Some classic American reporting there...
The man who brought 5.15a and 5.15b to the world, and did the second ascent of the world’s first 5.15c...
conveniently omitting Open Air which was climbed 6 years before Biographie and seems likely to be the first 15a in the world (if Ondra's grade-o-meter is accurate) and Change which Ondra climbed 6 months before La Dura Dura.
It's a sliding scale, innit?
Biographie was not the first to be announced at 9a+ or harder, but the first to be announced at the grade without being met by widespread disbelief/ridicule. But it seems like a few routes by Alex Huber from the late 90s might be just as hard...
Jumbo Love was the fourth 9b announced, but
Akira was recently found to be rather 9a "soft",
Chilam Balam 9a+/b and probably never freed until Ondra did the first "repeat", and
Alí-Hulk sit start extension is maybe only considered 9a+ with knee-pads now? Change is still 9b+, but Seb has brought the grade into question (9b/+ with kneepads?).
But it would be curmudgeonous to suggest something else than that Sharma was the leading light of sport climbing during the mid 00s to mid 10s.
