Adam Ondra and the First 5.14d on Czech Sandstone Video

The Czech Republic is notorious for its type of ground up ethics for rock climbing.  The climbing is historically connected to the traditional ways in which routes have always been established in the region.  A few examples include metal hardware (cams, etc.) not being allowed because of the soft sandstone of the region.  Gear for traditional leading is replaced instead by rope knots.  The second big difference between Czech and most everywhere else in the world is the fact that equipping any route on rappel is strictly discouraged.  This means that routes are typically dangerous because of runout sections without bolts or protection of any kind.  Ondra's new route is located in a less traditional area which is why the route is slightly better protected in terms of bolt spacing.


The name of Ondra's new route is "To tu jeste nebylo" which translates roughly to "Never been here before".  Ondra explains the reason for the name perfectly on Planet Mountain's website.  It is a good read.



Adam Ondra climb, To tu ještě nebylo XIIb, Labské údolí. from Jirous AIX on Vimeo.


This video was fun to see because it showed the whole body of work on the route.  Too many times we "less than elite" climbers see draws hung on routes in videos and wonder how long and how difficult it was to redpoint the climb.  I also think the ground up ethics of Czech Republic add to the authenticity and purity of the redpoint of this climb in the video.  It is refreshing to see a professional, albeit Adam Ondra, work an entire route from hanging to redpointing.  Well done for sure.


What do you think about the ground up Czech ethics?  What about this type of video showing falls and hanging and then pushing for a redpoint?  Share your thoughts in the comments.




I picked this up from the two links below.
http://rockandice.com/news/1871-video-ondra-breaks-through-on-czech-sandstone
http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=39344