2008 was the year of the winner: Britney Spears won back her sanity; Michael Phelps took eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics; and — oh, yeah — Barack Obama won his bid for the Oval Office. On the climbing front, the bar, pushed almost immortally high in the aught decade, was notched higher yet. Once again, in 2008, the unthinkable — a trad 5.14 up El Cap in 20 hours; a 250-foot, mondo-cave 5.15b; and a free solo of a multi-pitch 5.12+ — has become reality.

As with last year’s GP awards, we’ve prioritized vision (being the first, or interpreting old testpieces in a fresh, unflinching way) over volume, with an eye toward honoring those recipients who haven’t yet sat at the table. We know each selection won’t be without controversy — we each have our heroes — but Climbing’s editorial crew sat down, talked to our sources, and wrapped our heads around the subjective animal known as “climbing achievement,” to bring you the trend-setting-sends and highlights of 2008.

Sport Climbing

Chris Sharma

Twenty-five years into the “bolted revolution” and it’s hard not to feel like elite sport climbing has lost its luster. Link-ups, bouldering starts, and third-try-Beta-flash shenanigans — the mind reels. Then there’s Chris Sharma, who mainly devotes his energies to first ascents with staying power. This year it was Jumbo Love, a 250-foot 5.15b at the remote desert fortress of Clark Mountain, a limestone amphitheater in California.

Three years after first trying the line, Sharma sent September 11. He clipped only 14 bolts, risking monster falls and calling on an Olympic-caliber athleticism built by training on “easier” (5.14+/15-) enduro pitches in Spain and through multiple attempts on Jumbo Love itself. “About Chris' tenacity on the route: that's just how he works,” says Ethan Pringle, who’s tried the climb. “He may not seem strategic, but underneath that calm, uncaring facade, he knows [just] what he wants.” Consider that Sharma, fit from his send, shortly thereafter went on a 5.14-onsighting spree, and you clearly see the challenge involved.

Honorable Mentions:

• Adam Ondra, only 15 and machine-gunning through 5.14+ all over Europe, including the benchmark Action Directe (5.14d), Germany; Alex Huber’s Weiße Rose (5.14d/15a), Austria; and the first continuous redpoint of WoGü (5.14b; seven pitches), Switzerland.
• Patxi Usobiaga, for holding it down on the upper grades, including a repeat of Action Directe; a five-try repeat of Santa Linya’s Fabela pa la Enmienda (5.14d); and an onsight of Home, Sweet Home (5.14c), France.