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Every once in a rare while, that which is possible in a particular sport gets redefined by one individual’s remarkable effort: think Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile or Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point NBA game. In 2017, Adam Ondra similarly raised the bar for climbing…

ADAM ONDRA CLIMBS SILENCE

What does it take to send the world’s hardest climb? Find out in Silence, Bernardo Gimenez’ movie which covers the events preceding the afternoon of September 3, 2017 when Ondra, currently one of the best climbers in the world, made history climbing in the spectacular Hanshelleren Cave in Flatanger, Norway.

''The hardest part about the easy part is not to get tired. After a good rest in a knee bar, you're facing crux one, which could easily be one of the hardest boulder problems I have ever done.''

— Adam Ondra, on climbing Silence

One of the most widely-used systems to rate the difficulty of climbs is the French Sport Climbing System which ranks climbs from 1 (the easiest) to 9 (the hardest) and then appends an a, b, or c and plusses and minuses to further delineate the challenge. Ondra rated his pioneering route in Flatanger the first ever 9c — the hardest climb ever.

OBSESSED WITH FLATANGER

Ondra became obsessed with Flatanger and its climbing possibilities with his first trip to Norway in the summer of 2012.

Adam Ondra climbs in Flatanger, Norway

In was in the same cave where he later climbed Silence, that Ondra — after countless failed attempts and countless primal screams — finally sent the world’s first 9b+ route, which he named Change.