Nine year old Veronica Chik, sends Fish Eye (F8c), Oliana
- Friday 11th July 2025
A young 9 year-old Hong Kong climber, Veronica Chik, has just repointed Fish Eye (F8c), Oliana in Spain.
In September of last year Veronica Chik repointed China Climb (F8b+) in Yangshuo China. Now however, the youngster has upped her top redpoint grade to F8c; the hardest route ever redpointed by a nine year old!
Acting on a recommendation by Toni Arbonés, Veronica Chik decided to try Fish Eye at Oliana when she travelled with her dad to Spain at the beginning of June. Since her arrival Veronica has spent some 14 days on Fish Eye; taking time off, she’s spent some time in the UK resting. She can’t recall exactly how many days she’s spend on Fish Eye, but believes it’s less than 30 in total.
One of the biggest and hardest crags in Spain, the southeast facing Contrafort de Rumbau sector at Oliana can be a hub of activity in winter and whilst the long shady evenings in late spring and early summer can be prime it’s unusual for hard routes to be climbed this late into the summer – especially in a year when Spain has been hit with such high temperatures since springtime.
Talking about her ascent, Veronicia said that Fish Eye was a step-up for her – not least in terms of the length:
“The route was quite challenging for me, especially since it was 50 meters long. I had never climbed anything longer than 31 meters, so my endurance was definitely a concern, particularly as a 9-year-old girl. The rope felt heavy as I climbed higher, adding to the difficulty. Fortunately, my climbing coaches [David Gambus and Toni Arbones] did an excellent job preparing me both physically and mentally. I felt calm and confident throughout the climb. I took breaks along the way to recover, and ultimately, I succeeded in sending the route!”
Chik’s redpoint of F8c aged just nine, is little short of astonishing. Chik now holds the record for the youngest person to climb F8c taking it from Theo Blass who climbed the water-shed grade aged 10. Prior to Theo, New Yorker Ashima Shirahishi was 11 years old when she redpointed both Southern Smoke and Lucifer F8c+ in Red River Gorge (Kentucky, USA). By comparison, Adam Ondra redpointed F8a aged nine and wasn’t until he was 11 years old in 2004 that he redpointed F8c.