Excalibur: Why Adam Ondra is taking himself out of the race

The potential 9c route Excalibur has been attracting the best climbers in the world to Arco for a year. Adam Ondra also followed the call of the heavily overhanging route with her micro holds. Now the strong Czech surprisingly gives up and says: Game over, I'm out.

for many days Adam Ondra the potential 9c route Excalibur projected. Despite all the progress, the crux of the matter, a move from a nasty two-finger hole, kept turning him down. A circumstance that has never been able to deter the strong Czechs.

His end therefore comes as a surprise: “Game over. That's it for me with Excalibur." The following video shows why Adam Ondra gives up the beg and why this is also a sign of his greatness.

That might interest you

Do you like our climbing magazine? When we launched LACRUX, we decided not to introduce a payment barrier. It will stay that way, because we want to provide as many like-minded people with news from the climbing scene.

In order to be more independent of advertising revenue in the future and to provide you with even more and better content, we need your support.

Therefore: Help and support our magazine with a small contribution. Naturally you benefit multiple times. How? You will find out here.

+ + +

Credits: Cover picture Adam Ondra

News

Red Bull X-Alps 2025: The starting signal for the toughest adventure race in the world

Today the prologue to the twelfth edition takes place in Kitzbühel...

First female ascent of the Yosemite Triple Crown

For the first time, two women have won the so-called Yosemite Triple Crown: Kate Kelleghan and Laura Pineau climbed the three highest peaks in Yosemite – Mount Watkins, Half Dome and El Capitan – in 23 hours and 36 minutes.
00:43:51

These are the best (and worst) training exercises for climbers

There's no doubt that strength training is essential for climbing. Nevertheless, there are particularly helpful exercises—and some that do more harm than good.

Seb Bouin opens Croatia's hardest climbing route – Vidra La Vida 9b/+

Exciting news reaches us from the island of Hvar, where French climber Sebastien Bouin made the first ascent of Vidra La Vida. The proposed difficulty of the new route is 9b/+ (5.15b/c), making it the hardest sport climbing route in Croatia to date.

Red Bull X-Alps 2025: The starting signal for the toughest adventure race in the world

Today, the prologue to the twelfth edition of the Red Bull X-Alps takes place in Kitzbühel. 32 men and one woman face the ultimate challenge for...

First female ascent of the Yosemite Triple Crown

For the first time, two women have won the so-called Yosemite Triple Crown: Kate Kelleghan and Laura Pineau climbed the three highest peaks in Yosemite – Mount Watkins, Half Dome and El Capitan – in 23 hours and 36 minutes.
00:43:51

These are the best (and worst) training exercises for climbers

There's no doubt that strength training is essential for climbing. Nevertheless, there are particularly helpful exercises—and some that do more harm than good.