Sound “out there”? Well, when you consider that Silence links 20 meters of 5.13d into a 5.15c, with wild, upside-down jessery and a V15 crux, this new, intense, assisted visualization starts to make more sense—Ondra needed every advantage.
Who are you doing this training with?
Klaus Isele, who is my physiotherapist and an experienced climber.My work with Klaus is not only on the level of injury prevention,but also on the level of how to climb better thanks to physiotherapy.On a climb as specific as Silence, with such rare, complex, and weird movements, it is crucial.Explain your process with Klaus.
This story is from the Issue 157 edition of Climbing.
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This story is from the Issue 157 edition of Climbing.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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New Dawn
On November 21, 2016, after an eight-day push, 23-year-old Czech climber Adam Ondra topped out the 32-pitch Dawn Wall (VI 5.14d) on Yosemite’s El Capitan, a line many consider the hardest free big wall on the planet. With eight pitches of 5.14 and 12 pitches of 5.13, the route garnered mainstream-media attention in January 2015 when Tommy Caldwell, who had put seven years of work into exploring and freeing the route, and Kevin Jorgeson nabbed the first free ascent after 19 days on the wall. Ondra, who had never been to the Valley, trad climbed, or been on a big wall before, nabbed the second ascent, thanks in part to his support team of Pavel Blazek and Heinz Zak.Although Ondra has ticked some of the planet’s hardest sport climbs and boulder problems, critics assumed the experience-driven discipline of big wall free climbing would shut him down. Despite success that seemingly came easy, conditions, skin, and the route’s pure technical difficulty posed challenges along the way. Caldwell, Jorgeson, and Ondra spoke to us about the nuts, bolts, and near-invisible micro-crimps of this historic ascent.
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Against a background of 10,000-foot peaks, icebergs, and the vast Atlantic Ocean, local Inuit kids in East Greenland are growing up stuck somewhere between traditional ways of life and the quickly encroaching modern world. Communities struggle with record suicide, alcoholism, and abuse rates. Four Icelanders and an American asked the question: Can rock climbing help?
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IMAGINE ADAM ONDRA lying on his back, eyes squeezed shut in concentration, while a physiotherapist holds his heel in space, helping him visualize and strengthen his body specifically for a move.
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