''Jumbo Love'' is a long sport climbing route on remote

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cliffs on Clark Mountain in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

. Bolted by American climber Randy Leavitt in the 1990s, he invited

Chris Sharma Chris Omprakash Sharma (born 23 April, 1981) is an American rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. He dominated sport climbing for the decade after his 2001 ascent of '' Real ...

to attempt it in 2007. When Sharma completed the

first free ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

on September 11, 2008, the route became the first-ever rock climb in history to have a confirmed grade of , and an important route in rock climbing history. The route has been repeated, and its grade confirmed, by a number of subsequent climbers, including French climber Seb Bouin, who made the fourth ascent on October 25, 2022. Bouin followed up his ascent by adding a direct start to the route on November 1, 2022, to create a route called ''Suprême Jumbo Love'', which at became North America's hardest climbing route and only the sixth 9b+ sport climbing route in history.

History

The original route was bolted by American climber Randy Leavitt in the late 1990s, who envisaged it being a 3-pitch climb. Leavitt failed to complete the route and invited

to try it. Sharma spent 2007 with fellow American climber Ethan Pringle working the route, which Sharma envisioned as a huge long single-pitch climb. In 2008, Pringle was injured and Sharma, living below the cliff for weeks, made the first ascent on September 11, 2008. Sharma named the route ''Jumbo Love'' in recognition of Leavitt's neighboring route, ''Jumbo Pumping Hate''. ''Jumbo Love'' was one of several routes that were proposed at . Fred Rouhling's controversial 1995 route, ', was downgraded to 9a in 2020. Bernabe Fernandez's equally controversial 2003 route, ', was downgraded to 9a+/b.

Tommy Caldwell Tommy Caldwell (born August 11, 1978) is an American rock climber who has set records in sport climbing, traditional climbing, and in big-wall climbing. Caldwell made the first free ascents of several major routes on El Capitan in Yosemite Natio ...

's 2003 route, ''Flex Luthor'', had caveats due to the extreme level of rock erosion, and was regraded to by Jonathan Siegrist in 2022. Finally, 's 2007 route, ''Ali Hulk Sit Start Extension'', was later downgraded to 9a+/b, with the use of

kneebar A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are f ...

s. Sharma was the only climber of this "first potential 9b" group that would go on to climb further recognized 9b routes, which he did with ' (2008), and ''Neanderthal'' (2009); he also went on to climb with ''

La Dura Dura ''La Dura Dura'' is a sport climbing route on the limestone cliffs at Peramola, a village in Oliana, Spain. The route was bolted and developed by American climber Chris Sharma in 2009 who had almost given up believing he could climb it until a ...

'' in 2013. Rouhling, Fernandez, Andrada, and Caldwell, would never climb another route with a claim of being at a grade of 9b (or above). The first repeat of ''Jumbo Love'' was completed almost seven years later by Ethan Pringle on May 17, 2015; his climb (and Sharma's 2008 ascent) was captured in the 2016 Reel Rock documentary film ''Reel Rock: Jumbo Love''. American climber Jonathan Siegrist completed the third ascent on May 17, 2018, and French climber Seb Bouin made the fourth ascent on October 25, 2022. Despite being able to use kneepads, Bouin felt the 9b grade was unaffected, saying: "Jumbo Love is not just a hard line, it's a whole adventure"; Bouin had then climbed 9b/9b+, 9b+ and 9c.

''Suprême Jumbo Love''

From 2010 to 2013, Sharma tried to add a ''direct start'' to ''Jumbo Love'' but ended up eventually abandoning the project; Leavitt told ''

Climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done ...

'' that the ''direct start'' could create a new route that was closer to grade . After completing the fourth ascent of ''Jumbo Love'', Seb Bouin immediately began working on the ''direct start'', which he named ''Suprême Jumbo Love''. He completed the first ascent on November 1, 2022, with a proposed grade of . Bouin described his ''direct start'' as of climbing that links to ''Jumbo Love'' before its crux. ''Suprême Jumbo Love'' was the first-ever 9b+ in North America, and the sixth 9b+ in history. Leavitt was present at Bouin's ascent.

Legacy

In the 2016 ''Reel Rock'' documentary on ''Jumbo Love'', the first ascent was described as a "watershed moment" in sport climbing; Pringle expressed his own deflation at not being able to make the first ascent and noted that "when Chris ascended Jumbo Love, it really elevated his rock-star status". When Seb Bouin made the fourth ascent in 2022, he said: "This king line has attracted me for a long time. It was a true inspiration to see the footage of Chris Sharma on it. I started climbing around 2005 and it was one of the most incredible climbing films I had watched at that time". Sharma said that after ''Jumbo Love'' he had to change his approach. His past breakthroughs had been on routes established and bolted by other climbers who had given up on them. In a 2013 interview with ''

Rock & Ice ''Rock & Ice'' is a magazine published by Outside focusing on rock and ice climbing. The first issue came out in March 1984. The first publisher was Neal Kaptain. George Bracksieck worked for him, beginning in January 1984, and the two became e ...

'' he said: "I wanted to push myself to the next level. Where is that? I had to discover it. That was a big process in itself. So I bolted all these routes

n Spain N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...

And a lot of them ended up being that next level". The culmination of that process would be Sharma and

Adam Ondra Adam Ondra (born February 5, 1993) is a Czech professional rock climber, specializing in lead climbing and bouldering. In 2013, ''Rock & Ice'' described Ondra as a prodigy and the leading climber of his generation. Ondra is the only male athlete t ...

's development and completion of ''

'', the world's first-ever in 2013.

Ascents

''Jumbo Love'' has been ascended by: * 1st

, September 11, 2008 * 2nd Ethan Pringle, May 17, 2015 * 3rd Jonathan Siegrist, May 17, 2018 * 4th Seb Bouin, October 25, 2022 ''Suprême Jumbo Love'' has been ascended by: * 1st Seb Bouin, November 1, 2022

Filmography

* Includes Chris Sharma's 2008 ascent: * Ethan Pringle's 2015 repeat:

References

{{reflist

External links

The Story of ''Jumbo Love''
''Hard Climbs'' (2022)
VIDEO: Watch Ethan Pringle's Full 35-Minute Send of Jumbo Love (5.15b)
''

'' (May 2017)
VIDEO: Jumbo Love
'' Reel Rock (Season 2, Episode 10)'' (documentary on Sharma's first ascent, and Pringle's second ascent, of ''Jumbo Love'') Climbing routes 2008 in sport climbing 2022 in sport climbing