Jonathan Siegrist spent some time out in the west desert of Utah this spring to tick a James Litz route called Peruvian Necktie. I have to admit that I hadn’t even heard that the famously reclusive Litz had established a 5.15b out here, matching Jumbo Love as being one of the hardest sports in the United States. It doesn’t surprise me at all, of course, as I’ve long known that Litz has some of the strongest fingers and tendons ever to touch rock.

I actually got to spend a few days recently with Jonathan Siegrist at this rare and random cliff perched at the edge of the salt flats, as well as a whole crew that included Sam Elias, Matt Segal, Drew Smith, and Leif Gasch. We grilled meat and drank whisky and while I flailed around and got pumped as shit, I watched Jonathan run laps on 5.14b’s and made them look like 5.10. His ability to make really hard climbing look as casual as can be is something to behold.

Jonathan Siegrist’s legacy and career is nothing short of prolific. Check out our interview with Jonathan over at The RunOut podcast, which was one of my favorite episodes. In that conversation I try to push him on how many 5.15s he has done, particularly in the United States, which still has a reputation for being behind Europe in terms of quantity or quality of routes at this level. Jonathan Siegrist is definitely doing more than his fair share of bringing the United States up to that level. This summer, he’ll be back at work on a new cliff outside of Las Vegas that certainly promises to be one of the future centers of hard sport climbing in America.

I really enjoyed this beautifully shot and edited film by Nate Liles (@orographic_visual on Instagram). It was also really cool to meet earlier Nate this year out in Penitente. Definitely follow his work since he’s putting together some sick climbing films and stills.