Adam Ondra has onsighted Water World (9a), in Osp, Slovenia.

The 40 metre route follows the left hand side of a steep cave, and can be broken down into two sections. The first 10 metres contain around thirty powerful moves, eventually leading to a good rest, which is followed by a further 30 metres of easier climbing on stalactites, at around 8b.

The route was established by Klemen Bečan in 2014, after almost two years of attempts. It's second ascent came just a few months later, at the hands of 2016 Lead World Cup Winner Domen Škofic, who described the route as 'very solid for the grade' and as his 'second hardest 9a'.

Adam shared the news of the onsight on instagram, where he said:

'9a's are still quite rare, 9a's that are good or at least possible to onsight are even more rare. This time it was one of those rare moments when the perfect route, conditions and shape got aligned. [This] amazing line from Klemen Bečan had attracted me for a while, and I am glad I was patient to catch the right moment. One of my proudest achievements'.

Adam's onsight of Water World is his fourth at the grade, after La Cabane au Canada (9a) in 2013, Il Domani (9a) in 2014, and TCT, also in 2014. The only other climber to have onsighted a route at the grade is Alex Megos, who made the world's first onsight of 9a on Estado crítico (9a), in 2012, before getting his second 9a onsight on TCT in 2017. In 2018, Adam flashed Super Crackinette, 9a+, having studied the beta beforehand.

The onsight comes just eight days after Adam established the 'second hardest route' of his life, Zvěřinec, which he described as 'hard' 9b+. In the intervening days, Adam even found the time to complete a boulder project from spring of this year, which he has graded 8C/C+.

The videos of Adam's new 9b+ and 9a onsight are due to be released in 2023. In the meantime, check out this video of Adam's new 8C/C+boulder, Cup of Immortality (extension), below: