BURSTOn May 19, Pepa Šindel made the third ascent of Clash of the Titans 5.15b (9b) in Götterwandl, Austria. The climb is the 18-year-old’s first 5.15b. It was an effort that involved five trips over two seasons, and more than 50 falls on the final hard move.
“The first time I tried the route was last summer, when it was a candidate to become my first [5.15b],” said Šindel on Instagram. “I couldn’t do most of the moves in the crux, but I knew I would come back. And I did — three more times that year. With every trip, I got closer to sending, but the last hard move from an undercling stopped me every single time.
“Going into my final trip in November 2025, I already felt that something was wrong with my finger, but I ignored it and convinced myself that I just needed to train harder. That ended with multiple fatigue fractures that became displaced around the finger. It meant a two-and-a-half-month break from climbing.
“This year, I really didn’t know what to expect. Could I recover before it got too hot? Could I get back into good enough shape for the route? Wouldn’t it be better to wait until autumn? When the trip finally came, I felt in decent shape and already had two good attempts on my first day. Then, on my second day of climbing, I did it — on my second try of the day.”
Alex Megos established Clash of the Titans in 2017 and proposed a grade of 5.15a. Jakob Schubert eventually made the second ascent in 2022, but it did not come easily. He actually brought Stefano Ghisolfi to the route to get a second opinion on the grade. In Schubert’s YouTube video, where he and Ghisolfi discuss a possible upgrade of the route, Schubert said, “I think over the last 5 or 6 years, Clash of the Titans is definitely one of the routes I tried the most. I always struggled with this route and I think within this time span it was clear to me, this cannot be [5.15a].” Schubert gave the route 5.15b after making his second ascent. Šindel agrees with Schubert’s assessment. On You can watch Šindel send Clash of the Titans on Red Bull here.
“It’s definitely my hardest route that I have ever climbed and a big step up from the [5.14d’s] and [5.15a’s] that [I’ve] done,” said Šindel on Instagram. “For the breakdown of the route, I think it’s [5.13d] or [5.14a] into a bad rest into a [V13] or a [V14] boulder…But I am not a boulderer. I can also be totally wrong, and only time will tell.”
Šindel has an impressive resume. He was the second youngest climber ever to send 5.15a – the youngest ever to climb the grade was Ondra. Now, he has climbed over a dozen 5.14d and two 5.15a routes according to his 8a.nu page. This year, on April 2, he sent Adam Ondra’s Biologico 5.14d (9a) in Arco, Italy. Other hard climbs on his ticklist include Chiroptera 5.15a in Súľov, Slovakia and Modified 5.15a in Frankenjura.
Last year was very sendy for Šindel. In February, he climbed Nid De Fadas 5.14d in Leonidio, Greece, and in May, he ticked Classified 5.14d/5.15a in Frankenjura. In July, he sent the iconic Action Directe 5.14d as well as Nice Freshly Baked 5.14d, both also in Frankenjura. In the fall, he sent two more 5.14d’s: Harmatanec and Procesor in Slovakia.
Jakob Schubert and Stefano Ghisolfi on Clash of the Titans
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