Photographer: Christian Adam Athlete: Seb Bouin Location: Clark Mountain, CA

Suprême Jumbo Love

Watch Seb Bouin add his own piece of history to Clark Mountain and establish America’s new hardest route.

TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2023

In the fall of 2022, Black Diamond athlete Seb Bouin made a pilgrimage to the mythical Clark Mountain to pay homageJumbo Love—a route he’d dreamed of for years. But sending the iconic Chris Sharma testpiece (and the world’s first 5.15b) was only the beginning of his journey. Take a trip into the heart of America’s hardest climbing and watch Seb add his own piece of history to Clark Mountain with the country’s new hardest route.

Black Diamond Presents: Suprême Jumbo Love

Video: Ben Neilson

The History Back in 1990, Randy Leavitt saw this wall up there in the middle of the desert. So far away from everything. He saw with his binoculars the potential of the main line,Jumbo Love,from the road.

He went up one day and bolted the line in three pitches.

After realizing the line was maybe too futuristic for him, he left it as an open project.

In 2008, Chris Sharma made the first ascent of this route and named itJumbo Love.

A stunning line which introduced a new grade to the climbing world: 9b/5.15b

Then he came back around 2010 to try the direct start. Yet, he didn't finish it.

Jumbo Love was a dream since I was a child.

I started climbing around 2005 and it was documented in one of the most incredible climbing films—Progression—I had watched at that time.

SendingJumbo Love Jumbo Lovelooked like everything I like in climbing—a perfect huge orange steep wall in the middle of the Mojave Desert. I knew this line and this wall would be my preferred climbing style: long, exhausting, impressive.

Climbing on this line is something I have been waiting for, for several years. And I was not disappointed. It's an amazing line with perfect moves.

ButJumbo Loveis not just a hard line, it's a whole adventure.

I totally underestimated the total process, the drive, the off-roading, and the hike in.

We changed our car three times because it was not good enough to get to the crag. We also changed two tires due to off-road driving incidents. The 1-hour hike really takes it out of you.

I am used to climbing for many days in a row. But, here, that would be a mistake. We had to preserve ourselves. And keep our energy and motivation up.

I managed to climbJumbo Love(5.15b) on my 10th climbing day.