Adam Ondra at Vranjača establishes Croatia's first 9b

Even on holiday Adam Ondra doesn't ever really stop and rest. This summer with his wife and young child he went on a short break to Paklenica in Croatia, but knowing that he quickly gets restless on the gorge's beautiful pebbled beach, he couldn't resist taking his drill with him.

About half an hour from the National Park lies the enormous Vranjača cave where three years ago he freed the 9a Mia; knowing that there was potential for other lines and that it is possibile to climb there despite the scorching August heat, the 30-year-old went and quickly bolted two lines. The first, called A je to, is a power resistance route that he managed to free at 9a/+, while the second, the direct finish, remained a project.

Ondra returned a few days ago and freed the route, calling it B je to and grading it 9b, making it the first 9b in Croatia. He told planetmountain "you climb a 7a for about 15m up to a ledge, then continue up to an uncomfortable, no-hand kneebar rest. All of this is in common with "A je to", including the next three hard moves, but after these you then continue straight up. Six hard moves follow and I'd say these are about 8B boulder, but if you add the 3 hard moves you've just done before, the crux could be about 8B+. This is followed by a really good rest in a jug, then another kneebar rest which was worse than I thought before a 7C+/8A boulder problem and a 7c+ exit to the top, where you shouldn't fall any more. I was fairly near by limit here but it's certainly not the main crux. The main crux is a big move off two tiny crimps into a pinch."

Info: www.adamondra.com, Instagram Adam Ondra, La Sportiva, Mammut