Climbing
5 of the world’s toughest climbing routes
Every climbing route has its own set of characteristics that make it special and challenging. Here's our selection of five routes that pushed athletes to the very top of their limits.
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Professional climbers at the top level never stand still. Once they complete a climb or a particular difficult route, they're already on to planning the next adventure. The need to take on climbs with increasing difficulty, climb new uncharted routes or find a special project.
Here are five routes that presented new challenges to the climbers that chose them. Read about the routes below and watch the video above to hear how the athletes took on each climb.
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01
The Tom Egan Memorial Route
Kevin Jorgeson is no stranger to steep rock faces
© Brett Lowell/Red Bull Content Pool
- Location: Bugaboos, British Columbia, Canada
- When: 2017
- Climbers: Jacob Cook and Kevin Jorgesen
- Difficulty: 5.14
Back in 2017, Kevin Jorgeson and Jacob Cook headed to British Columbia’s Bugaboos mountain range to attempt the second ascent of the Tom Egan Memorial Route. The two hadn't previously climbed together, but after a conversation on Instagram decided to tackle the Tom Egan route. The route features one of the hardest finger crack pitches in the world, which is affectionately named Blood on the Crack. Bloodied fingertips are guaranteed when trying to complete that part of the route as at times the fissure in the granite rock thins to the width of a pencil. Jorgeson and Cook bond on their attempt as they try to overcome the challenges this particular route presents to them.
02
Niagara Falls Ice Climb
Will Gadd on Niagara Falls
© Greg Mionske/Red Bull Content Pool
- Location: Niagara Falls, Canada
- When: 2015
- Climber: Will Gadd
- Difficulty: Grade 6.0 in ice climbing
Ice climbing up the world-famous Niagara Falls when the river is in full flow nearby seems a mad idea, but this herculean task was achieved by Canadian climber Will Gadd in 2015. Gadd, who was helped by another climber, Sarah Hueniken, ascended up a 30ft wide wall of frozen spray ice at the edge of Niagara’s Horseshoe Falls. A climb of this nature had many pitfalls. The ice formed wasn't completely frozen and was prone to breaking, so there was no guarantees that any attempt would be successful on first attempt.
03
Sundrun Pillars
The group tackled tower climbs of varying shapes and heights
© Elias Holzknecht/Red Bull Content Pool
Galya Terenteva picks out her line on this tower
© Elias Holzknecht/Red Bull Content Pool
Fischhuber readies his next move
© Corey Rich/Red Bull Content Pool
Each tower climb offered different technical challenges
© Elias Holzknecht/Red Bull Content Pool
- Location: Siberia, Russia
- When: 2018
- Climbers: Kilian Fischhuber, Robert Leistner and Galya Terenteva
- Difficulty: N/A
When Kilian Fischhuber heard of the mysterious Sundrun Pillars, an untouched group of rock tower formations in the Siberian wilderness of Russia, he knew he had to somehow visit them and climb up them. Finding the towers would be an expedition in itself, but with the help of the guide who first discovered the Pillars they found their destination. Once there, and having recovered from the amazing sight of what seemed endless numbers of Pillars in front of them, Fischuber and his group climbed 12 towers and laid down 12 routes. Due to its remote location, no one will be visiting the Sundrun Pillars anytime soon.
04
Viaje de los Locos
Sasha DiGiulian climbing Viaje de Los Locos in Italy
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
- Location: Sardinia, Iraly
- When: 2014
- Climbers: Sasha DiGiulian and Edu Marin
- Difficulty: 5.14a
After plans to climb a route on the Zahir Plus climb in the Swiss Alps went awry due to weather issues, Sasha DiGiulian and Edu Marin were on the look-out to find a new objective. They turned to Sardinia to take on the Viaje de los Locos (The Madmen's Journey), which builds up to 5.14a pitch on it and is actually a far harder climb than Zahir Plus. A woman had never ascended this route, but a determined DiGiulian became the first to do so and did it by doing all the pitches on the route in one go.
05
El Bon Combat
Camargo's El Bon Combat preparation was thorough
© Marcelo Maragni
- Location: Cova de Ocell, Spain
- When: 2019
- Climbers: Felipe Camargo
- Difficulty: 5.15b
Brazil's Felipe Camargo had long targeted completing the El Bon Combat route as he looked to become one of only a limited number of climbers to send a climb of that grade. El Bon Combat, which had only previously been ascended by Chris Sharma and Jakob Schubert, is considered one of the world's toughest climbs. Such was Camargo's dedication to sending the route, he specifically trained on El Bon Combat in 2018 before returning to Brazil to practise moves over and over again at his climbing gym. Camargo returned to Spain in 2019 to do the full route, and his dedication was rewarded with a successful attempt.
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