Chris Sharma

Chris Sharma is an American rock climber from Santa Cruz, California. He is renowned for his contributions to the sport, especially for his pioneering first ascents. His unique vision and distinctive style of movement have led him to some of the world's most challenging and aesthetically beautiful rock climbs. Sharma's humble, meditative approach to climbing, balanced with a highly aggressive, dynamic style, has seen him redefine the sport's parameters.

Sharma's achievements in climbing are numerous and significant. He dominated sport climbing for a decade after his ascent of Realization/Biographie in 2001, the world's first-ever redpoint of a consensus 9a+ (5.15a) graded route. Known for his "King Lines," Sharma spent months, sometimes years, perfecting these extraordinary climbing routes. His commitment to pushing the boundaries of rock climbing was evident when he redpointed the world's first-ever consensus 9b (5.15b) route with Jumbo Love in 2008 and later, when he became only the second-ever person to climb a 9b+ (5.15c) route with La Dura Dura in 2013. Sharma also made the first redpoint of the 9b+ (5.15c) route "Sleeping Lion" in March 2023, which he described as his most challenging accomplishment in over eight years. Furthermore, Sharma is recognized for free soloing the world's first-ever 9a+ (5.15a) deep-water solo route, Es Pontàs, in 2006.

As one of the most commercially successful climbers in his sport, Sharma has developed several award-winning models of climbing shoes as the lead shoe designer at Evolv. He is the founder of the PsicoBloc Masters—the first and only deep-water solo competition in the U.S. Sharma also established the rock climbing gym Sender One and opened two additional gyms in Barcelona, Spain, further enriching the climbing community.

Sharma's climbs and collaborations, including with Adam Ondra on the route "La Dura Dura," have been showcased in various climbing films like "King Lines," "Reel Rock 7," "La Dura Complete," and others. He has also authored the book "Why We Climb: The World's Most Inspiring Climbers," published in 2017. Sharma's competitive prowess is demonstrated by his silver medal at the 1997 UIAA World Championships for lead climbing and his participation and victories in various climbing competitions, such as the Annual IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships and the U.S. Open Bouldering Nationals. He also developed the first-ever climbing competition series on film, a television show debuting on HBO Max in 2023, "The Climb," with his childhood friend Jason Momoa.

Sharma's personal life closely intertwines with his climbing passion. He has been married to Venezuelan model and television personality Jimena Alarcón since 2015, and they have two children. While Sharma is no longer a practicing Zen Buddhist, he finds climbing a way to access a meditative state of mind. Today, he owns several climbing gyms in California and Spain and continues to climb at the world standard, pushing the limits of what's possible in rock climbing.