Adam Ondra sent his fourth 5.15b of the year this weekend, making the first ascent of La Planta de Shiva near Málaga, Spain. La Planta de Shiva adds an extension to an established 5.14b for 148 feet of pumpy, often dynamic climbing. According to , Ondra dispatched the project in just eight tries.
Ondra has dominated sport climbing news this year with his fast repeats and first ascents of hard routes. The Czech wunderkind has now done four routes at 5.15b, climbing two of them–La Planta de Shiva and Chilam Balam–in less than ten attempts.
With Ondra looking more and more at home on the world's hardest terrain, the buzz has grown around the possibility that he could take it to the next level. Chilam Balam had originally been given a grade of 5.15c; after climbing it, Ondra downgraded the line, calling it a soft 5.15b.
Check out the following video of Ondra working the route. He skips several clips, presumably because of the difficulty of the line: on a route like La Planta de Shiva, the holds are often too small for climbers to find a comfortable clipping stance.
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https://www.youtube.com/embed/00ZZmZdap84