Gripped Magazine
Olympic Gold Medallist Climbs His Hardest Route Ever
Alberto Ginés López has announced that he has climbed Chris Sharma’s El Bon Combat in Cova de Ocell, Spain. It is the Tokyo Olympic Gold medallist’s hardest sport climbing ascent to date. “I can finally say I’ve sent my winter project, one of the best routes I’ve ever climbed, and definitely the hardest one I’ve done so far,” Ginés López said on Instagram. “It took me 6 sessions: three in December and three in February.”
El Bon Combat was first climbed by Sharma in 2015. The route ascends unique rock that is a combination of sandstone and conglomorate. In an interview with Planet Moutnain, Sharma described the moves as “dynamic and yet at the same time, extremely subtle.” His assessment was that it is five stacked V11’s with a few marginal rests. He ultimately determined, “It’s at least [5.15b], but I’ve decided to give it the slash grade because, who knows, perhaps it’s even harder.”
The route was unrepeated for a few years, until Jakob Schubert made the second ascent in December 2018. Sharma was with Schubert when he sent, having spent a couple of days with Schubert at the crag. After his ascent, Schubert took to Instagram to welcome more climbers to come and try it, both to help with grade assessment, and also simply because he thought it was a “unique route with amazing holds and movements.” He went on to say, “I know it’s easy to not think about it and just take the grade of the first ascensionist, which is [5.15b/c] in this case, but I feel the responsibility to have more thoughts about it. For me it felt easier from the first day I tried it and I would guess it’s a hard [5.15a]. Curious what others will think.”
Felipe Camargo and Jorge Diaz-Rullo both agreed it was 5.15b, but dubbed it soft. Ginés López gave his take on the grade as well, which was similar to Schubert’s assessment.
“Even though it’s the first route I’ve done above [5.14d], I don’t really feel like calling it my first [5.15b],” said Gines Lopez on Instagram. “It never felt like something two grades above [5.14d], and since it had already been downgraded, I think [5.15a] is the most honest grade for me. Like the person I look up to most in this sport once told me: ‘Grades only work if we’re honest.’ What I do know for sure is that this has only made me want to try even harder routes.”
Ginés López is a very successful competition climber. Representing Spain, he was the first climber ever to win gold in the combined lead, boulder, and speed event at the Tokyo Olympic Games. He placed seventh overall in the Paris Olympic Games. Ginés López had a strong year in the World Cup circuit in 2025, earning his place on the podium five times with three bronze, two silvers and one 4th place finish.
Chris Sharma’s First Ascent of El Bon Combat
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