Think Siurana at sunrise: gold light slashing across the El Pati wall, limestone glowing like it’s been tuned to some secret, high-frequency wavelength. That’s the backdrop for Jorge Díaz-Rullo’s 2024 strike, the third ascent of Sleeping Lion, Chris Sharma’s 2023 mega-line.

Sharma blew the doors off the place when he established the route at 5.15c (9b+), an endurance-drenched chain of stacked double-digit boulders held together with little more than willpower and terrible rests. It’s the kind of line that feels less like a climb and more like a high-stakes surf set: you’re either riding the power or getting rag-dolled by it.

Enter Alex Megos, who snagged the second ascent and cooled the hype just a notch, floating a suggested 5.15b after eight days of work: “both the 9b+’s I did took at least twice as long,” he shrugged, in classic Megos understatement.

Díaz-Rullo rolled in and showed he knows how to dance with the fiercest lines in Catalonia. His send looked composed, almost tidal, surging through the cruxes, shaking out on “rests” that barely qualify as such, and keeping the lion asleep just long enough to clip chains.

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