Wolfpack ninja Podcast - Chris Sharma - The Climbing Ninja

Chris Sharma; It’s hard to tell where to begin with this guy. How does one even start to talk about a man who has experienced so much and led such an original and authentic life? Chris has always followed his own plan, his own beat. At times reticent role-model, at times reluctant leader, there is no arguing that Chris has done more for the art of modern climbing than anyone else.

Sure, Chris has climbed the hardest climbs. And it’s funny, even though nowadays there are strong kids at every corner, knocking on Chris’s door, He is still revered as the best climber in the world. For 2 decades, he reigned supreme as the strongest and opened the first 5.15a which he called Realization in Ceuse, France. This is a man who is hungry for life. He is always searching for the next King Line and has been the favorite subject of a great many documentaries and films about extreme difficulty in rock climbing. He has so many undeniably sick ticks in his belt that you start to wonder if he wasn’t put here for the simple purpose of climbing things. Perhaps the purpose of inspiring us.

Chris inspires himself. He openly admits that he has been given great gifts of strength that few others posses. Yet he is as humble as they come. He understands that his journey is the same as everyone else’s: climb, fall, climb, fall, send, rest, repeat. Chris is a lifer to the core. 

Part ascetic, part hippy, part surfer-dude and all animal, Chris has been a different kind of character. Mostly unapproachable due to his constant position as the center of attention.

Chris just had a baby, little Alana Sharma with his beautiful wife Jimena. They live in Spain. As a new father, it was fun talking to Chris. My boy is 5 yrs old as I write this, and I have known Chris for almost 20 years.