Chris Omprakash Sharma (born 23 April, 1981) is an American rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. He dominated sport climbing for the decade after his 2001 ascent of Realization/Biographie, the world's first-ever redpoint of a consensus graded route, and ushered in what was called a "technical evolution" in the sport. Sharma carried the mantle of "world's strongest sport climber" from Wolfgang Gullich (who held it for almost a decade from the early 1980s), and passed it to Adam Ondra (who held it from 2012). In 2008, Sharma redpointed the world's first-ever consensus route with Jumbo Love, and in 2013, became only the second-ever person to climb a route with La Dura Dura. Sharma is also known for soloing the world's first-ever (Es Pontàs in 2007), and (Alasha in 2016) deep-water solo routes. Sharma became one of the most commercially successful climbers in his sport, and was noted for his "King Lines" – being iconic routes that inspired him to spend the months and even years needed to climb them – some of which feature in the award-winning 2007 climbing film, King Lines. Early life Chris Omprakash Sharma was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California, the only child of Gita Jahn and Bob Sharma. His parents were devotees of the yogi Baba Hari Dass, and adopted the surname Sharma when they got married. He went to Mount Madonna, and attended Soquel High School for a year. Sharma started rock climbing when he was 12 at the Pacific Edge Climbing Gym, and he described himself as "one of the first climbing-gym-generation kids". Climbing career 1996–2002 (to Realization) From the outset, Sharma was considered prodigy in the climbing world. At age 14, he won the adult 1996 US Open Bouldering Nationals, and a year later aged 15, he freed Boone Speed's project Necessary Evil in the Virgin River Gorge, the hardest sport climb in North America at the time. The following year, Sharma won silver at the biennial UIAA World Championships at Paris, and gold at the Kranj leg of the UIAA World Cup, both for lead climbing. Still 16, he suffered a serious knee injury that sidelined him for over a year. Aged 18, Sharma moved to Bishop, California, and began a US bouldering revolution with his 1999 film Rampage, and in February 2000, completed the first ascent