Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
On July 18, 2001, Chris Sharma made the first ascent of Realization (also known as Biographie) in Ceuse, France. Although he didn't grade it at the time, it became the first climb in the world with a consensus rating of 5.15 (9a+ in the French system). He had made perhaps 100 attempts across three trips spanning four years.
Cinematographer Brett Lowell spent many weeks documenting Sharma's process on the climb, and it was featured in the film Dosage Volume II. Now, on the 25th anniversary of this iconic ascent, we've restored the footage from the original tapes and recut it for posterity, including the full, realtime send in one continuous shot.
Filmed by Brett Lowell, Josh Lowell, Jorge Visser. Still photography by Jim Thornburg and Roberto Fioravanti.
On July 18, 2001, Chris Sharma made the first ascent of Realization (also known as Biographie) in Ceuse, France. Although he didn't grade it at the time, it became the first climb in the world with a consensus rating of 5.15 (9a+ in the French system). He had made perhaps 100 attempts across three trips spanning four years.
Cinematographer Brett Lowell spent many weeks documenting Sharma's process on the climb, and it was featured in the film Dosage Volume II. Now, on the 25th anniversary of this iconic ascent, we've restored the footage from the original tapes and recut it for posterity, including the full, realtime send in one continuous shot.
Filmed by Brett Lowell, Josh Lowell, Jorge Visser. Still photography by Jim Thornburg and Roberto Fioravanti.
