BURSTJakob Schubert recently attempted Duality of Man, a route at Dry Canyon that was first climbed by Sean Bailey at 5.15d. Schubert has several 5.15s and V17s to his name, including the first ascent of B.I.G. 5.15d in Norway, and a repeat of Alphane V17 in Switzerland.
“I recently went on a climbing trip to the U.S. with the goal of attempting two of the hardest climbs in the world,” Schubert said. During the trip, he also repeated Shaolin V17 at Red Rocks – read about it here.
Bailey announced his first ascent of Duality of Man, completed in 2025, on Instagram in January 2026. Reflecting on the route, he said, “After four years and three seasons of effort, I was able to climb Duality. Dry Canyon offered no easy tactics. With only an hour or two of shade each day and sporadic weather windows, I had to find a level of patience unlike any other route I’ve attempted. This was by far the longest I’ve spent on a project, the most obsessed I’ve been with one, and the hardest climb I’ve ever completed.”
Over the past several years, Bailey has climbed many of the world’s hardest routes, including Bibliographie 5.15c in Céüse, Joe Mama 5.15a in Oliana, First Ley 5.15a in Margalef, and Biographie 5.15a in Céüse. Schubert’s hardest send after B.I.G. was the third ascent of Perfecto Mundo 5.15c in Spain – read about it here.
Schubert Tries Duality of Man
The Other 5.15d Sport Climbs
Silence 5.15d: Bolted by Adam Ondra in 2012 and first climbed by Ondra in 2017, the 45-metre cave route is found at Flatanger, Norway. While many strong climbers have tried it, only Ondra has been able to link every move. After his send, Ondra said, “When I was climbing through the crux of this route, I felt like if I was in my own world, with my mind in complete silence, my body relaxed and flowing up the moves in complete harmony despite the extreme difficulty of the moves. When I reached the anchor, I wanted to scream, but I could not. Too overwhelmed to break the silence.”
DNA 5.15d: Found in France’s Verdon Gorge, DNA was bolted by Seb Bouin who tried it more than 250 times over 150 days before getting the first ascent in 2022. The 50-metre overhanging route starts with 5.14c, climbs through a V11 and V12 problem and heads into another 5.14c sequence. “There would be two possible scenarios, 9b+ [5.15c] or 9c [5.15d],” said Bouin. “Choosing 9b+ [5.15c] would be playing it safe. Choosing 9c would be taking a risk. I have been playing it safe since 2014 on this cliff by proposing very tight grades. And in the end, nobody has repeated one of these routes.” Adam Ondra and Jakob Schubert have both tried DNA with no success.
B.I.G. 5.15d: In September 2023, Jakob Schubert made the first ascent of this monster route in Flatanger, Norway. The route was bolted by Adam Ondra and attempted by some of the world’s best climbers. In summer 2025, Alex Megos spent the month projecting it. He battled skin issues on the climb, preventing his projecting process. Stefano Ghisolfi has also projected B.I.G. and Silence.
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