Chris Sharma climbs Jumbo Wood on giant Redwood tree

Climbing trees dates back to our prehistoric times. It’s something that’s in everyone’s genes, something we can all understand and relate to. That’s why Chris Sharma’s latest ascent really strikes a cord: the American spent some time recently climbing a 77m high redwood, guided by Dr. Anthony Ambrose and Wendy Baxter, two research scientists and redwood-tree experts from the University of California.

Sharma spent three days in the forest attempting to toprope the circa 700 year old specimen that boasts 50 meters of vertical and at times slightly overhanging bark before the first branch is reached. Climbing it free proved harder than expected - for the series of pinches and foot jams jokingly called Jumbo Wood there’s talk of 9a - and Sharma used the opportunity to learn about the trees from the two experts.

After the ascent Sharma commented "For me, climbing has always been about reconnecting to that playful side. It can be so serious. You put your heart and soul into a hard rock project. But it’s also good to take a step back and remember that this is supposed to be about having fun."

On a more serious note: in what must be a first for climbing videos, for every unique view on Youtube of Sharma’s return to his roots, his sponsor Red Bull will donate $.10, up to a maximum of $10,000, to help continue redwood tree research. The offer ends on 31/7/2015 or when 100,000 unique views have been reached.