Jonathan Siegrist makes the first ascent of what should be his hardest route to date, Le Reve, 9a/+, at Arrow Canyon, Nevada.

He also talks about his climbing, what motivates him these days and tiny horses.

The route, which apparently is 100% natural, looks really nice, and quite difficult. Jonathan needed 30 tries or so to do it:

Over the course of 6 weeks I'd invested a handful of cleaning days and likely 16+ climbing days on this rig. I lost track, but I probably tried the route nearly 30 times. I was failing not because of simple mistakes, or a single hard move, but because I was down-right exhausted. The upper crux climbs out a 45-60 degree overhang without pause for over 20 moves, finishing with dramatic movement through crazy holds at it's steepest point.

Le Reve took twice the effort of any route I've done save maybe one of my first 5.14s. It seems silly to imagine calling this route 9a right alongside climbs that I did in a matter of 4, 5, or 6 days. However, I also feel unqualified to propose that this route is worthy of the 5.15 grade, seeing in that I've never so much as touched a route of said difficulty.

For the full story of the ascent, check out Jonathan's blog.

Jonathan Siegrist is sponsored by Maxim Ropes, La Sportiva, Arc'teryx, Metolius and Climb On