Czech climbing star Adam Ondra has wrapped up his extraordinary winter bouldering season, during which he pushed the boundaries of world climbing. Since late October, he has focused entirely on outdoor bouldering, where he managed to tie the world record for the difficulty of a “flash” climb four times. Now his attention is turning to lead climbing and endurance training ahead of the upcoming World Cup in Prague, which will take place June 3–7 at Štvanice
The decision to devote myself fully to rock bouldering was partly influenced by health considerations. “I stopped competing in bouldering after last year’s World Cup in Prague, partly because I’m starting to feel the strain on my body, especially in my shoulders. The modern style, where you jump a lot from one hold to another, is hard on the shoulders,” explains Adam Ondra. “Rock bouldering is a more conservative style of climbing, which I’ve been used to since I was a kid, but I never fully dedicated myself to it before.”
I did have a brief period when I bouldered more intensively, like in 2011, but otherwise I treated it as a supplementary discipline. On the rocks, I focused on bigger projects. Now I wanted to try something less stressful. That made the return to bouldering all the more appealing to me, so I could see how far I could go in this discipline,” continues 33-year-old Adam Ondra.
Over the past few months, he has set himself an ambitious goal: to climb the world’s hardest boulders “flash”—that is, on the first attempt with prior knowledge of the route. The 8C flash barrier was first broken in the summer of 2025 by German climber Yannick Flohé on the boulder Foundation’s Edge in Fionnay, Switzerland, followed by French climber Jules Marchaland on the boulder Power of Now Direct.
The legendary Czech climber had set a goal for 2025 to flash at least one 8C boulder, which he achieved on Foundation’s Edge. “And I wanted to build on that in the winter,” Adam Ondra recalls.
He’s managed to do this on several prestigious routes. “There are still plenty of places in bouldering where I’ve never climbed. And visiting new locations is a huge mental boost for me. Instead of working on one big project, I’ve set myself the goal of climbing the hardest boulders possible in flash,” he says. “This year, I’ve managed to climb three more 8C boulders, so I’ve now tied the world record at least four times.” "The boulder I value most is 'Emotional Landscapes' in the Maltatal Valley in Austria. It’s a legendary route that’s technically extremely challenging; very few people have managed to climb it, even though many have tried. Not only is it difficult, but it’s also very technically complex. That’s why the people who have climbed it had to put in a lot of work to understand those complex movements."
In addition to his success in Austria, he also shone in Switzerland, where he flash-climbed Lion’s Share (first ascended by Aidan Roberts) and subsequently the challenging boulder Celestite in Val Bavona, which relies on a specific “kneeling” technique. “With Celestite, it’s all about every millimeter of body rotation and placing your knees on imperceptible protrusions. It’s a style of climbing I love. I was thrilled that I managed to do it all on the first try,” the climber said.
In bouldering, the grading scale currently tops out at 9A, but no one has ever flashed this boulder. There is also one boulder proposed to be 9A+. “We’ll see if the 9A+ difficulty rating holds up. The 8C difficulty is truly extreme, and very few people in the world can climb it even after many days of practice.” “Foundation’s Edge and Power of Now Direct are considered easier boulders at this difficulty level. Some of the boulders I’ve managed to climb recently are considered really tough,” Adam Ondra notes.
With the arrival of spring, however, his bouldering phase comes to an end and intense training for the competition season begins. He is now switching from short, strength-based routes to long climbs with rope. “Now I’ll be focusing more on rope climbing. I need to build up my endurance before the competition season and the World Cup, where it’s not just about raw strength, but also endurance.” “I’m now going to try to channel this energy into peak form so that I can show the Prague audience my best side in early June,” says Adam Ondra, who is considered one of the best and most versatile climbers in history.
He was the first person in the world to complete a 9c route (the "Silence" project in Flatanger, Norway), which remains the hardest confirmed grade in roped climbing to this day. In addition to his achievements on the rock, he has also dominated competitive climbing, where he is a four-time world champion in both lead climbing and bouldering. His other iconic achievements include a one-day free ascent of the Dawn Wall (Yosemite, USA). He was also the first person in the world to climb three 9b+ routes (Change in Flatanger, Norway; La Dura Dura in Spain; and Vasil Vasil in the Czech Republic).
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Czech climbing star Adam Ondra has wrapped up his extraordinary winter bouldering season, during which he pushed the boundaries of world climbing. Since late October, he has focused entirely on outdoor bouldering, where he managed to tie the world record for the difficulty of a “flash” climb four times. Now his attention is turning to lead climbing and endurance training ahead of the upcoming World Cup in Prague, which will take place June 3–7 at Štvanice
