Chris Sharma on First Ascent of Golpe De Estado: ‘Possibly The Hardest Thing I Have Ever Done On A Rope’

It seems Chris Sharma has managed to make the FA of Golpe de estado in the El Pati-sector of Siurana. The route is a direct version of Estado critico and is made up of one 9a part, directly followed by an 8c+ part, without any rest. Chris was a bit hesitant about the grade, but in the end he decided it was most probably 9b.

This is coming in from UKClimbing.com. It looks like Chris Sharma has finally attained the first ascent of Golpe De Estado. Sharma has been working this project for some time and considers it to be the hardest route he has ever attempted. That is saying enough coming from Chris Sharma.

A few hours after UKClimbing posted the news, BigUp productions emailed them with a link to a free video of Chris working the route. The video is quite amazing and certainly attests to how hard this route is. On more than a few occasions, Chris is forced to hang by his fingers in order to grasp a better hold. As a rock climber, you are taught to keep at least three points on the rock at all times. The only way to get to the top of Golpe De Estado is by breaking a few of these long-taught rules. We suggest, unless you are Chris Sharma, that you don’t try this at home.

The BigUp productions video is part of the upcoming Dossage V video and was released for free just to show people how tough this route is.  They figured that there would be people who questioned the difficulty, but by looking at it, I don’t think there is much question about it.  I can’t wait to get the full report!

By the way, Climbing Narcissist needs to be credited for bring this great video to my attention.

Video Profile: Chris Sharma

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXW5u0qFDr8]

Rocktoberfest Rocs Red River Gorge October 12th-14th

Petzl America’s annual Roc Trip will be conducted this year in conjunction with Rocktoberfest at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.

Rocktoberfest is an annual fundraising event held by the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition to help preserve climbing access in eastern Kentucky.

This three day event will feature climbing clinics, competitions and celebrations set on the backdrop of one of the United States’ premier rock climbing playgrounds in eastern Kentucky.

Here is a list of some of the things to be highlighted at Rocktoberfest:

• Clinics for all levels of climbing featuring exclusive instruction from some of the world’s elite climbers..including Sonny Trotter.
• The Unveiling of Chris Sharma’s King Lines, presented by film maker Peter Mortimer.
• Flash Rally Competition featuring some of the world’s top competitors.
• A Special Bounty Prize for someone claiming a first ascent up two designated routes, yet to be determined.
• A Saturday night party featuring a live DJ, and a host Bluegrass Band.
• American and European athletes participating in this year’s events and clinics include Chris Sharma, Dave Graham, Emily Harrington, Lisa Rands, Joe Kinder, Chris Lindner, Danny Andrada, Steve McClure, Tony Lamiche, Said Belhaj and many, many others…

This years Petzl Roc Trip and Rocktoberfest will be trying to raise $10-15, 000 for the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition.

Petzl, one of the world’s foremost outdoor adventure suppliers is hoping to bring in more guests and more attention to this years Rocktoberfest.

This sounds like a really cool time.  If you are anywhere close to this region come October 12-14, make plans to stop by and see what all the excitement is about.  Perhaps you could even bring your climbing shoes and chalk bag and try your hands at two of the famous Red Rock routes, Paradise Lost (5.13b) and Lucifer (5.14c).  For pics of this region and these two famous routes, stop on by the Climbing Narcissist Blog for some great shots taken over this past Labor Day.

Film Follows Climber Chris Sharma’s Search for Difficult, Picturesque ‘King Lines’

By Julie Jagg

SANTA CRUZ — When it comes to sports superstars, few fly farther under the radar than world-class rock climber Chris Sharma. His talents in climbing are considered on par with Michael Jordan’s in basketball. His ego, however, would seem more closely matched to modest tennis great Pete Sampras.

But all that’s about to change. The man who has been called humble, spiritual, even reticent in innumerous articles and interviews said he thinks, in truth, he’s a bit uppity.

“A lot of people focus on climbing. I focus on climbing hard routes, but I’m kind of a snob, I guess,” he said Tuesday while taking a break from his world travels to do some skateboarding here in his hometown.

“I want to climb hard routes, but I want something that inspires me”

Sharma, 26, has the ability to climb just about anything anywhere. But he said he turns up his nose at any problem — no matter how challenging — that’s not also picturesque.

“The esthetics for me, that’s the thing,” he said. “To find these amazing pieces of rock that also have another element. That’s kind of the definition of king lines: They’re big and hard and amazing, but they also have that esthetic”

Sharma began searching the world for rocks to climb at age 17. In the nine years since, he has found and conquered many of the gnarliest rocks in the most beautiful corners of the planet. Now his search for these “king lines,” as he calls them, is the subject of a documentary by the same name that will be shown Sept. 7 at the Rio Theatre as the headliner for the Reel Rock Film Tour.

Directors and college buddies Josh Lowell of Big Up Productions and Peter Mortimer of Sender Films teamed up to make “King Lines,” which has the highest budget of an climbing film in history and won an Emmy for a high-definition segment that appeared on NBC earlier this year. Mortimer said the project came together organically once Sharma told them the location and difficulty of his most recent project. It was Es Pontas, a line up a towering limestone arch encircled by sapphire blue waters off the coast of Mallorca, Spain.

“The arch is something where if you imagined a fantasy climb, that’s what you would imagine,” Lowell said. “It’s this perfect arch rising out of the Mediterranean Sea, and the movement that’s required to climb it is pretty amazing, too. If there was a video game of climbing, that arch would be in it.

“We thought, ‘Wow,’” Lowell added. “If Chris can do this thing, it will be the coolest thing he’s done and the coolest thing we’ve filmed.’ ”

Conquering Es Pontas entailed deep-water soloing, a climbing style fairly new to Sharma in which he would use no rope and rely on the water below to break his falls. Near the top of the climb was a 7-foot blank stretch, which he would have to jump, or dyno in climbing lingo, to complete the climb. Sharma estimates he made at least 100 failed attempts to get across that section, each time plummeting 35 feet into the jelly fish-filled water below.

A fall meant starting over completely. Sharma would have swim to the support boat, dry off, change his clothes and shoes and get a new chalk bag to help his muscular fingers grip the small divots and crevices in the slippery stone. Then he would begin again at the bottom of the arch, making at least 25 moves before he arrived back at the daunting blank section.

It took Sharma nearly four months’ time, spaced out over a year, before he finally landed his 7-foot leap of faith and picked his way to the top of the arch. Once there, though, his celebration was subdued, with the joy from completing a difficult task mixing with the melancholy of knowing his time with Es Pontas had ended.

“Obviously really I was ecstatic, really psyched. But climbing is this thing that happens in the process. Once you do it, you’re psyched, but that’s the end of the process,” Sharma said. “When you complete it, that’s great. But then it’s like, ‘What’s next?’ ”

He wasted little time finding out.

Sharma’s sponsors pay him to find exotic climbs, so as soon as his time with Es Pontas ended, the hunt for another challenge began. By the end of the shooting for “King Lines,” the film crew had followed him around Venezuela, France, Greece, Utah and Southern California.

Most recently, they filmed him working on his current obsession. It’s a sport climb across the ceiling of a 300-foot cave off Interstate 15 in the Mojave Desert that has so few changes in pitch it requires an extra-long rope. He’ll return there in October in the hopes of completing it, which Mortimer said would probably make it the most difficult climb ever made.

Once that experience ends, Sharma said he will continue to seek out other new and unique challenges. Undoubtedly, they’ll all be set in some of the most beautiful places in the world.

But Lowell and Mortimer said they can’t blame Sharma for picking climbs in the prettiest places. They noted that it makes it much easier for him to draw the attention photographers and filmmakers like themselves [location, location, location]. And, it makes for a much nicer work environment.

Plus, after spending months following Sharma and working with him through some fairly unglamorous situations, they’re convinced his penchant for the picturesque climbs doesn’t really come from snobbery.

“That’s like saying someone who has a palette for really good food is a snob,” Mortimer said. “That’s so not true”

(Editor’s Note:  Julie Jagg, the author of the above article on Chris Sharma, is a Staff Writer and Assistant Sports Editor for the  Santa Cruz Sentinal.  Julie has given The Adventurist special permission to reprint this article.  Julie is also the author of her own Blog, “Out and About” dealing with Outdoor Adventure.  Very Nice.  Julie may be contacted at jjag@santacruzsentinel.com )

If You Go

Reel Rock Film Tour

WHAT: Collection of climbing films headlined by the ‘King Lines’ documentary on Chris Sharma of Santa Cruz. Sharma, fellow climbers Miguel Riera and Daila Ojeda and director Josh Lowell will be present.

WHEN: Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, CA.

Tickets: $10 at Pacific Edge Climbing Gym, 104 Bronson St, Santa Cruz.

On the Net: www.reelrocktour.com; www.senderfilms.com; www.bigupproductions.com