It wasn’t until 1992 that a 12-yr-old Chris Sharma discovered his love of rock climbing. Since that time, he’s made a name for himself as one of the best rock climbers in the world, but recently Sharma felt the call back to native Californian nature.
Videos by InspireMore
Growing up in Santa Cruz, Sharma’s early climbing experience involved scaling the highest limbs of the tree in his parents backyard. When the opportunity came to take his early hard knock lessons to the tallest trees on earth, he couldn’t pass it up.
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Sharma had been living and climbing professionally in Spain, but time back home visiting family inspired a life changing trip to the redwood forests of California.
“I started looking up and seeing more than just trees”
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Under the supervision of Dr. Anthony Ambrose and Wendy Baxter -tasked with protecting this majestic place- Sharma attempted to free climb a 700-year-old 240-foot tree.
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The 240 vertical feet proved too difficult to climb without gear, so after a few valiant attempts Sharma donned some minimal climbing equipment and made his way to the sky.
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Once Sharma reached the top of the canopy he helped Dr. Ambrose take samples of the ancient tree and the surrounding redwood forest. The experience was humbling and inspiring for Sharma, who relished the opportunity to climb a living monolith.
“For me, it’s good to step back from all that and just go climbing, have fun with it and feel like a kid again.â€
Here’s the Takeaway: Places like the redwood forests help remind us of how important and precious these natural wonders are. It’s our joy to get to experience
Check out the incredible footage below and share if the grandeur of nature inspires you!
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