I'm constantly impressed by Iker Pou. It's not just that the Basque climber, who's sport climbed up to 5.15a and established big wall routes in Europe and , is one of the world's greatest all-rounders at a time when climbers are specializing in narrower and narrower disciplines. It's also his longevity: at almost 35, he's still crushing routes that put down climbers ten years younger than him.
On January 2, Pou kicked off the new year by making the first ascent of Nit de Bruixes, a new 5.15a sport route in Margalef, Spain. Pou had worked the route last winter and nearly managed to make it through the crux, a three-bolt section of climbing on shallow pockets, but fell off from near the top when holds broke. It is his second 5.15, after Chris Sharma's Demencia Senil (check out that ascent in the above video.
Along with his brother Eneko, Pou has sent some of the Alps' hardest multipitch rock routes, including Silbergeier (5.14a) and (5.14b), as well as climbed big walls on all seven continents. In sport climbing, he's sent testpieces including Bain de Sang and Action Directe (both 5.14d). Watch the video below to see him in action on his line Orbayu on Naranjo de Bulnes, Spain.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=b8GDZclm7Qg%C2%A0