La Sombra del Chamán 5.14a

La Sombra del Chamán climbs the 385-meter face of La Pared del Chamán at El Salto, Mexico, across 14 bolted pitches ranging from 5.12 to 5.14-. It is the longest hard sport route in the country and the hardest multi-pitch line with a double-digit pitch count, sustained limestone climbing on pockets and edges that demands pacing across nearly 400 meters of vertical terrain rather than a single short crux.

History

Alejandro Patiño and Paco Medina bolted the original line in 2001, leaving an unclimbed vision on the wall for over a decade. In 2015, Italian climbers Margo Maggioni, Paolo Marazzi and Simone Pedeferri added the final three pitches to complete the route as it stands today. Anna Hazelnutt and Connor Rudge freed every pitch individually in 2024, showing the route was possible, before Guadalajara climbers Damián Zepeda and Álvaro Basich made the first full free ascent in December 2025, linking all 14 pitches consecutively over a three-day push. In 2026 Matt Segal made the first one-day ascent and the route's second free ascent, at 5.14a, linking the original 14 pitches into 9.

On film

La Sombra del Chamán | The North Face (2026) follows Emily Harrington and Matt Segal on the route, presented as one of Mexico's hardest lines. The pair set out to free it together, but Harrington moved into a support role partway through, belaying Segal and coaching him from below while he pushed for the ascent. The film covers Segal completing the climb in a single day, shortly after the route's first free ascent by local climbers Zepeda and Basich.