Gripped Magazine
Leo Cea Cruises Era Vella 5.14d at 11 Years Old
In November 2024, when Leo Cea was only 11-years-old, he sent Era Vella 5.14d (9a) in Margalef, Spain. Incredibly, it was already the young Chilean climber’s third 5.14d. A new video of Cea sending the Chris Sharma classic has just been released on Alex Megos’ YouTube channel, where Megos has expressed the intention to feature more young crushers.
Era Vella was established by Sharma in 2010. Since then, it has gone on to become one of the most popular 5.14d routes ever. It has seen repeats from many of the world’s best climbers, including Megos, Adam Ondra, Sasha DiGiulian, Seb Bouin, Jonathan Siegrist, Jorge Díaz-Rullo, Michaela Kiersch, and Tim Emmett (it was the 51-year-old’s first 5.14d after 130 days of effort), among many, many others. Established at 5.14d, the grade consensus drifted to 5.14c until a hold broke and brought the grade back up to Sharma’s initially proposed 5.14d.
It’s a true five-star classic, standing out for its length, perfection of movement, and beauty. On 8a.nu there are thirty logged ascents, and it has so far retained its 5-star rating – a perfect score. Díaz-Rullo called it “one of the best I’ve ever climbed, without a doubt,” and described it as being “100 moves nonstop!” Cea floated the route on his send go, climbing both effortlessly and flawlessly to the chains.
Cea has since added to his already incredible ticklist. In May 2025, he made the first ascent of Tecnoqueen 5.14d in Las Chilcas, Chile, a variation of Tecnoking 5.14d of which he made the second ascent. In August 2025 he climbed the popular Trip Tik Tonik 5.14d in Gorges du Loup, France. He climbed Víctimas Pérez 5.14d in Margalef, Spain in November, and the next month he sent Puro Dreaming in Arco, Italy, calling it 5.14d soft.
Leo Cea Climbing Era Vella at 11 Years Old
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