May 17th, 2015- Ethan Pringle flew ninety feet past North America’s hardest route Jumbo Love (5.15b). After completing the second ascent of the Chris Sharma test piece, Pringle took an enormous victory jump at the Third Tier at Clark Mountain, California.
The nearly 29 year old Pringle began working the route in 2007 with Chris Sharma. He made significant progress over two different trips, climbing into the red point crux from the ground. He had just completed Biographie (5.15a), claiming the fifth ascent of Chris Sharma’s benchmark route. He was on track to make a leap in his climbing. During a trip to Bishop that winter, he fell and fractured his heel falling off the Mandala Sit (V14). That fall, Sharma sent the route. The route remained in his mind though.
He’d climbed harder since his first trip to Jumbo Love. He boulderered Wheel of Life, a V15-ish endurance boulder problem in Australia’s Grampians, the first ascent of Spicy Dumpling (5.14d) in Yangshuo, China. Cobra Crack (5.14b) in Squamish British Columbia, Necessary Evil (5.14c) at the Virgin River Gorge, and the Golden Ticket (5.14c) at the Red River Gorge. He returned to the Mandala Sit and finished the boulder problem that had claimed his heel. This spring, Pringle traveled to Siurana, Spain and climbed the difficult La Reina Mora (5.14d).
Fit and focused, Pringle left Europe and headed straight for Clark Mountain. He invested approximately eighty tries, thirty five of which were during this season, on the 210 foot route.
The route begins on a 70 foot 5.12d to a ledge where you can rest. The climb then traverses into 80 feet of 45 degree overhanging wall. A beginning 5.13 section leads to a V11 boulder problem, a handjam rest, followed by a 40 foot section of sustained 5.14b involving big moves on good holds. Pringle fell on the section above the redpoint crux four times before sending the route. He remained optimistic and kept trying. He memorized an Eric Thomas quote. “Perfect the possible in order to achieve the impossible.”
On May 17th, Pringle fell off the first crux. With lowered expectations, he made another attempt. This time, he sent, becoming the second American to climb 5.15b and making the biggest climbing achievement of his career. Congratulations to Ethan on his amazing send.
