[25] Days later, Sharma won the Munich leg of the IFSC World Cup in bouldering, only to be disqualified on testing positive for marijuana.

A 2003 trip to Mallorca, Spain to meet Miquel Riera, a pioneer of deep-water soloing, led him to "fall in love with climbing all over again".

[3][16] Sharma largely abandoned competitions,[c] to focus on "King Lines", a term he adopted for iconic routes that motivated him.

[1] In 2006, he made an early repeat of La Rambla 9a+ (5.15a), and in 2006, after 50 attempts,[20] stuck the crux dyno of Es Pontàs in Mallorca, the world's first-ever 5.15a (9a+) DWS route.

[1][5][6][27] In 2007, Sharma moved to Lleida, a town near the Spanish Pyrenees, in Catalonia, Spain,[3] and over the next five years, created an unprecedented series of new 9a+ (5.15a) to 9b (5.15b) sport climbs,[28] predominantly in Catalonian limestone crags (namely Oliana, Siurana, Santa Linya and Margalef), starting with the 9a+ (5.15a) classic of Papichulo in May 2008.

[12] His previous breakthroughs had been on routes established and bolted by other climbers who had given up on them,[f] and now he needed to find his own limit saying: "I wanted to push myself to the next level.

[12] The period saw Sharma bolt and free numerous new extreme 9b (5.15b)-graded "King Lines", including Golpe de Estado [fr] (2008), Neanderthal (2009), and First Round First Minute (2011), each a major project in itself and since regarded as important classics, with Sharma saying "That's the thing about being on the cutting edge.

[12] National Geographic called their collaboration a defining moment in the sport of rock climbing, when the title of "world's best climber" had begun to pass from one generation to the next.

[1] In 2015, he freed El Bon Combat, considered at the time to be close to 9b+ (5.15c), and in 2016 he soloed Alesha, the world's first 9b (5.15b) DWS route.

[34][35] In March 2023, aged 41, Sharma made the first redpoint of Sleeping Lion, a 9b+ (5.15c) route beside La Rambla in Spain, which he described as the hardest thing he had done in over eight years.

[10] In 2007, Melissa Block on NPR's All Things Considered, introduced him saying "Chris Sharma is hailed as the world's best rock climber, a pioneer who has mastered some of the most spectacular and difficult routes in the history of the sport".

[1] Sharma is noted for a "humble softly-spoken meditative disposition" (who often leaves it to others to grade his routes)[24][40][41] coupled with a "highly aggressive and dynamic" climbing style.

[8][20][5] In 2016, Climbing said: "Over the past three decades, Sharma has cultivated a mellow Southern California persona, but in reality, he's one of the most competitive, focused, and driven athletes out there".

[3] Outside added, "Before Sharma figured out how to balance elite performance with making a living, "professional climber" was an oxymoron.

[1][20] Sharma was in a long-term public relationship with the Spanish professional climber Daila Ojeda [fr], and they lived together in Oliana.

[8][46][47] In August 2015, he married Venezuelan model and television personality Jimena Alarcón, and the couple moved from Oliana to Barcelona.