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9a+ by Adam Ondra in Frankenjura
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2009-06-08 00:00:00 Adam Ondra has done the first repetition of Markus Bock's Corona, 9a+ in Frankenjura. Here is an article which also speculates why he is the best rock climber ever existed, having been able to progress into a new level. :-)
louis de cornulier
2009-06-08 14:08:15
And again, more amazing news from Adam Ondra! Amazing? Not so sure however. The performance itself is most impressive of course, but since we have been fed with similar treats at a frenetic and increasing rythm for the past year now, such pieces of news have become so casual they have lost all ability to impress anyone familiar with the website... I therefore suggest the creation of a section dedicated to the achievements of this supernatural climber, and in his own interest, specially if he benefits in some way from the success of this website... Personnaly, collecting all the Adam-Ondra-related data in one single space of this website would be better for Adam, for the website which could regain some of its readers by addressing more different subjects on his front page, and also for the other top climbers, who now live in the shadow of the Czech climbing king, at least on 8a.nu! R2r
2009-06-08 14:36:04
this kid is so amazing! ...
Jens
2009-06-08 14:44:31
@ luis: I guess most visitors think that it is very interesting to follow what Adam Ondra does, since he is the best rock climber in the world and he is 16.
As we measure the number of hits of each article, I can say that the last Ondra article which was published this morning, has received almost 100 % more visits compared to any other article on 8a.
If Adam does a 9a+ or a 8c+, second Go, we will of course report it as we will report any other climber who does the same. Do you think Adam should do 9b before we publish any news about him? Strange! louis de cornulier
2009-06-08 15:14:06
Jens,
don't get me wrong, I love reading news about Ondra!! All I am saying is, last year after I had read about his latest ascents I was all excited, because it was all new and stuff.
Now, when I see he has sent 2 8c onsight in one day, and the next I see he has climbed 8c+ FA, and the next day 9a, and the next day 9a+, well, I just say to myself: well, he is damn good, but that's about it. The excitement is over, because what seemed to be impossible is now normal, casual, and as such, expected. No surprise anymore. And I like to hear about other climbers as well, not just one, even the best one! I didn't say I don't want to hear about Ondra, quite the contrary! I love articles about him, everythin, but I want to hear about aother climbers as well, that's all! and since news concerning Ondra are so frequent, I suggested they could be put directly in a dedicated section where anyone interested in the guy, like I am, could find not only his latest ascents, but interviews, articles, why not photos, external links if any, etc... This way I think the Ondra fans will know more of him, and at the same time this will allow 8a.nu to have a different image from the "Ondra cheerleading squad" it has forged itself over the past few months. The man is great and he deserves his fan club, no problem with that. Only it isn't the alleged vocation of 8a.nu. Jens
2009-06-08 15:25:05
It might be a good idea to put Ondra in a dedicated sector. However, the webmaster do not have time to do such thing just because he is so good. Five years ago, we reported any 8c or 8a+ onsight. Today, we only report special 8c+ and 8b ascents and above. However, if Adam redpoint an 8c+ next week we will not give priority to report it. But if it is a 9a ascent...you will be reading about it :-)
What happend to your french translating...as you can see it is a lot of work for me publishing all news :-)
Samuel Egli
2009-06-08 16:25:03
what a crazy idea. An own forum for adam ondra. He is totally amazing but 8a should just keep it more quiet. We are not soccer players or popstars... Publish news as the come in. Dont speculate, dont judge Paulino Gallego (Puli)
2009-06-08 16:58:07
We must understand that 8a.nu somehow sponsors Adam. What can we expect about business?
RedRobin
2009-06-08 18:51:55
I also think that Adam is a really fantastic climber, but I also wish to here about more normal stuff. For example expeditions, or hard trad ascents and that stuff.
Caio Tombini
2009-06-08 18:52:19
Hey Jeans,
You are trying to say that every climber have the same atencion on the site but I dont know if that is true. Some time ago (1 or 2 weeks) Dani Andrada did 2 8c+ in the same day and it was reported as a impressive thing. Last week Felipe Camargo(18) did the same and the only thing reported about it was a debate about how to graduate traverse boulders, you did not even mention that he send another 8c+ in the same day. Jolli
2009-06-08 19:54:01
I think it´s worth mentioning that this is a 8a.nu WORLD RECORD of not mentioning Chris Sharma at all when debating about "the best of the best of the 8a of the best". The guy has done two 9b´s and couple others that are told to be too hard to be "just 9a+´s" and quite regularly onsighting 8c´s. But anyway maybe Sharma can´t be the best as he doesn´t have a scorecard at 8a.nu... So far everybody knows Jens absolutely has to put everything in numerical order and categorize everything or he can´t survive the next day. This is quite ok though as this site is built on rankings and I myself don´t mind that much. I even have a scorecard too so no worries. Anyway declaring someone "The best rock climber in the world" is quite lame. If there is a competition with rules and number in the chest and some juice and cookies served after the comp THEN we can say who is the best. Otherwise it would be nice to put "one of the very" in front of the "best rock climbers in the world" or so. Lot´s of props to Adam anyway. Reeeeaally inspiring! Jeremy Balboni
2009-06-08 21:53:17
100% agree with Jolli gravity
2009-06-08 22:08:59
@Jens
No doubt Adam is an exceptional climber, but you Jens, you are causing more harm than good no matter how sincere your intentions are. jeff lehmkuhl
2009-06-08 22:21:41
@ Jens Does Ondra have his own blog? Do you ever have personal contact with him? If so, why not either give him access to a portion of 8a.nu where he can "blog"? That way he can update people since you are busy. Momentumvm.com did that with Sharma. It makes sense. People will get the most accurate and fastest updates and you won't have to do a thing. Jens
2009-06-08 23:07:14
Anybody who are interested to publish news on 8a are welcome to do so. At this moment, 45 members have an updated account. Regarding Andrada I did not report it. I have limited time to report news.
Chris Sharma said once he saw Ondra climbing, "Now I feel like an amateur."
Somehow, the climbing community must like what 8a do as we also today set a new record. I spent one week with Ondra in Kalymnos and I am in contact with him every month. He can update a blog like any other 8a member. Jolli
2009-06-09 08:50:57
Obviously Sharmas comment "Now I feel like an amateur" is a nice compliment to a very talented young gun and not in any way a base to rank people. Come on! Of course "the community likes" what you do. You have a good news page that is quicker than magazines and I myself like to get fresh news too. 8a is one of the best sites in that sense. That doesn´t mean you are or have to invent a wheel again which seems sometimes the point here. Also not every new issue has to be "a world record" or a record anyway. This is a unique sport that relys on subjective grading and the most notable results are done OUTSIDE the competitions. In the real world competitions are the only way to put athletes in order. Ponder Stibbons
2009-06-09 09:56:24
Nice pictures.. I wonder if he has done that amazing looking move, you know from m.b. in that route, where he blocks that "2-finger-pocket" with the left hand... but I don't even know if this is a crucial move or something, just looks hard. video and pictures of m.b. in that route can be found here: rokmek.com Alvaro Susena
2009-06-09 09:59:17
It has been said a lot of times but it seems that people loves to forget about it. 8a.nu is a community based site and everyone is welcome to put news, or at least you can mail the news to Jens or BjĂśrn and they will put them up. Keeping complaining about Jens it's kind of a never ending story, do some creative things for a change and 8a.nu and all the visitors will benefite from that. I have been editor of climbing an skiing magazines for years and is allways the same: some people loves to complain while sitting on their butts and doing nothing to make things better. Unai
2009-06-09 11:01:16
Wonder if Bock will be denigrating his efforts too Jens
2009-06-09 12:10:26
I guess, the main reasons why 8a.nu is the leading climbing website is that our core business are climbing interaction and comparison. Without the analyses it would be boring to just read, xxx has done 8c etc. In 2008, we listed Chris Sharma as the climber of the year but in 2009, Adam is number 1.
tadzys
2009-06-09 14:02:02
Adam is #1? Why? Is it because he climbed shit loads of hard routes? (Impressive!) Lets look at Sharma, he also did 2 9a+ both FA, his trip to China: he opened/bolted god knows how many new routes. Doing FA's is much harder then just repeating someones route, it requires a vision, experience, and thats what makes climbing to progress. In my opinion only when Adam will start doing FAs on the hardest grade, only then he will be #1.
xmuli
2009-06-09 15:00:59
2009 is barely half way through. In most parts of the world the climbing season even less than half way through.. Sounds kind of unprofessional from the ranking maker that the climber of the year has already been decided... I think there are a lot of guys and girls out there that could potentially earn the title this year. We should wait and see in the end of the year what has been acheived and then try to come up with the rankings. I mean, if we care about the rankings in the first place, we might as well make them properly. As this is a community based website, what about letting the community vote (by poll, not by comments) to decide who is the climber of the year. That would actually be very interesting, then there might even be less whining, as it is not Jens, or even 8a.nu responsible for the ranking, but the community as a whole. Dani
2009-06-09 16:25:09
Thats a very cool idea. I would definitely like to see some polls here at 8a.nu
Vladimir Arnaoudov
2009-06-09 17:25:57
democracy? general elections? such a good idea. let's elect the "king" :)
Sebastian F.
2009-06-09 17:32:03
Adam: Wow! "2009 is barely half way through. In most parts of the world the climbing season even less than half way through.. Sounds kind of unprofessional from the ranking maker that the climber of the year has already been decided... I think there are a lot of guys and girls out there that could potentially earn the title this year. We should wait and see in the end of the year what has been acheived and then try to come up with the rankings." 100% Agree. Off Topic: Jens, I did not get my yearbook yet ... is this normal? Sorry for OT but I can't send you a private message. louis de cornulier
2009-06-09 17:33:11
I strongly agree with the poll idea! All it takes is an additional question in the Questionnaire every member can fill on his Presentation, so there is no technical excuse to this community vote (which could of course wait until the year's over, Xmuli's remark is right when stressing the fact that most of the climbing achievements of 2009 are yet to be done, since June isn't over yet...). The Climber of the year doesn't have to be the one doing the hardest ascents, he must also inspire the community on other levels such as ethics or adventure. Adam's performance are stunning, and his stand against chipping, or downgrading some routes are great, but as for chipping, it's not like he is the only one standing against the crowd, the vast majority of climbers share this view nowadays. As for adventure, Adam hasn't done much yet in that field, except for 2 or 3 repeats of extremely hard multipitch sport routes. Has he ever been outside Europe? Has he ever bolted any major line? How does his FA achievements compare to Sharma's, for instance? Let's give the boy some time!! I'm sure he will leave his mark. But today, he is still in a learning process, whereas Sharma is more into a creative attitude, and as such more likely to be a community role model, as he is definitely searching for something that seems to be beyond pure technical and physical performance. Jens
2009-06-09 17:41:54
Thanks...but we have already tried the poll idea for the climber of 2008 and it was not a success. Go to the presentation side and open the interactive question page. Of course, we have not yet decided climber of 2009 but as it stands now, Adam is #1.You should also take into consideration all the down gradings that are included on Adam's score.
John Meget
2009-06-09 21:02:33
Seems like I've heard that Adam works from time to time on a 9b project. Any info on that? Jens
2009-06-09 21:38:45
I am afraid I can not reveal such information since many think 8a focus to much on Adam Ondras's achievements :-)
El principe de la mora
2009-06-09 23:16:40
I really love this site but im SURE that one of the main reasons why pro's dont have a 8a scorecard or have had stopped updating is because these statements and all the stuff that brings.
Jens
2009-06-09 23:22:55
In the last Boulder World Cup, 7 out of Top-10 have a scorecard. I do not think there are any sport where you can find a similar website where most of the best athletes are personal members. This is the unique thing with 8a :-)
El principe de la mora
2009-06-09 23:47:15
Im sorry. i should have said a few or some of the pro's dont have 8a scorecard. And as you said its unique 8a and ill add its one of the reasons we like it too but sometimes i find some discussions anoying.
Sean Doyle
2009-06-10 02:39:35
Jens,
Why not go back to reporting anything 8c redpoint and 8b onsite. I still think these ascents are 'newsworthy' as it still a relatively small pool that are doing these grades. It would also distill the amount of focus on just one or two climbers in the news and also give us a lot more to read than just a couple of updates every day or two. Bergbua
2009-06-10 08:46:05
I am one of the almost 50.000 visitors on Monday, who actually thinks that it is worth reporting the following fact: a 16 year old climber has repeated Markus Bock's hardest route (possibly also Germany's hardest route) I don't get why the f**** all you guys are discussing whether or not this is newsworthy at all! Jens
2009-06-10 09:52:05
@ Sean: I do think that most 8a visitors would find it boring to read about another 20 persons a week who have done 8c/8A+ or 8b on site. Further more, I do not have time and I do not have money to pay editors. We always upgrade volunteers so you could help us out if you are interested.
louis de cornulier
2009-06-10 10:08:29
@bergbua
whoever said it was not newsworthy? All I am saying is, Adam is SO MUCH STRONGER than the others that he deserves a dedicated section, which would allow other incredibly talented climbers to have their share of well-earned 8a fame.
@jens
You seem to focus only on grade performance to determine the climber of the year. Do you think performance is the only thing that climbers admire and look up to? Of course they do, and I the first. But you just can't reduce the greatness of a climb or a climber to a grade and a ranking! Take free solo for instance. The objective difficulty of the route is way lower, but personnaly I have been much more impressed by the free solo repeat of the Fish route (5.12c crux pitch) on the Marmolada, Dolomites, than by Ondra's repeat of Huber's Open Air... Sean Doyle
2009-06-10 10:54:35
Jens, I actually think most 8a members wouldn't mind reading about these 'lesser' climbs as long as it wasn't just a one liner report. I do understand the time and financial constraints you have that curtail this. Unfortunately here in Australia you'll get very few reports as our highest grade climbed here is 34 (8c+) and there is only a couple of these. Also not many people, maybe one or two can actually climb that grade. For us we rarely hear of Aussie news on 8a, so you'd probably get more interest/hits from Australia and then that would make the site more attractive to advertisers.:-) Jens
2009-06-10 12:14:41
@ Luis: Check the 8a yearbook regarding climber of the year. "...based on each climber's performances, life style, and function as a role model". You can read more and of course we take into consideration guys like Andrada whoputs up routes. "Although a list may seem ridiculous, it's also fun, and a bit controversial." @ Sean: In the country specific pages it should be very interesting to read about also 8c guys etc. I have updated your account so you can publish Australian news. Fernando Alberti
2009-06-11 16:24:00
I am amazed at the amount of climbers that give Jens shit. it seems that he never does anything right for these people. @ Jens, Im glad that some one took the trouble of making this site and publishing news, thanks! Ondra, well done!
JD LeBlanc
2009-06-11 17:20:40
Always hard to say one climber is THE best. However, when you look over Adam Ondra's card - all time - you get a solid sense of the climbs he has repeated. Action Direct - Open Air, among many others in the same range repeated much quicker. He states Open Air as his hardest route to date - maybe harder than Action Direct - pretty impressive words from a climber who has sent almost all the top end routes in Europe. So maybe Alex Huber who had FA'd the "hardest route" Adam had climbed almost 18 years ago may well be the "man". It is kind of sad how we as people often focus on the Number 1 in their chosen field - look at Tennis - Soderling got the the French open final by beating the current no.1 and losing to the chosen no. 1 - but most of the top 50 pro tennis players are pretty impressive and relatively equal, sure Federer is the best at winning - good thing climbing isn't like that! Currently Ondra is flying through the top end routes with ease, but maybe the climber (s) who put those routes up get the discourse as well. It would be cool to see someone like Ondra put up a route equal in relation to an Action Direct or Open air for the next generation - maybe a "REAL" 9b - one that just is not a different style or slightly different than other routes of the 9a+ grade. I do think, along the lines of Alex Huber, that in order to produce a 9a or harder, one must at least climb Action Direct for the "shorter-style" routes or Open Air for the "longer-style" routes, it's pretty obvious that these 2 routes are the benchmarks. Just because a route feels harder than another does not always mean it deserves to be graded harder. What happened to grading?