Chris Sharma is the best rock climber in America, and probably the best sport climber in the world:

When he completed his long-time project Realization in Ceuse, France in 2001, the route was arguably the hardest in the world…

Sharma [has] won the World Cup of Climbing, [but] it was later recalled after he tested positive for THC, although THC is not a performance enhancing drug. He returned the cup. [Link]

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p>Sharma has continuously pushed the limits of the sport, climbing routes more difficult than virtually anybody else:

Chris Sharma, the 24-year-old monkey boy who in 2001 introduced the world to 5.15 climbing (the sport’s hardest grade), recently cobbled together a new boulder problem, across the roof of an Ozarks cave, that some say is one of the hardest lines ever completed. [Link]

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p>I got really excited when I first heard his name. This guy who climbs like a mountain macaca … could his name really be Krishna Omprakash Sharma? I mean, that pot thing is so Harold & Kumar.

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p>Nope. Despite his desi middle and last names, he’s neither [racially] desi nor hadesi, he’s actually a hidesi [desi with either Hippie or Hindu convert parents]. His parents are disciples of Baba Hari Dass, “who has not spoken since 1952 and communicates by writing on a small chalkboard.”

Chris was born at home to Gita Jahn, a local masseuse and healing artist, and Bob Sharma, a maintenance supervisor at UCSC. His parents were married at Mt. Madonna Center. Babagi [Should be Baba – Ennis] Hari Dass, the spiritual leader and founder of the center, gave them their last name of Sharma. He also gave Chris his middle name, Omprakash…” [Link]

He also seems to be a chela himself, since he named a climbing route after his Guru.

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p>Sharma attributes his prodigious success to the mental poise gained by meditation:

In 2001, Sharma nailed the hardest climb on earth, Realization, a 5.15a overhang in France that had stymied him 30 times before he succeeded. Surprisingly, he describes the climb as a mental, not physical, challenge. Says Sharma, “To see the whole thing, I had to be in the moment.”

Sharma credits his heightened mental awareness to his daily meditation practice. “Meditation’s important for balance,” he says. “You need to rely on yourself to quiet the mind. I know having more of a mental calm has helped me when I try something that’s very difficult. It makes you realize that you’re not always going to be at your best, because when you meditate, you’re paying close attention to your body and how it feels. As a result, you’re at ease when things don’t work out. You learn to appreciate the lows, just let them happen, learn from them, and go back and try again…” [Link]

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p>Here’s an extended clip of him showing how he created “Realization”, the climb referred to above as “the hardest climb on earth”:

And a shorter one of him strutting his stuff at a contest. He’s got moves that would put spider man, desi or not, to shame: