Chris Sharma Sends “Jumbo Love”, Possible 5.15b Route

September 17, 2008

Chris Sharma has sent shockwaves through the climbing community with the recent news that he has completed a possible new 5.15b route (9b) on Clark Mountain. If this climb can be repeated and authenticated as a true 5.15b route, this could become only the 4th route in the world to get this high distinction.

Jumbo Love, as Sharma has called it, is a 250 ft. monster that starts off with a 60ft. climb of 7c. That’s just to get things warmed up. The grade then goes up to 8c+ for the next 100 ft. The climb then gets harder and eases back down to an 8a+/b finisher till the top of the cliff.

Jumbo Love was originally seen as a a possible place to set up three new routes, and was bolted accordingly. Chris Sharma took it upon himself to change the bolting a hair and make it one huge route.

This news is all over the place. To read more about the history of Jumbo Love, I highly recommend that you checkout the nice profile on UKClimbing.com. This goes back to the very beginning of this route and gives a nice perspective on who has tried it and failed before Sharma’s successful climb. Climbing Narcissist puts some nice perspective on how big of a deal this climb could be, and even offers a bit more to our knowledge database. Climbing Narcissist mentions that this climb may be featured in a new Big Ups Productions video in the coming months. That will definitely be something to look forward to.

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