Considered a "next generation" problem in the 1970s, the route was first solved by American climber Chris Sharma in February 2000.

[6] In 2008, Climbing magazine recounted a story from the 1970s where John Bachar and Ron Kauk reportedly joked that the line [then unnamed] would one day fall to John Gill's grandchildren, and describing it as a boulder that "to this day remains one of the most coveted and storied problems in American bouldering".

[4][7] Sharma's ascent received much acclaim in the climbing community, however, he did not assign the problem a grade.

[15] In 2007, Jeff Silcox added a more intimidating direct finish (avoiding the left escape near the top of the prow), to create The Mandala Direct, still graded V12 (8A+).

[15] Later in 2007, Paul Robinson, added the sit-down-start to Silcox's route, making the first ascent of The Mandala Direct Assis, graded V14 (8B+).