Gripped Magazine
Manon Hily Climbs a 5.14c Oliana Classic
French climber Manon Hily recently redpointed Joe Blau 5.14c in Oliana, Spain. Hily’s send of the mega classic route marks her seventh 5.14c. Other top climbers to ascend the route include Chaehyun Seo, Eva Hammelmüller, Laura Rogora, and Leo Bøe.
Joe Blau was put up by Joe Kinder. Chris Sharma made the first ascent, but the grade was not confirmed until later. A key hold broke in 2012, and Silvio Reffo was the first to ascend post-break in December of that year, at which point the grade of 5.14c was proposed. Kinder soon sent the line in February 2013.
“I swear…this thing took me the same amount of effort as a [5.15a] would take,” Kinder commented his 8a.nu page. “Bolted the bit, tried it like hell and lo and behold, it took me a gang of tries as it turned into a Nemesis Route! So psyched it’s done!”
Keeping in line with Kinder and other ascensionists, Hily called this one hard for the grade. “Super cool,” said Hily on her 8a.nu. “Especially the second part on the black rock. Demanding route at the start and really sustained! Not easy.”
Hily is an active comp climber, and finds a balance between this and climbing real rock. She has climbed over 40 routes 5.14a or harder. In October 2025, she climbed her first 5.14d with Trip Tik Tonik in Gorges du Loup, France. The next month, she climbed her first 5.15a – Punt’X – also in Gorges du Loup. On the same day, she climbed her sixth 5.14c with XXL.
The 31-year-old from Marseilles has also climbed Era Vella 5.14c/d, La Bongada 5.14c and Coma Sant Pere 5.14c in Margalef, Spain, and La Ligne Claire 5.14c in Saint Léger, France. In November of 2024, she made the first female ascent of L’Enfumette 5.14c in Saint Léger.
Laura Rogora on Joe Blau 5.14c
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