What Makes Adam Ondra the Best Climber in the World

[@henrystartt]

Everyone knows its the long neck giving him the advantage

[@benrobinett3396]

🦒

[@FissureRaiOh]

Yawn

[@donalddarko3676]

Its the Pterodactyl that is his spirit animal the shriek and neck are his source of true power.

[@formzino]

If you can flag with your head, you're at an advantage

[@meep8026]

If I had that neck I would have done my 9g+/5.15k project by now

[@jaronivanisko9811]

His biggest strength is his unparalleled ability to try hard. He pours his heart and soul into every climb as if getting to the top is the only thing that matters to him. Whether that involves understanding every move, training like a beast, or making sure his body send skin are in top shape. If anything I think one of the reasons he seems less dominant recently is because he has other things to worry/care about other than climbing (his wife and coming child). Hopefully Dad-am is just as fierce on the wall as teenage ondra was.

[@csommer4492]

Dad-am. Niiiiiice haha

[@sm1th3r33ns]

Dad-am 😂

[@Landolini]

People here are really using a single route in Ondras worst style, that he's tried for fewer days than the people who sent it and who excel at that exact style as an argument that he isn't the best. While at the same time completely ignoring all other styles where Ondra is arguably the best. Even if we ignore exploits in other disciplines there's no doubt, that he is still the greatest sport climber. Though the gap to Bouin/Schubert/Ghisolfi is probably smaller than a few years ago.

[@La0bouchere]

It seems that that's being brought up because the video claims that there aren't any sport routes that Ondra can't do, not that that's evidence of him being worse than other people. It's also a fair criticism to bring up. Ondra is still the best imo, but claiming/implying that he's still miles ahead of everyone else isn't accurate given the performance of the other top sport climbers in the past few years

[@a_shades838]

Don’t forget about Megos and even Sean Bailey, who I think has one of the most promising futures at the moment

[@_fubar]

It was epic that Ondra effectively live-streamed his attempts of Perfecto Mundo. It would be quite a thing if he went back this season and redpointed it first go.

[@lonesome3958]

​@@a_shades838Seb Bouin as well

[@jipe4153]

No one else is even remotely close to this guy. Number of 9b/5.15b or harder: Adam: 26 Alex megos: 7 Jakob schubert: 7 ...

[@lutzeichholz]

Ghisolfi did 10

[@jipe4153]

@@lutzeichholz yeah! Noticed that!

[@ragreenburg]

Everyone says Perfecto Mundo but also seem to forget that no one else has climbed nearly as many 5.15's as Ondra.

[@RipperJack77]

I think the last thing mentioned is his biggest strength. He just climbs so fast and precise that he can save a lot of power for the last section of the routes

[@coryblake5623]

I was going to say something similar..... you NEVER see him stuck on a comp wall.... watching him, you'd swear he was watching everyone else trying before him.... or helped set the route.... it's like he just looks at it and knows

[@ExclusiveSigma]

Lets not forget, Ondra also climbed Dawn wall.

[@donalddarko3676]

Massive achievement. Needs to be mentioned when listing his latest and greatest for sure.

[@jellevm]

Did he free-climb the whole thing?

[@floijd]

@@jellevm Yes. Yes, he did. Leading every pitch too

[@pelfinho]

Heck, he almost flashed it!

[@leoingson]

@@jellevm He did it in some days, not 7 years. But props to the FA, that's a whole different mental game.

[@syindrome]

3:09 You can see why he is the best.

[@ascentionism]

Ruthless competitor, incredibly 0-60 speed to cut everyone off and get to the holds there

[@syindrome]

Wouldn't want to cross paths with him on the drive to the crag!

[@andersonboy620]

Cheers Adam!! You are not only the best climber but a great person!!

[@christophh9477]

I love how adam says he isnt particularly strong compared to other top climbers. Yes his outstanding qualities are route reading, technique, flexibility and efficiency but watch the collab videos with magnus (admittedly weaker then many of the top climbers but still regarded as an absolute beast) Ondra totally out classes him when it comes to raw power. He makes 1-5-9 on a campus board look easy, can do one finger pullups and many other exercises that magnus could not do. He might not have the explosive power of a tamoa, but that is mainly usefull on indoor comp boulders that pretty much have nothing to do with real rock. His raw power on more static moves is on par with anyone else. Add that to his other qualities and he is without doubt still the best, even if the competition is getting closer. EDIT: btw loved the close ups of him using his thumb like with a full crimp but on slopers. Never seen that before, gotta try that next time Im in the gym.

[@hahne9]

He says this not to be humble but out of self awareness. He is 186cm tall. Obviously, there are quite a few climbers in the world elite which are stronger than him as all of them are smaller. Smaller means less weight to pull. But climbing is much more than just strength. No one is able to move like him on the wall. This makes him overall the best climber. But in routes like Perfecto Mundo which require at lot of finger strength, people like Megos are better.

[@Limbaugh_]

@@hahne9 he’s technically stronger if he weighs more, but strength and power are different

[@colehibbard2851]

Cool analysis. He obviously has great power endurance, but I think his efficiency and body positioning just makes his power endurance seem better. I think the top 3 reasons are 1. How bad he wants it 2. Mobility/body positioning 3. Efficiency/route reading

[@arnaudsimon3265]

exactly

[@fxc5313]

You deserve more subs, great review!

[@damasek219]

He's got very strong thick hands and fingers, long limbs and slim torso with very lean muscles. That's the best body combination of genetics and acquired features that a climber could wish for. This plus lots of endurance and flexibility combined with the most excellent and creative techniques make him the best. None of it however would've been possible without his passion and love for climbing. Where others see it a s a sport and a means to prove themselves, better themselves, realize themselves or become famous and accomplished, he just loves it and lives out that love.

[@jadelee6555]

He's tall and very lean. That's one of the best body types to have for climbing.

[@NelloBiasini]

Great vid!

[@mattssegrub]

No doubt he is still the best. So varied; comp, offwidth, big wall, flash, redpoint, no one comes close to matching his resume.

[@Sailorix]

Watching this in fall 2023 I am not sure whether Adam Ondra is currently the best climber in the world at this very moment, but he has absolutely dominated the climbing scene for more than 10 years, and his overall resume makes him the undisputed GOAT in climbing. Only disputer in this may be with Chris Sharma who took lead climbing as a sport to whole another level where we know it as it is, and is still crushing it at his age. The sheer volumes of Ondras sends and wins speak for themselves when comparing him to other top climbers of any discipline and I would compare him to Roger Federer in tennis - with his elegance, excellence and effortless looking movement.

[@FissureRaiOh]

Can’t wait to see who will become better than Ondra 🤯🤯

[@lucaspedretti8597]

Well get ready to see the new generation: Ondra's kid is on the way, same for Honnold, Feehaly and probably Narasaki soon.

[@niklastretyak9363]

0:55 a route ondra cant climb? there already is one, perfecto mundo

[@bastian6173]

His biggest strength is his ability to recover... Nobody, and I mean nobody should train like Ondra... I think there was a period between 2014-2016 where he trained 6 days a week for 5 hours per day. Now that's... Insane. Any ordinary person would absolutely wreck their bodies with that kind of training pensum. But Ondra is just doing it. For years. I believe his secret lies in good upbringing, his parents obviously recognized his talent and helped me immensly, diet, stretching and relaxation. His body is just a fine tuned machine and as far as I am aware he never was seriously injured except once I think... That too speaks for itself... He has an ability to give it absolutely everything he has got when he has a go but then once it's over he can completly relax and shut down again. This is very important. Growth only happens when you know how to be relaxed.

[@Dave1507]

I think 6 days a week, 5 hrs a day is pretty standard for any world class competition climber these days.

[@bastian6173]

@@Dave1507 30 hours per week WHILE doing this bachelors AND competing in the world championships is not standard ;D any normal human being would burn out in no time

[@Dave1507]

@@bastian6173 Standard for the world elite, I said. I know it's nowhere near standard for us mere mortals. At least I've heard from a couple professionals, so it doesn't seem that unusual for them at all.

[@WiskinWaffles]

Obsession. Pure obsession.

[@princeofexcess]

kneebars and dropknees are on point

[@dennis1802]

What about sheer climbing experience? As a kid always climbing, indoors outdoors always that gives such a huge difference in how his rock technique developed. At some point you just start to get it i guess

[@2gouv]

Could you make a video on Seb Bouin ? No one talk about him but he's very good

[@leoingson]

+1, he's a cool dude.

[@donkyuhbuhts540]

In my opinion the "toe hook" from Jakob and Adam on that boulder problem, is very Clearly a foot lock / jam.

[@Nobodyeverybody24]

Ondra is unmatched

[@AR_434]

First sentence sums it up: it‘s not even a debate… so true, Adam IS the best FULL STOP

[@error.418]

Anyone saying someone is the best because they won the inaugural Olympics event... didn't understand the serious issues with the Olympics event. That's not to put down the people who won, but to point out it's not a good way to determine "best climber." It's calling out the event organizers, not the participants.

[@takeiteasy8847]

Agree on almost al points but i would think jakob is stronger when it comes to power endurance. Adam is so versitaile though. And he climbes like prkgrammed like a clockwork.

[@flckrs]

What a beast

[@mathiasvollmann2405]

Why isn't there a vid about Alex huber?

[@Dynafet]

I think it is that he has the hardest route and hardest flash, he does so much for cummunity... and I belive he has some achievments on competitions on artifical walls but it is not important 🙂

[@chasepalumbo2929]

Excellent analysis and I don’t even climb

[@arnoldkotlyarevsky383]

I remember a bunch of years ago everyone was giving ondra shit for his power screams. And yeah, the guy at your gym should probably leave his shirt on and shut the fuck up, but the fact is that ondra is so good that whatever he does is clearly working for him. It is obnoxious, but when you are the best, you can do whatever you want. I dont hear people complaining as much about it these days. Once Megos, Ghisolfi, Schubert, or someone else can step to 5.15d or 5.16a, I think ondra is going to be the best there has ever been for a while.

[@shannonnunn]

A few that were more technical, took more risks are now dead.

[@eduardoiannicelli8860]

did he free soloed El Cap? uwu

[@dannygrout92]

So much to disagree with ! Ondra unmatched in power endurance, getting a good rest is part of power endurance? Resting is skill body position and flexibility. He couldn't do steffanos erabor without a knee bar, saying steffano was an endurance beast. Ondra is likely just the most technical climber there (in all styles except crack) is, wrapped up in insane drive and training.

[@akinaridate9233]

U kidding me?,, How long u have been climb?

[@dannygrout92]

Since 4 years old? Why?

[@nettewilson853]

But what about Alex Honold?

[@theislandblue]

He’s the best free soloist but far from being within the elite level of sport climbing

[@nettewilson853]

@@theislandblue wow I had no idea

[@shueyfogel6441]

@@theislandbluethat’s 🧢

[@aidanlee519]

Adam will go down as the greatest of all time, it’s really not even up for discussion. People basing their arguments on the Olympics is absolutely ridiculous, he is simply the Greek God of climbing.

[@johnwicked4982]

better than Honnold?

[@granrhowek]

@@johnwicked4982significantly

[@whelmking6497]

Ondra is the best performance climber of all time and it's not even a question. Anyone saying otherwise is simply not looking at things objectively. And I say this as a big fan of every other climber that even could be considered as the GOAT.

[@Jivewired]

Best *men's* performance climber, for sure. If you take out that qualifier though, it's gotta be Janja. The margin of dominance between her and the rest of the field during her prime has been just astonishing! I love them both though, to me they're the king and queen.

[@whelmking6497]

@@Jivewired Agreed. If you take out "performance" (which I added intentionally), then you have to start considered development of the sport, etc, which is a different equation. Similarly, the longstanding questions of men vs women in sport. One of the things I love about climbing is how close men and women are in ability.. way closer that in any other physical sport I can think of. If you are being subjective to gender (women vs women, men vs men), then Janja is the best ever. She is so far ahead of her female competitors. But if you are being objective as simply "best ever," then it's Adam without question. A similar question arises in the GOAT discussion for tennis. Serena is easily the best ever if comparing women vs women and men vs men, but if one is judging objectively, she's not even in the top 1000 humans ever. And I think both Adam and Janja (and all climbers, pro or otherwise) are flippin' awesome.

[@HapaFM]

Its the Necccc

[@EgWyps]

"a sport route that Adam can't climb".... Perfecto Mundo?

[@alexbarcovsky4319]

I wonder if he sends it this year. Also wondering how hell do on Bibliographie.

[@xalingding]

Was literally looking for this comment already 😅.

[@santimaz9053]

He is closer to send perfecto mundo than everyone else from sending silence so he remains the best

[@alexbarcovsky4319]

@@santimaz9053 very true

[@ABSVabeautifulsunsetvlog]

Exactly

[@say1161]

He's simply a nice guy. I'm not sure he's so good on gnarly trad routes 😉

[@NETAAAMUSIC]

You should use different music in future videos, the same music is getting annoying...

[@jameswestover8403]

Has he climbed El Capo with no ropes yet?

[@shueyfogel6441]

Alex Honnold is the best in the world, period. This dude doesn’t even free solo

[@mperreal3990]

Bon, pas mal et même fantastique ! Mammut, collègue de Schubert, réaliste? Comme il se tire la boure ces deux là, la marque, pour qui elle va jouer ? Le fric et les perfs, la liberté, l'honnêteté... Je souviens d'un 24 h du man.... Dommage pour moi, qui grimpe pour le côté take à walk on the wild Side...

[@bartomiejtrzesniewski4349]

I find the whole debate rather dull. Climbing is too diverse of a sport, with all its styles and disciplines, to give such a title to a single person. Don’t get it why some people are obsessed with labels like that. In the end the true spirit of climbing is about challenging oneself with what nature throws at you, and not competing with the others.

[@pyrogeek57]

Right on, underrated comment

[@bartomiejtrzesniewski4349]

I mean it’s kinda funny to see folks that are die-hard team Ondra vs team Megos vs team … arguing about who is the best. C’mon, climbing is not football. Sure, everyone likes a certain persona more than the other. But to me they are all on a very similar level, each with their own strength, and I appreciate anyone that inspires me to keep on crushing. And yet another thing is to call anyone ‘the GOAT’. Just think about the pioneers. An achievement can be only evaluated in its full context. It’s not about the absolute grade, but about pushing the boundaries. Any modern climber would shit their pants trying to climb some old-school multi-pitch using the early 20th century equipment: with stiff boots, 2 pitons and a linen rope that breaks under any shock load. Just like the future 10a climbers will probably hardly know who Ondra was and elect another best.

[@xalingding]

Adding to @Egwyps, perfect mundo is a classic test of power and even with the added knee bar he still doesn’t have the power of the other 3 to complete it. Bearing in mind as well that they were looking for the FA. When it comes to Silence, even Ondra admitted it’s a weird route that only he can climb so I don’t think it’s a particularly fair comparison to keep using. Most of his hard routes were either done in his youth or in the Czech Republic. For me until he repeats some of the classic 9b+’s or puts up a confirmed more old school 9c I couldn’t say he’s the best at the moment especially not in power. Got to admit though La Dura Dura looked nuts and he’s always to me going to be a master of movement, completely unrivalled in my opinion.

[@chuckyd160]

Would love to see Megos, Ghisolfi or Schubert try Belly Full of Bad Berries or the Dawn Wall/Salathe.

[@gaspardg119]

He only spent 15 days trying Perfecto mundo while it took 16 for Megos and 32 for Stefano. Moreover you have to take account of the fact that pocket are his weak point (which was not the case for the other 3), ultimately on the route he didn't lack power rather than endurance because he fell on his last tries above the crux move. In the last years he had still incredible performance, he flashed 9a+ in 2017, and very recently repeated both Erebor (downgraded it) and The Lonely Mountain in very short time, made two first ascent of 8C+ boulder I want to add a personal feeling I have watching some videos that Stefano considered himself weaker than Ondra

[@arthurv8905]

Saying that Silence is an unfair comparison because no one else can climb it, then using a route that Adam hasn't climbed to demonstrate that he might not be the best is pretty obviously a biased analysis against Adam. You have to really stretch some logic to claim he isn't given that his record is far, far beyond any of his contemporaries. Lets take Megos, for example: Adam: Megos: 9c:1 0 9b+: 3 3 (possibly 2 if KC is downgraded) 9b: 20 5 9a+: 44 13 9a: 121 41 That paints a pretty stark picture. What 9b+'s would you like to see him complete to convince you he is the best? You could just as easily apply that logic to anyone else. People seem to lean on his inability to repeat PM as proof that he isn't dominant, but think about how many people have tried and failed his routes. Megos famously failed at climbing Jumbo Love (9b) over a similar time period, yet somehow Adam gets a lot of jabs at failing to repeat a harder route. It seems to me like there is no one in the world as active at repeating cutting edge routes as he is. Why would an "old school" 9c be the only thing to convince you he is the best? Climbing is more than just pulling on small holds... On that note, I find it interesting that you are claiming Silence is not old school, when the crux is a crack. That is quite literally the oldest school style imaginable! No one is claiming he is the strongest, the claim here is that he is the best, and his record demonstrates that.

[@robbieallerhand]

Until he repeats some of the classic 9b+s? There are 6 routes in the world currently considered 9b+ or harder. Ondra FAd 4. So, when you say "complete some of the classic 9b+'s", I can only assume you mean you want him to do the two he hasn't already done? If you think someone needs to do every single 9b+ and harder to be considered the best, I think your standards are too high. The two he has not sent are Bibliographie and Perfecto Mundo. Bibliographie was put up a year and a half ago. The first year after it was put up Ondra was focused on the Olympics. The next half a year he hasn't gotten on it. I really don't think it's fair to hold that against him. Perfecto Mundo was tried by Adam. He did not succeed. This is the only 9b+ or harder we can reasonably say has come close to defeating Adam (and as others have mentioned, he did not spend as long on the route as Megos or Stefano. I think to say most of his hard routes were done in his youth or in Czechia isn't exactly fair either. Firstly, most hard routes he has done are outside of the Czechia. He has done SO MANY 9bs in Spain. So many. Admittedly, yes, most of the hard routes he has done were not so recently. This is a valid point. But I think it's worth considering two things: 1) He has mostly focused on the Olympics for the last two years. 2) There really aren't all that many hard routes that he hasn't already done at this point. For him to climb a hard route he has not already climbed, there are not as many options as there are for other climbers. That being said, he still is putting up hard ascents on rock. He did Erebor recently in 4 days... This isn't to say I think Ondra is undoubtebly the best in the world right now. I think Jakob and Stefano have really closed the gap and in current form Jakob is number 1. I just think you're severely downplaying his achievments and I don't agree with your arguments at all. You're asking too much. One final note: I think you are confusing power with strength endurance (sometimes called power endurance). Power typically refers to max strength output over a short time. You talk about the how "even with the added knee bar he still doesn’t have the power". To me this shows you are musunderstanding what power means.

[@xalingding]

Lol, knew I’d get a lot of counters to this. I think the problem really is they all seem to find 9b+ a bit too easy these days. Until the other 3 start finding 9c’s it’s gonna be hard to say out right. In volume I do agree that Adam has a ridiculous record but a lot of his numbers are done in the Czech Republic which is a very particular style. Again I think the others just don’t chase numbers as much. I feel like if the other 3 spent more time working on the harder routes they’d have similar numbers. Megos seems to have a ridiculous amount of ascents in the 8’s. I think the comment about power was just one from the video where he claimed Adam was strong especially in power endurance and a suggestion in physical power as there’s a clip of him campusing. Adam even admits he’s a weak climber and when you watch Megos climb I think you can see that. When there’s a route with straight forward beta Megos usually wins because it’s just down to raw strength. Megos seriously needs to learn to use his feet and body more. The comment about Silence being old school coz it has a crack, agreed the crack is classic trad but I more mean “old school” in hard sport circles. Take Hubble and action directe. Both just hard tests of power endurance no weird beta breaks you just pull hard and go for it. I’m definitely not saying Adam’s not a legend but I think the top is really close between the 4 whereas the video suggests he’s quite a way above. Based on the things mentioned which I think are all up for close debate. Might try and get a munk debate setup for this 😂

[@ml242]

Something about Janja, first.

[@jasonavina8135]

Adam ondra is not the best climber in the world. Alex honnold is. Yes technically the routes ondra has done are graded slightly harder. But the mental difficulty of free soloing like Alex does combined with the technical difficulty is many many times harder and far less likely to be repeated than even ondras toughest climb. Not even close.

[@ascentionism]

Alex Honnold in Reel Rock 12: "Adam Ondra is the best climber in the world, by far. Like, he's a lot better than everyone else" www.redbull.com/ca-en/episodes/age-of-ondra-part-1-reel-rock-s5-e2 0:24 So, yeah, nah

[@jasonavina8135]

@@ascentionism Alex Honnold was not only the first to free solo El cap, but has free soloed about ten times more rock faces than Ondra has. Not only that but Ondra didn't even get first in the Olympics Forget first he didn't even get second or third, he got SIXTH. If you want to make the case someone's the best at least argue Alberto Gines who won gold. He's still not nearly the beast Honnold is, but still at least you can literally say he's the best. But Ondra? please. Not even close. Lets say the difference in difficultly between Silence 5.15d, Ondra's toughest climb and whatever Alex's toughest climb was, Arrested Developement 5.14d, lets just say that difference is X amount. The mental difficultly in free soloing el Cap and anything Ondra has done EVER, the difference between those things is about 10X. so no. Its not even a damn competition. Honnold makes him look like a child playing on a playground.

[@ascentionism]

@@jasonavina8135 I mean, you bring up interesting points about how 'best' is hard to define in climbing (which I have a whole series about), but the point of the matter is that Alex Honnold himself thinks you're wrong

[@jasonavina8135]

@@ascentionism thats fair he did say that. Although can someone still be the best and say they're not? And honestly Ondra is a beast too. I'm exagerrating obviously when I compare him and Honnold. But in the end its just my opinion, and you are correct that technically Ondra has climbed the hardest route in the world, so its not unreasonable to make your argument. I'll definitely check out your series though. Good debate.

[@toncek9981]

@@jasonavina8135 This point about free solo is something I never get. I mean, it's like saying that people driving without seat belt are best drivers or that Olympic swimmers aren't all that good because there's no shark in swimming pool. Doesn't make much sense...

[@ABSVabeautifulsunsetvlog]

Perfecto mundo, enough said….examples from years ago shouldn’t apply to now. Adam is still one of the best but he isn’t leagues above other elite climbers anymore I don’t think. And I’m a huge fan of ondra and his style.

[@EKdlwoasred]

Not heard of silence? 9c is harder than 9b+

[@CoNFiiDeNTiiAL]

@@EKdlwoasred 9c is a suggested grade, 9b+ is a confirmed grade

[@EKdlwoasred]

@@CoNFiiDeNTiiAL that’s actually a fair point so I can’t argue with that.

[@EKdlwoasred]

@@CoNFiiDeNTiiAL I’ll be very surprised if it gets a downgrade

[@CoNFiiDeNTiiAL]

@@EKdlwoasred the problem is it might never even see a repeat, it could be harder than 9c