On Thursday 14 November 2024, French climber Seb Bouin completed the first ascent of Wolf Kingdom (9b+) at Pic Saint-Loup in France The route is a combination of two existing lines Beyond and Les rois du lithium and the connection bolted by Bouin one and a half years ago The 31-year-old had been working it on and off since Bouin stated "What a wave of emotions to complete this project It’s one of the routes that has inspired me the most in my climbing career I am proud and happy to add such a route to the global climbing scene and to place Pic Saint-Loup on the worldwide map of climbing the wind was howling through the cliff at Pic Saint-Loup but I knew that very low temperatures were necessary to send the final section you never really know what you're going to encounter It takes a lot of luck for difficulty to align with beauty and fun in a single route It's quite rare to have the chance to bring a route like this to life Wolf Kingdom is undoubtedly one of my best additions I think it will be one of the most tried 9b+ routes in the future considering its style of climbing. I’m almost a little sad that I no longer have this beautiful project right next to home I believe this route marks a major turning point in my climbing journey. Successfully completing such a big project while staying happy and positive the entire time — it’s an incredible feeling. I think this route is my second hardest achievement. It feels a bit easier than DNA, so the 9b+ grade seems appropriate. Wolf Kingdom can be broken down into a 9a approach section which is the hard part of "Beyond", leading into a 9a+ which is the hard part of "Les rois du lithium" (9b). I’ve done the first 9a section more than 50 times... Thank you all for sharing this process and the energy at Pic Saint-Loup!" On March 28, Jules Marchaland repeated Beyond 5.15a (9a+) in Pic Saint-Loup, France. Opened by Seb Bouin in 2019, the route is one of Europe’s finest of the grade, featuring incredible tufa climbing. Bouin originally suggested 5.14d for the climb, but after a hold break made the second crux significantly more difficult, he instead suggested 5.15a. Before Marchaland’s ascent, Beyond was repeated by Tangay Merard, Seb Berthe, and Dylan Chaut. “Regarding the grade, my feeling would be that it’s clearly soft for a [5.15a]. But is it a very soft [5.15a]? A very hard [5.14d]? Or a [5.14d/15a]? Honestly, I don’t care and I’m really happy of what I’ve done! I enjoyed every second in this route (except the wet end, I admit).” Beyond is Marchaland’s fifth of the grade. He sent three 5.15a routes in 2023 including First Ley in Margalef, Supercrackinette in Saint Leger, and Punt’X in Gorges du Loup. Late last spring he completed Three Degrees of Separation at Céüse. A post shared by Jules (@jules_marchaland) Feature photo by Lucien Martinez Get the digital edition of Gripped for your chosen platform: France's Jules Marchaland has just completed what he himself has described as "maybe the best climbing moment of my life" after making a remarkable second-go ascent of Beyond at Pic Saint Loup in France Located in the La Baume des Escargots sector the route was originally bolted by Frederic Ferraro and first climbed in 2019 by Sébastien Bouin and Lucien Martinez as a 9a with notable repeats being made by by Bouin 23-year-old Marchaland stated: "After checking the beta I knew it could be possible to do it quickly And everything went better than I expected." He added " he last 10 meters on tufas (≈7c) was completely wet It was one of the biggest mental battle of my life Marchaland said: "my feeling would be that it’s clearly soft for a 9a+ I don’t care and I’m really happy of what I’ve done!" and Super Crackinette at Saint-Léger du Ventoux He considers Beyond the easiest of the four A post shared by Jules (@jules_marchaland) Andrew Jefford bikes up the road to Pic St Loup Not my own (we’ve only just moved house); this blog has never tackled my local vineyard region of Pic St Loup wrote to invite me to a domain celebration a couple of months ago Disaster and triumph have marked the Pic’s recent history.  The disaster came on August 17th 2016 I remember it well: gathering clouds of such drama during the early afternoon that I rushed outside to photograph them a torrent of hailstones which looked like flattened golf balls came clattering out of the sky which trashed around half the total crop of the entire area in less than 30 minutes “It was a tough moment for us all,” remembers Viau I lost 50,000 bottles; I never dared work out what it cost The real danger is not having anything to offer customers A network of customers takes an enormous amount of work to create I hope it only happens once in my lifetime.” it claims to be coolest and the wettest (though Limoux might dispute that); indeed Guilhem Viau suggests that its heat summation and rainfall figures — GDD totals of 1550-1650 and up to 1,000 mm of rain per year — are not far adrift of those of the Northern Rhône Many of the leading wines in Pic St Loup do indeed showcase Syrah in blends and the Pic St Loup style of Syrah has a lift and purity to it which contrasts with the citrusy exoticism (teetering into corpulent torpidity) this variety can exhibit in warmer Languedoc locations like St Chinian or La Clape The Mediterranean and the placid Golfe du Lyon is only half an hour away but don’t be fooled: the region in general has more of a continental than a maritime climate warm summers and swift spring and autumn transitions The fact that France’s eighth largest city lies half an hour south of Pic St Loup is both an advantage and a challenge It helps sustain wine sales and prices – but it means that winegrowers have to fight property developers since the whole appellation lies within easy commuting distance of what has been France’s fastest-growing metropolis over the last half-century (Montpellier has doubled in size since 1962) dominated by the tilted limestone block of Pic St Loup itself (658 m) and the long scarp line underneath the Causse of Pompignane most visibly marked by the cliff of Hortus opposite Pic St Loup If you’re someone who believes that limestone makes the greatest of all soil media for vines since almost every vineyard is based on some form or other of pebbley limestone or finer textured limey marl My guess is that many of these soils (and particularly the beautifully drained deep ‘gravette’ soils which stretch away in an alluvial fan or bench near the little Gardois village of Corconne to the north of the appellation) have yet to give their best The vineyards punctuate airy scrub and forest and as green in winter as in summer thanks to Aleppo pine cade and box – a biome I never tire of walking in Guilhem Viau in Bergerie du Capucin vineyards whose term as Pic St Loup president came to an end in 2016 recently awarded the Trophy of the Grands Vins de France competition This goes to the domain winning the most medals in a particular region over the previous five years of the competition – five gold and four silver for the top cuvées in Viau’s case beating any other contender from the whole of Languedoc and Provence It’s been a rapid ascent: the domain only came into being in 2008 It now has 15 ha in three different sectors of the appellation It was singled out for the Trophy via medals for its top red wines the unoaked Dame Jeanne and the oaked Larmanela; both are indeed very good (see below) and not remotely clodhopping The single wine from Bergerie du Capucin which most impressed me was not a red – and it poses an interesting question Pic St Loup is at present an appellation for red and rosé only: those were what sold best and attracted most attention when the application process began with Viau’s 2008 white Dame Jeanne: one of the most successful aged Languedoc whites I’ve ever tasted It’s not illogical to think that one of the coolest might be well placed to produce outstanding white wines in the years ahead is a blend of 70 per cent Chardonnay with the balance from Viognier and other leading whites from the Pic St Loup zone (including the Domaine de l’Hortus Grande Cuvée white) are based on a similar blend Would Pic St Loup ever be allowed to sanctify such a blend with an appellation of its own I doubt it; Burgundy is not happy to see ‘new’ French appellations staking a claim to Chardonnay I’m sure we’ll begin to see Pic St Loup reputations being carved out for fine white wines as well as reds from this zone – but consumers searching them out will have to get used to looking for IGP names such as Val de Montferrand or the more recently instituted St Guilhem le Désert This is normally an (unoaked) blend of Chardonnay with around 20% Viognier but the August hail meant that Viau had to source from friends as well as from the domain and the blend exceptionally contains five per cent Roussanne and Marsanne in this vintage with plenty of perfumed intricacy to add charm The white Larmanela is quite literally a ‘tête de cuvée’ in that it is drawn off from the upper part of the tank after settling; it is also the earliest picked portion of Chardonnay and is fermented in new Radoux barrel specially selected for this purpose but for me it is both over oaked and rather drivingly acid but my suspicion is that 12.5% in this location is just too early a pick but this is the same blend of Chardonnay and Viognier The Viognier character comes through with ample aromatic sweetness aromatically; on the palate the poise and finesse of the Pic Chardonnays sing out lively and soft: a subtle milky richness adds complexity and sensuality to clean lemony fruit lent intrigue by some bottle age The fruit quality is worthy of comparison with traditionally styled Margaret River Chardonnays a warm village Meursault or even a Kumeu River – and a striking success for Viau’s debut Chardonnay vintage Proof that the Pic has fine white-wine potential A blend of Syrah with 25 per cent Grenache and 5 per cent Mourvèdre There’s a wildflower and thyme sweetness to the aromas a little meaty richness and a twist of orange peel too – but everything in moderation and just proportion aged in mainly used 400-litre casks for 16 to 18 months has mushroom and balsam-lifted fruits; the palate is pungent this Syrah cuvée also contained 10 per cent Grenache vivid and harmonious: more evidently generous in conception than Viau’s recent work with black fruit scents of plum and blackcurrant a little fig sweetness and some menthol among the herbal notes this wine now has ample liquorice and root-spice flavours lent contour and definition by finely stitched acidity and soft tannins Those wishing to discover more about Pic St Loup might like to seek out the admirably comprehensive bilingual book Le Pic St Loup by Florence Jaroniak and Sharon Nagel (published by Terroirs d’Exception). We use cookies to personalize content and ads, and to analyze our traffic and improve our service. Text description provided by the architects. In the summer of 2007, Localarchitecture and architect Danilo Mondada were awarded the contract to renovate the mother house of the Deaconess Community of St-Loup. The commission involves the complete renovation of a historic building, including the community's main chapel. It was immediately apparent the mother house would have to be closed for the duration of the building works, in other words for 18 months starting from the summer of 2008. Instead of settling for a standard solution, like renting a tent or containers, the architects suggested building a temporary chapel to accommodate religious worship during the construction period. © Milo KellerTransparent plastic panels in the gable side facades, covered with fabric, allow natural light to enter the chapel. The frame of columns and diagonals resembles the structure of a stained-glass window. © Milo KellerThe wooden chapel in St-Loup is the first full-scale structure that incorporates design and structural analysis based on computer method of generating novel geometrical forms but it is also a bright example of the spatial reinterpretation of a traditional religious space in harmony with its environment You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email Be one of the first to try our new activity feed The line starts on Fred Nicole’s Bain de Sang (9a 5.14d) and then moves into Francios Nicole’s (Fred’s brother) Bimbaluna (9a/9a+ The Italian climber Alessandro Zeni made the first ascent of the new line in January of this year This makes Cryptography one of the hardest slabs in the world Watch Zeni’s journey to send the line in the video above as we begin the third volume of In Search of Lost Time– a book in which there is a lot of socializing- to share this ultra rare film footage of what appears to be Marcel Proust some four years before he largely withdrew from society and set about writing his masterpiece: It occurred to me that there is a slight irony about Proust (and a lot of great writers to be fair) in that he is a wonderfully astute anatomist of social life; yet if you’re going to become a great writer having a rich social life is perhaps the worst thing you can do perhaps more any other artform you can think of uniquely painful for its most skilled practitioners Orwell compared writing a novel to having a long debilitating disease Hemingway said of writing “it rips the guts out of you.” Thomas Mann said a writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people it’s understandable that a writer would try to lose themselves in socializing it’s not writing; that’s something you do alone Proust knew this very well; it’s one of the points he makes repeatedly in his epic which he famously wrote in fairly extreme isolation over about fourteen years his narrator never seems to get the point that being out in society trying to make his way through the constellation of salons in order to reach the brightest star is a novel about how not to waste your life away populated by characters who do just that and a narrator who nearly does as well I feel this sense particularly strongly in the third volume, a book I am apparently not alone in finding to be a bit more of a slog to get through than the other numbers There’s a tension here (and I suspect it’s intentional) between Proust’s always bright and funny prose and his pantheon of society snobs in which the brightest star in the firmament our narrator worships Madame de Guermantes from afar making a general pest of himself by popping up along the route her carriage takes each morning his family has moved to the dependent Hôtel de Guermantes so it’s not as if they can avoid the Duke and Duchess but there’s no indication that she wants anything to do with our young hero either she’s of the old nobility and he imagines that would have the strangeness of a medieval tapestry or a Gothic window.” As a child we recall he saw her in the Combray church where he was also stunned by the Guermantes figure in the stained-glass windows; one imagines he sees Madame in much the same way: distant hovering ethereally in the upper regions of the sky there’s something delusional about our hero’s crush who is moreover considered the most charming of the highest echelon of the Faubourg Saint-Germain; but what could he possibly have in common with her Emma of “Book Around the Corner,” emphasizes Proust’s use of the verb “choisir“ “We usually fall in love and the verb “fall” implies it is an accident our hero has chosen to fall in love with Oriane de Guermantes because it seems like a good idea; she fits an image of perfection in his mind We’ve seen his worshipful veneration of his mother the object of devotion seems something supernatural his worshipping of flesh and blood women is always a bit extravagant and unreasonable this volume is a quest narrative; in order to get closer to his divinity the narrator must first pass through the circles of the theatre he sees the old nobility floating in their boxes which Proust describes like aquatic monstrosities in an aquarium our narrator finally understands why the actress Berma is great; previously she left him cold because he was too closely analyzing her art; now He has passed from unreasonable worship to aesthetic appreciation He travels to a military base where his friend Robert de Saint-Loup is stationed in order to convince Saint-Loup to introduce him to his aunt It’s somewhat surprising to recall that Proust himself served in the military for a year and the scene illuminates the difference between worship and service There’s something quite admirable about how Saint-Loup goes out of his way to serve his friend and talk him up to his fellow servicemen and conversely something decent about their respect and admiration for Saint-Loup Proust seems to be saying that it is natural for us to look to and admire others even in “democratic” societies we might shun elites Saint-Loup is busy worshipping his own fantasy but who our hero recognizes from a brothel he visited earlier with his schoolboy friend Bloch He calls her “Rachel when from the Lord” after a character in Halévy’s opera La Juive something becoming another strike against her in this society; but we also sense that Rachel really is a great actress herself Our hero feels discomfort and embarrassment for his friend The military episode also allows Proust to bring in the controversy that will soon rip ugly holes in French society: l’affaire Dreyfus was convicted of treason for passing military secrets to the German embassy and sent to Devil’s Island The problem was Dreyfus was innocent; it was soon found that an officer Charles Esterhazy was the real spy high officials in the military suppressed the new evidence and laid additional charges against Dreyfus based on forged documents French society divided into Dreyfusards and anti-Dreyfusards and antisemitism that had seemed to be waning in the Belle Époque roared back to cultural life As our hero makes his entry into the salon of Madame de Villeparisis this time between the diplomat Norpois (who earlier insulted his writing) and his schoolboy friend Bloch When the bore Mme de Villeparisis snubs him The salon is a bit of a hunting ground; the salonnières are the alphas among these pack animals and it’s survival of the wittiest Bloch is snubbed; Madame Swann shows up and is snubbed as a one-time courtesan and wife of a Jew- and we recall that her husband was simply a better person than any of these snobs; the Baron de Charlus arrives and charms the women but our hero is advised not to go home with him something as subtle as the twitching of Madame’s nostrils indicates assent or condemnation and so Proust’s prose is as piquant and witty as ever The one-time social climber recognizes how ridiculous these people are like members of a vanished tribe who don’t know their own time has nearly reached its end we’re listening in on snobs for over a hundred pages and one rather wishes our hero would come to his senses more quickly By 2009-09-07T18:58:00+01:00 The latest from the French New Wave master teams a desolate Jane Birkin with a mysterious Sergio Castellito - it starts with him fixing her car and ends with his mending her soul Reworking once again his favorite theme of life versus art and indulging in his affection for long elegant sequence shots and witty double-entendres this will delight his fanbase as much as it will annoy his regular critics Shot mostly in and around the city of Arras not far from the location of his La Belle Noiseuse Around A Small Mountain takes place in a circus as opposed to the theatre but the space between stage and life is as precisely defined and meaningful as it ever was in his past work Film festivals will certainly board this and art houses will follow even though Rivette’s admirers concede that this doesn’t add much to his body of work The opening sequence shows Birkin standing helplessly next to her stranded car on a country road Castellito sweeps by in his sports roadster disappears down the road as if ignoring her All of this is conveyed in one single shot without a line of dialogue Similar visual exercises of equal concise precision follow as the audience learns how Kate (Birkin) has come back to a circus she had left 15 years earlier but she is still uncertain whether she wants to stay with it Vittorio (Casteilito) is more mysterious; he is evidently fascinated by his new chance acquaintance and is equally interested in circus life was killed performing a daring act on stage kicked his daughter out and told her never to return only because she insisted on mourning him.  Since then she has retreated into a passive existence goading her back to the stage and forcing her to act - for ultimately there is no life without art and vice versa throwing in references to still life paintings and mist-shrouded mountains often solved through Birkin’s uncomfortable monologues revealing her character’s past and emotional troubles Other characters also fill up the blanks in equally clumsy circumstances but thanks to the scions of the Lubtchansky family Another saving grace for the film is Castellito’s Italian charm and insouciance which make his intrusion into other people’s lives not only acceptable but welcome and sometimes delectable EXCLUSIVE: The modern love story is the second film by the rising German director Warner Bros’ A Minecraft Movie dominated the month with Gaumont’s Once Upon My Mother the top local film Golshifteh Farahani and Mélissa Boros star in Ducournau’s latest feature Clooney and del Toro are heading to the Lido; Alberto Barbera reveals the ones that got away Venice sidebar to screen eleven world premieres; first screening of Ermanno Olmi doc Lav Diaz’s The Woman Who Left from the Philippines won the Golden Lion at the 73rd Venice Film festival on Saturday while Emma Stone claimed the Coppa Volpi best actress prize for La La Land and Oscar Martínez took actor honours for El Ciudadano Ilustre Screen International is the essential resource for the international film industry access to the Screen International archive and supplements including Stars of Tomorrow and World of Locations Site powered by Webvision Cloud This climb encloses the climbing history of an entire generation it’s a way of interpreting rock climbing that is considerably different from what’s fashionable nowadays It’s a line that from below seems almost easy because it’s perfectly vertical but as soon as you lift your feet off the ground you immediately realise how insidious it is I have to admit that on my first trip to Saint Loup with Riccardo Scarian in 2015 I didn’t understand very much.. It took another two years before I gained the necessary experience to climb a route like this one Then in January 2017 I immediately noticed that something had changed and that I was finally capable of holding crimps I’d originally considered to be nothing more than footholds Redpointing Bain de Sang proved to be an important stepping stone for all my future climbs In late 2017 you returned to Saint Loup to try its monumental neighbour Bimbaluna put up by François NicoleYes Sky and I returned to Saint Loup in December He’d already sent Bain de Sang in 2006 and now we wanted to test ourselves on Bimbaluna Having seen Sky’s attempts during the previous years I knew that Bimbaluna is completely different than Bain de Sang with difficulties concentrated in a 6-move boulder problem which warrants FB 8B/+ On my first attempts I immediately felt good on its extremely small and sharp edges and with the Sky’s precious advice I actually managed to repeat it very quickly indeed It was then that you realised you hadn’t reached your limit and that you started dreaming about something “crazy,” right?This is why life is so beautiful You set yourself a goal and when you finally achieve it We all know we won’t be able to improve indefinitely but the great thing is trying to test your limits always regardless of age or the actual technical difficulty in forty years time I’ll probably be just as happy if I manage to repeat a route I now do as a warm-up what is certain is that I’ll always give my absolute best as long as I’m strong enough to do so It’s precisely this quest for something new that prompted me to try this connection that I initially thought was well beyond my reach So how crazy was this idea of ​​linking the two routes?I started trying it right after redpointing Bimbaluna and immediately realised that it was’t the individual moves that made this climb so difficult but the fact that you need really strong fingers for the Bimbaluna crux after the first section of Bain de Sang After that first attempt I realised that I’d need to be strong enough to do the boulder crux easily if I wanted to send the entire route It took almost two years to build that necessary strength Basically it’s the crux of Bain linked to the crux of Bimba The difficulty of Cryptography lies in the fact that as you traverse from left to right you avoid the huge rest in the middle of Bain de Sang The moves across aren’t that easy either with a long reach right to a monodoigt that leads straight into the Bimbaluna crux The first part of Bain de Sang was graded 8b/c by Fred Nicole the bouldery traverse gets about FB 7B I’d say and this is followed by the Bimbaluna’s bouldery finish All without a real rest in the middle of the climb On both Bain de Sang and Bimba Luna there are rests that allow you to recover before dealing with the crux but these rests are avoided on Cryptography I think that’s what makes it so difficult And then of course there’s the fact that it’s almost impossible to chalk up except on some moves to which you need to add that the holds are so small and sharp that you can never give it more than just a few attempts per day How did you prepare for this climb?I did a lot of fingerboard training which essential to increase specific finger strength and I combined this with system training and campus boarding What was fundamental was transforming this strength and trying really hard routes outside and my main testing ground was the crag Bilico How important is pure power on a slab like this?Although it’s a slab it would be wrong to think that physical strength isn’t necessary and that it all boils down to good footwork The first section of Bain de Sang in particular is extremely physical despite being a slab There are many key factors: finger strength being able to dose your energy by finding the right balance and and it’s almost impossible to compensate for poor conditions with physical strength and training How many attempts and journeys did you need prior tu success?On each trip we spent about 5 days in Saint Loup I don’t know exactly how many trips we did but since 2017 I reckon about 12 in total The thing that was really amazing is that our motivation never flagged especially on routes like this when sometimes you fall just a hair’s breath away from success you gave the climb its name before you freed it I gave it a name even before I was strong enough to do it because I thought that this might motivate others to give it a go if I failed (in the beginning I didn't really believe I’d stand much of a chance) I thought this line was really worth completing How did things go?I knew I was ready but I didn't expect it to go down so quickly I’d just recovered from a finger injury and for this I really have to thank my girlfriend Ilenia who managed to fix me in record breaking time with a nice series of Tecar therapy sessions I got an indication about my form in early January when I visited Cornalba for the first time and sent C'era una volta in America I narrowly missed the redpoint on my second attempt due to a silly mistake while the redpoint almost felt like a walk in the park I realised that this was going to be a good year for my Switzerland project and I was on great form physically and mentally when a route doesn’t seem difficult at all and you even question why it was so hard But then when you think about how much you had to put into it to join all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle then you convince yourself that it can’t be that easy after all In many ways that’s the beauty of slab climbing You spend a lot of time and energy to decipher a single move that But then on the day of the send everything flows fluidly and quickly so simply that you’re tempted to believe it’s almost too easy That’s why on my return from Switzerland I immediately went to try a climb I’d attempted many years ago which I managed to repeat that day on my third attempt This gave me further confirmation that I was on amazing form You mentioned earlier that you were searching for your limit How close did you get that day?On the redpoint I didn't really feel as if I was at my limit because I had assimilated the moves so well that they were almost completely automatic. My body knew exactly how to move in order to save precious energy my feet knew how much they could push on those tiny footholds and my fingers how much they could pull those holds to avoid wasting energy and trashing my skin before reaching the crux Why d’you reckon it’s 9b and how does it you compare to other routes of this style you’ve climbed before?Giving a grade to Cryptography was a difficult process It’s always difficult to stick your neck out especially when the grade is at the limit of this style of climbing which has few comparisons simply because there are few other reference routes But I reckon it’s a mistake not to give a route a grade out of fear of exposing oneself The only thing you can do is be as honest as possible with yourself and with others having searched for comparisons which are as similar to the climb in question as possible I actually struggled to convince myself that Cryptography could be this difficult but ultimately I couldn’t help but base my decision on the grades given to the other two routes Bain de sang which is given 9a and Bimba luna Both have been repeated and the grades confirmed by climbers who I believe have a lot of experience on this type of climbing Even if Bain de Sang were to be rated 8c+ Cryptography remains a grade and a half harder That’s why I graded Cryptography 9b then both Bain de Sang and Bimba Luna would need regrading But as usual this is only a preliminary suggestion while waiting for those who wish to repeat this beautiful route it represents the history of two great slab climbers Over the years you’ve specialised at slab climbing What do slabs give you that overhangs don’t?My evolution towards slabs was fairly natural initially tied to the fact that here in the Primiero region of the Dolomites are crags are mainly vertical and extremely technical As time wore on I realised that this terrain really did give me both the freedom and the excitement I’ve always been looking for The challenge of searching for the smallest hold I’ve also been really lucky to have been able to share a rope with many really good climbers the person who most of all has made me appreciate this beautiful dimension of the upper extreme on slabs I perform far better on slabs than on overhangs partly because I’ve never really spent much time upside down and also because of my physical limits that have led me to redpoint overhanging climbs up to 8c+ The beauty of climbing lies in its freedom of expression and although I really admire those who manage to send really difficult overhanging routes I’m happy with my physical and technical capabilities I’ve acquired through years of training and personally I wouldn’t really want to swap it for anything else If you want to: how come you waited so long to share the news about your first ascent?Well it was dictated mainly by the fact that in January I had the great fortune of starting a new sponsorship with the company that has always worked closely with my home mountains: Karpos At the time the decision to publish this news would somehow have overshadowed the other So we decided for the Karpos sponsorship news first so as to to take photos and make a video about Cryptography in order to give it the visibility it deserves Then with the problems related to Covid-19 things took a little longer… So it’s been several months since the first ascent you’ve already got some new projects in mind.Right now I am trying to establish a new multi-pitch climb together with my friend Sky Without wishing to diminish sport climbing at the crag in the slightest for me personally my ultimate goal is taking these difficulties into the mountains and using bolts sparsely in favour of long run-outs Everything feels more adventurous and complex up in the mountains the views are breathtaking and the hundreds of meters of void exalt me and really make me feel alive The days spent forging a line a true tests of self-control and risk analysis On 11 January 2020 Alessandro Zeni managed to free his difficult project at the historic crag Saint Loup in Switzerland that links two of the world’s most famous slab climbs Bain de Sang was established way back in 1993 by Fred Nicole and graded 9a while immediately to the right his brother François Nicole managed to add Bimbaluna in 2004 It was while repeating the latter in 2017 that Zeni had ".. namely to link the two most difficult sections of both of these routes into one In order to succeed the 28-year-old invested numerous attempts and +600km journeys from his home in the Dolomites to Swiss crag. Zeni suggests his Cryptography link-up warrants 9b. Should the grade be confirmed, then this checks in as one of the most difficult slabs in the world, on a par with Disbelief at Acephale in Canada freed by Adam Ondra in 2018 For years Zeni has specialised in slab climbing and, after numerous high-end repeats, towards the end of 2018 he established the 9a+ Cosmic Energy at the Bilico crag in the Dolomites >> Read Ale Zeni's reportAlessandro thanks C.S. Esercito and his sponsors: Karpos, La Sportiva Belgian climber Sébastien Berthe wrapped up his 2023 with a repeat of Beyond the 9a+ in the La Baume des Escargots sector of Pic Saint Loup in France Bolted by Fedric Ferraro and climbed in 2019 by both Sébastien Bouin and Lucien Martinez at 9a after a hold broke the second crux got significantly harder - from 7B boulder to 7C+ - which nudged the overall grade up to 9a+ Berthe invested about 13 sessions in order to make the third ascent of this version following Bouin and Tanguy Merard and after his redpoint he explained "Beyond is probably one of the best of this grade in France and even in Europe: Huge overhang "Maybe a future project?!" concluded the 30-year-old BEYOND by Seb BertheFor the winter and spring of 2023-2024 A friend of mine and a very strong French climber Loup as a potential location where I could find the route of my dreams La Baume des Escargot on the north face of Pic Saint-Loup indeed harbors numerous particularly beautiful and challenging routes Another essential advantage of this cliff: it faces north and is particularly exposed to the wind but perfect for my soft and sweaty skin (I sweat a lot from my fingertips and am what they call "soft-skinned") I've noticed recently that I had a lot of skin issues when choosing south-facing projects last November I decide to spend two weeks there and set my sights on Beyond and its first pitch a perfect intermediate goal in the 9b process I quickly fall in love with the beauty of the route and decide to fully invest in it before committing to its 9b long version Despite its initially very physical appearance I realise it's primarily a fantastic technical challenge It requires perfect mastery of knee jams and dropknee techniques and the numerous possibilities for footholds demand a lot of beta refinement a lot of finger strength in a full-crimp position is also needed What a joy to be back in this working process feeling motivated during the approach hike I feel I've made significant progress: I can tackle long sections of the route And on the last day of these two weeks working on the route (about 7 sessions) I manage to get through the first crux from the ground that I finally have the chance to get my revenge I only have a few days before Christmas to celebrate and fulfill my social and family duties I'll have to be strong and efficient to complete it in such a short time my first attempt on the route is very promising: I feel much stronger than during my last visit I breeze through the cruxes with disconcerting ease It's so pleasant to feel progress in a route The sensation of progress is almost as exhilarating as completing a project It's one of the things I love about climbing; you don't know why or how but suddenly you can execute movements with a certain ease when you could barely hold the positions at the beginning of the process falling on the last move of the crux in an astonishing effort I've got this route; all I have to do is keep trying and stay focused I continue to fall in this formidable section but each time a small mistake leaves me hanging but the previous sessions have worn me out the back of my thighs are irritated from the kneepads I feel my muscles sore from the preceding days I give my first attempt and fail again in this tough section I think I might have to come back next January But I might as well give it a full try one last time A quick glance confirms what I feared: I have a nice cut on the skin I try to dry the blood with chalk as best as I can; it doesn't work entirely I resume climbing from this precarious resting position on a kneebar with the firm intention to settle it Now I'm in this second crux: I eagerly crimp that little undercling I finally manage to grab that slippery tufa marking the end of the challenging part of the route it's much easier; there's about the equivalent of 7c climbing to the anchor a rodeo-style climb straddling a large tufa But with the stress and fatigue of the session I feel the pump building up in my forearms I can enjoy the final moves and clip the anchor About 13 sessions were needed to finish this route for the exit through ACL and its 9b… Let’s come back in January Un post condiviso da Seb Bouin (@sebbouin) in data: 23 Ott 2020 alle ore 6:09 PDT BAIN DE SANG - VERTICAL LOVE by Jonas Schild I started trying the route seriously last autumn Because of the old and rusty bolts (old hand-placed bolts from the 90s) I only tried the climb on a toprope after just a few days I managed to climb the entire route on toprope so the plan was clear: rebolt the route and then lead it But bad weather set in and the stayed wet for a long time In mid-November I was finally able to try it and lead it with new bolts My first attempt went really well and I fell on the last difficult move On my second try though my ring finger suddenly made a loud popping sound Not particularly surprising when you consider that I was trying to lock a mono as a full crimp The injury forced me to take a longer break from climbing and after a winter with practically no sport climbing at all I decided to try the route again this spring the sensations were really good right from the start Because of my lack of fitness I fell from the last crux numerous times and at one point I thought I’d run out of time and that it would become too warm for serious attempts But at the beginning of May luck was on my side On the day of my send a strong wind made conditions were just perfect and I finally managed to clip the chains of Bain de Sang A supposedly short matter turned into a somewhat longer story French climber Sébastien Bouin made the first ascent of Les Rois du Lithium (9b/5.15b) at Pic Saint Loup He bolted this project in spring 2023 after the first ascent of ACL (9b) The route goes straight up the middle of the crag Here’s the full story from Seb: "This part of the wall was attracting me since a long time "Les Rois du Lithium" looked like the perfect line Straight in the wall with a 20m hardcore ending I couldn’t imagine there will be so much perfect holds I was amazed by the moves and the line."Les Rois du Litthium" is basically split in two parts There is an easy approach around 8b / 5.13d tiering you for the main part there is this beautiful power endurance part counting 22 hard moves in a row "Les Rois du Lithium" is possibly my favorite 5.15b climbed And there is something more: it’s fun The fun fact is quite important on a hard project when riding the rock is inspiring yourself I tried this route during the fall season 2023 I was so psyched to finish the job this spring I needed time to learn properly the 22 hard moves you have to reach left hand a sloppy crimp and take a swing with it I fell few times up there. There is another hard and inspiring project in Pic Saint Loup : The "Wolf kingdom" project It will be harder than "Les Rois du Lithium" located circa 1 hour north of Montpellier in the South of France and got to work on this line that had previously only been climbed by Gérome Pouvreau and by her life and climbing partner Cédric Lachat The French superstar snags first ascent of ‘Wolf Kingdom,’ suggesting it’s on the harder end of 5.15c/9b+ And he’s ticked a nauseating number of classic “low-end” 5.15s around the world Now he’s achieved the first ascent of Wolf Kingdom, in his home crag of Pic St. Loup, in southern France. He says it’s his second hardest climb after DNA Wolf Kingdom is a linkup between two of his other hard routes: It climbs the 5.14d/9a bottom half of Beyond Integral Then it links into the 5.15a/9a+ top of Les Rois du Lithium a 5.15b/9b he bolted 18 months ago and sent last spring after a season of effort you enter the long resistance crux of Les Rois du Lithium: 20 or so consecutive V6 moves where there’s no good place to pause and chalk with a V10 heartbreaker guarding the chains “Since I knew the 9b [from the spring],” he said “it was a faster process [this fall] than it would have been on a separate 9b+.” A post shared by Seb Bouin (@sebbouin) Still, after conversations with Adam Ondra who’s been working on Les Rois du Lithium but has not yet sent Bouin recently realized that 5.15d is not out of the question “Maybe I make a mistake [proposing 5.15c],” he says Pic Saint-Loup is Bouin’s home crag, and over the past decade, he’s almost single-handedly put it on the hard climbing map. In addition to Wolf Kingdom, Les Rois du Lithium, and Beyond Intégrale, he’s also established testpieces like Ariégeois Cœur Loyal (5.15b/9b) “It’s one of my best contributions to the climbing community,” he says And thanks to its beauty and relatively friendly style—consistent without any strange or savage cruxes—he predicts that one day it may become one of the world’s more popular 5.15c’s "The Nutcracker" explores the mental challenges of solo climbing and the tactics Cornell used to help him send the route Medium take: Seb Bouin is the world’s best sport climber not named Adam Ondra. Hot take: Bouin has been the world’s best sport climber The Frenchman just tagged yet another ninth-grade climb tossing Les Rois du Lithium (9b/5.15b) onto his growing pile The route on the sparse limestone of Pic Saint Loup explodes out of an 8b start into 20 meters of the business — a razor-straight line with holds that clearly inspired Bouin I couldn’t imagine there will be so much perfect holds I was amazed by the moves and the line,” Bouin said in a Black Diamond Instagram post A post shared by Black Diamond Equipment (@blackdiamond) Bouin called it “probably” his favorite route at the grade ever Lately, the 31-year-old has been aiming higher. Not content with Jumbo in 2022, he completed a savage extension to author Supreme Jumbo Love — America’s first 9b+. That came after he created DNA the world’s second 9c route (still unrepeated) Characteristically unwilling to rest on his laurels Bouin said he’s not done in Pic Saint Loup yet “There is another hard and inspiring project in Pic Saint Loup: The Wolf Kingdom project. It will be harder than Les Rois du Lithium,” he said. “Let’s continue the fight!” Sam Anderson spent his 20s as an adventure rock climber, scampering throughout the western U.S., Mexico, and Thailand to scope out prime stone and great stories. Life on the road gradually transformed into a seat behind the keyboard, where he acted as a founding writer of the AllGear Digital Newsroom and earned 1,500+ bylines in four years on topics from pro rock climbing to slingshots and scientific breakthroughs. Sign up to receive ExplorersWeb content direct to your inbox once a week. Yesterday, French climber Jules Marchaland made the first ascent of Le bruit de l’acid 5.15b (9b) in Claret, France. The route is his first of the grade. Le bruit de l’acid is an endurance test. After an 5.13a intro, a poor rest follows before launching into two stacked boulder problems. The first clocks in at around V13, the second around V10, with no rest in between. “You basically can’t chalk for 25 moves,” said Marchaland about the climb. “Finally done,” wrote Marchaland on Instagram after his send. “When [Lucien Martinez] told me about this project, I immediately wanted to check it out. And, unsurprisingly, I loved it straight away. The crux is a mega cross dyno into a good pinch, exactly what I love. I’d never tried a hard route that suited me as well.” On March 28, Marchaland sent Beyond 5.15a in Pic Saint-Loup on his second go. The Seb Bouin route was his fifth of the grade. He sent three 5.15a routes in 2023 including First Ley in Margalef, Supercrackinette in Saint Leger, and Punt’X in Gorges du Loup. Late last spring he completed Three Degrees of Separation at Céüse. A few days after sending Beyond, Marchaland repeated Guère de bruit 5.14d in Claret. A post shared by Jules (@jules_marchaland) On April 1, French climber Jules Marchaland repeated Guère de Bruit 5.14d in Claret, France. Opened by Seb Bouin in 2022, the route links Guerre d’usure 5.14b and Super Samson 5.14b with a crimpy boulder problem. After a solid flash go, Marchaland sent the route on his third attempt. “Some days ago I sent this really cool line which is a connection from [Seb Bouin] of [two classic 5.14b’s] with a very good boulder problem,” Said Marchaland on Instagram after his send. “This route was the first step of the real project that promise to be savage. Can’t wait to fight hard and crush it, game is on.” A few days before completing Guère de Bruit, Marchaland sent Beyond 5.15a in Pic Saint-Loup on his second go. The Seb Bouin route was his fifth of the grade. He sent three 5.15a routes in 2023 including First Ley in Margalef, Supercrackinette in Saint Leger, and Punt’X in Gorges du Loup. Late last spring he completed Three Degrees of Separation at Céüse. A post shared by Jules (@jules_marchaland) I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice 2013 Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Pic Saint Loup, Languedoc This is a blend of syrah and grenache with blackberry, spice and chocolate flavours. £8, or buy 6, save 25 per cent, until tomorrow, Sainsbury's This delicate New Zealand riesling is imbued with citrus fruits and offers an appetisingly off-dry flavour. £11, down from £13, until 3 August, Marks & Spencer The black pepper, olive and spice scent of this syrah from the Ogier family is alluring and precedes a delicious, blackberry-infused richness. £50, Waitrose Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies (Photo: Jacques Bonnaffé and André Marcon. Courtesy The Film Society of Lincoln Center/Les Films du Losange.) Lisse Garnett analyses 15 new wines from Domaine Uma and Les Vignobles Foncalieu – many of which she describes the value of as “insane.”Tasting Foncalieu wines with Nathalie Estribeau one of the most successful co-ops in France At Domaine Uma originally from Australia; her astonishing resumé surpasses many a famed publicised great; Brown Brothers Prieuré St Jean de Bébian and Turner Pageot shunning socials and focusing only on wine (though I did spot her in French Elle) Chapoutier put Turner in charge of one of his wineries before she could even parlez Français she had a successful career as a medical scientist before studying oenology in Adelaide New winery Domaine Uma with owner Emmanuel Clausel and Karen Turner an exciting newly-minted venture in Pic Saint Loup owned by former property developer Emmanuel Clausel the merged former estates of Château Cambon and Domain de Valcyre and an added block of agricultural land The new winery has just been completed and is insane but mild-mannered Clausel seemed unwilling to gift me the keys some wineries didn’t even unlock their doors,” Nathalie Estribeau and her grandfathers had vineyards in Entre-Deux-Mers She had little interest in wine in her youth She’s worked all over the Northern and Southern Hemispheres Her seminal moment came when she met a natural winemaker in France who hooked her up with Pipers Brook in Tasmania; from there She became a consultant for Penfolds in the 90s flying to Australia yearly before coming to rest in Carcassonne She said Australians at that time were looking for fruit-driven wines “French wine was harder to approach than it is today because you didn’t get the fruit first; you got the tannins the complexity; you wouldn’t get fruity wines It was also more secretive; Australia was far more open some wineries didn’t even unlock their doors they flung them open and explained absolutely everything; there were simply no secrets.” “Today in the South of France and with younger generations, we share more things and are open to new ideas. Foncalieu has always been proactive in experimental vineyards and PIWI trials (PIWIS are crosses between European vines and fungus/frost resistant American species they allow for a huge reduction in pesticide use) We have 5000 hectares to play with and are always experimenting We were once the bad kids on the block; today But we must always fight for market share and innovate Thirty per cent of what we make is own brand we start in the vineyards; we seek the blocks that will allow for better balance and dedicate each according to suitability for red IGP Pays d’Oc is leading the charge toward a more maverick The region spans 120,000 hectares from the Camargue to the Pyrenees with 58 permitted varieties and a temperate Mediterranean climate It is the market leader in organic and biodynamic winemaking in France; no other region makes as much (25% of total production) Higher-priced exceptional icon wines are also gaining ground rules were changed to allow varietal labelling to compete with New World offerings Vin de Pays d’Oc was promoted to IGP Pays d’Oc in 2009 IGP Pays d’Oc owns a fat slice of the notoriously hard-to-please UK market Mas de Daumas Gassac and Domaine Gauby are not obscenely priced All IGP Pay D’Oc must pass a blind tasting test as much as 10% of the proposed wine is rejected Karen Turner and the need for rule-breaking Karen Turner succinctly summarised the local vibe We put anything we feel like making that’s a little bit different in Vin de France.” Turner began her career with Hugel in Alsace they did the exact opposite of everything she had learned in Adelaide shocking the yeast at the end of fermentation it was always packaged yeast; it was more controlled not because he loved to experiment but because he knew how to make the best wine.” “You’ve got to accept there is going to be vintage variation; we are not making Coca-Cola I went from being in a winery where I knew what was going on to this ‘factory’ so vintage variation is ironed out with house tricks to make it consistent It was brilliant what they did – they created a house style Here we are doing something different; sometimes your tannins are a bit green but you have to accept it; that’s vintage variation.” and she replied with characteristic modesty I once made a 96 Parker point wine for Chapoutier When I first tasted Italian wines that are tannic and acidic with my Australian palate I thought ‘Oh My God’ and then you start eating and you go ‘Oh which serves them well in the vineyard as their limestone and clay-based soils retain water well The three main varieties in Pic St Loup are Syrah it must be a minimum 50% Syrah and then 10% made up from Domaine Uma only has Syrah and Grenache in Pic St Loup My absolute favourite wine was the dark Uma Rosé Rouge 2021 forbidden and sensual about a cherry red rosé which was magnificent in its moreish simplicity though they have inherited a single foudre The wines show fruit elegance and are tinged with salinity Turner bills Uma Rosé Rouge as an alternative to red on a hot day “like a rosé but with more aromas structure and some tannin so it’s better adapted for food it’s what I want to drink when it’s hot.” There is no residual sugar in any of these wines Domaine Uma has yet to reveal its wines to the world and is looking for UK representation The wine is redolent with wild strawberries the wine is made moreish by a tender touch of salinity It’s absolutely perfect for a summer wedding or greasing up hardened wine hacks fresh and beautifully complex and far more textural than your average Provence rosé with which it shares its hue Layers of fruit and that gorgeous salinity It’s so much more interesting than many a rosé at two or three times the price Ferments a little warmer with a different yeast for more grapefruit and citrus flavours It is more classically elegant and austere Still with a savoury edge and a tip of salinity violet and black olive – shows an elegant mineral-laced freshness and a delicate softness courtesy of the Grenache the nose is very pretty – aged in concrete for texture and fruit vinified and aged in cement tank – elegantly rounded – Turner says its rounder than she would like These wines graduate in finesse rather than concentration dreamboat; silkily laced with fragrant savoury herbs Made from three Rolle blocks all vinified differently the second hot and the third was wild yeast and “took ages.” Sublimely fresh and salty All of these wines offer astonishing value for wines of this calibre and with sustainability at their heart The first wine I have included is made from PIWIs It demonstrates Foncalieu’s commitment to organic farming both offer insane value and zero compromise An exciting wine made from French PIWI varieties Vidoc and Artaban – PIWIS are crosses between European vines and fungus/frost-resistant American species they allow for a huge reduction in pesticide use (Nuvote is organic) Vidoc and Artaban are ideal for warmer climates retaining acidity even as temperatures rise The palate is super dry yet supple and silky – weightier and rounder than expected with a bone-dry Circa £11.Grown in a cool Mediterranean setting to preserve freshness The finish is long and pithy with salted melon and grapefruit French oak for the Rolle and partial oak for the Marsanne sweet jasmine and zingy lime sherbet – superbly textural round yet fresh and salty with minerals and a white pepper-laced finish To find a white St Chinian this for this money is a massive result there is generosity from the Grenache and floral notes of honeysuckle and lemon verbena with candied lemon 20% is vinified for a year in second-use French oak barrels What a lot for so little – super vibrant nose redolent with dark fruits Tannins are pronounced and the finish brings on the sensation of mouth-moistened with a moreish sweetness tempered by tannins It’s tarry and super ripe but tempered by delicious salty tapenade notes and velvety tobacco-tinged tannins that give a fresh sensation A touch of wet woodsmoke and fragrant garrigue bring a delicate menthol note This premium small batch wine sees 12 months in new oak barrels Billed as less rustic and more terroir expressive spicy and dark on the nose; wild black fruit finds equilibrium in olive tapenade The Buyer TVClick below to watch The Buyer's library of online debates, videos and webinars. accomplished 5.15 climber Seb Bouin made the first ascent of one of his longest standing projects at Pic Saint Loup naming it Ariégeois Cœur Loyal (ACL for short) A new video featuring the climb was just released “I am happy to send this mega line in my home crag Pic Saint Loup,” Bouin said “After falling once in this last hard move I could finally control it in the send last Friday but somehow it was hard to stick the left hand in the send I bolted this route five years ago when my grandpa passed away His wood worker name was Ariégeois Cœur Loyal (Loyal ariégeois heart).” “I was close to send it last Autumn, falling on the penultimate move, just before my Jumbo Love trip,” Bouin said about ACL. “This spring was a great opportunity to finish the job. This route is a huge effort, combining two hard 20-metre sections. About the grade, 9b (5.15b) should be appropriate.” A post shared by Seb Bouin (@sebbouin) Seb Bouin just announced that he made the first ascent of El Gran Cabrón in the Shegeng cave of China’s Guang Xi province. Clocking in at 5.15b (9b), the route is China’s hardest sport climb. The route was originally bolted by David Gambús. El Gran Cabrón starts with a section of 5.13a/b followed by a V8 boulder problem to a decent kneebar rest. The crux immediately follows – a V11/12 boulder problem with vertical holds and pinches. From there, a devious V8/9 boulder problem is encountered. Bouin fell five times in this spot due to small mistakes. The route ends with with a V7 boulder. Bouin heartbreakingly fell there once as he grabbed for the final jug. “It’s an incredible experience to find such a project and challenge myself in a setting like this,” said Bouin after his ascent. “China leaves no one indifferent—I feel like this trip is opening my mind in so many ways. The distance, the unfamiliar culture, and this new way of life disorient me as much as they fascinate me. There are plenty of additional doubts that come with adapting, making the adventure all the more exciting. “I went straight to check out El Gran Cabrón, bolted by David Gambús. I couldn’t make sense of all the moves at first. The climbing here is incredibly complex, with so many methods to figure out. I was surprised by the quality of the rock and the movement style of the route. It’s absolutely beautiful and super fun to climb! The crux sequences involve pinches and really physical moves—I love it!” With El Gran Cabrón, Bouin kicks off 2025 strong. He had a solid 2024, making the first ascent of Les Rois du Lithium 5.15b in Pic Saint-Loup in April and the FA of Wolf Kingdom 5.15c in November, again in Pic Saint-Loup. A post shared by Black Diamond Equipment (@blackdiamond) Feature photo by Riff Solo Sébastien Bouin has made the first ascent of Baise Moi 5.14c at Saint Auban in Verdon Gorges who’s climbed several 5.15 sport climbs His previous hardest flash came eight years ago with Les rois du pétrole 5.14a in Pic Saint Loup Bouin was fresh off a trip to Norway when he decided to check out Saint Auban a relatively new crag at the historic Verdon Most of the projects were bolted by locals François Chollet and Adrien Boulon Bouin warmed up with an onsight of Le vent l’emportera 5.13b I understood the route was possible [to flash] it was 100 per cent my climbing style,” said Bouin of the overhanging 45-metre climb I didn’t make any mistakes and I took the risks at the right moments It’s rare to have this kind of opportunity.” Bouin said he’s not used to trying to onsight such hard lines “I am not so good at taking risks in my climbing so I am quite happy about the result of this climb,” he said “It’s quite hard to combine everything for an onsight or a flash: the good beta Bouin started climbing at a young age and sent his first 5.14d at 17. In 2022, he made the first ascent of DNA, proposing the grade of 5.15d, and made the first ascent of Suprême Jumbo Love, America’s first 5.15c. For more on Bouin’s climbing visit here. A post shared by Black Diamond Equipment (@blackdiamond) Terry Kirby selects the best bottles to buy Languedoc-Roussillon is not only the biggest wine-producing area of France, it is also one of the best for great-value, food-friendly reds such as these three bottles. Bergerie de l'Hortus Rouge Pic Saint Loup 2009 This mainly Syrah blend, from vines harvested on the cooler slopes of Pic Saint Loup, north of Montpellier, is more elegant than some others, delivering rich, dark fruits with a complex, slightly minty finish. Garlicky lamb with a tian of Mediterranean vegetables would do nicely. £12.95, bbr.com Ancient Grenache grapes, from sun-baked vines up to 100 years old, grown close to the Spanish border, are used to make this rustic, robust red that cries out to be drunk on a shady terrace, with the sea in the distance and the mountains behind. If you can't manage the location, at least try it with a chorizo-and-prawn paella, in honour of the Catalan culture which dominates both sides of the Pyrénées in this region. £7.79, Tesco Domaine des Trois Pierres, Costières de Nimes 2010 From the other extremity of the Languedoc-Roussillon, a Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre blend which is somewhat closer to a Rhône wine in style and has a juicy freshness about it, while still delivering some interesting blackberry and chocolate flavours and a lengthy finish. Anything involving pasta with a meaty or spicy tomato sauce is in order here. £5.59 (until 20 March; normally £6.99), Waitrose Costières de Nimes 2010","description":"Terry Kirby selects the best bottles to buy Three standout moments that helped shape the course of rock climbing ie long before the internet as we know it nowadays In part this was due to the fact that these were the early years when rock climbing was developing into a sport; during this period of experimentation and evolution the crags began to take on an important role and the technical difficulties increased dramatically This was the so-called golden age of sport climbing and in just three years the upper boundaries were pushed forward on three separate occasions: the world’s first 8a+ was established in 1983 by Jerry Moffat when he climbed The Face in Germany’s Frankenjura the world’s first first 8b was redpointed in 1984 by Wolfgang Güllich on nearby Kanal im Rücken and the world’s first 8b+ fell in 1985 once again at the hands of Güllich who freed Punks in the gym at Mount Arapiles in Australia 8a barely existed at the few crags that had been developed back then and represented an unfathomable difficulty for almost all climbers It is in this context that the first free ascent of the 8a Comeback by Luisa Iovane in 1986 must be framed; an unheralded ascent that was clearly well ahead of its time The climb is located in Val San Nicolò that secret garden of the Dolomites carefully looked after with Bruno Pederiva and Iovane’s climbing partner and partner in life While bolting the line Mariacher was surprised by a sudden snowstorm and the results forced him to stay away from the route for a month On his return Mariacher realised that one of his moves didn’t suit his style a tiny crimp from which he’d have to do the splits to reach another foothold which Iovane with her fingers of steel and immense flexibility managed to be far more efficiently At the time Iovane had already repeated Tom & Jerry and Nisida two 7c's at Spiaggia delle Lucertole and Swing Area close two Arco and a few 7c’s in France; caliber climbs that have easily withstood the test of time but the 8a grade represented a quantum leap in difficulties Iovane had the tackle the considerable psychological question marks associated with an unclimbed route the then 26-year-old didn't even need to many attempts to send the magical grade of 8a also because back then she never sieged moves or routes In all likelihood this was the hardest female ascent of that time certainly in Italy; Catherine Destivelle and Isabelle Patissier had both climbed Fleur de Rocaille at Mouriès the previous year but over time the route had been downgraded slightly the name Luisa Iovane is associated with the line "first female 8a" the first female 8a+ goes to Destivelle thanks to her 1988 repeat of the famous Chouca at Buoux just a few months before Patissier's first female 8b on Sortilèges at Cimaï All three of these superb athletes were obviously main players in the early climbing competitions He was so impressed that on her return return to the Dolomites she stopped off at Lecco and signed her first contract for Cassin and started her career as a competition climb which in 1989 resulted in her becoming the first Italian to win a stage of the World Cup Wayne Merry and George Whitmore in 1958 after 47 days on the wall was deemed simply too difficult to be climbed free that’s what the word was at the time.Someone who has never heeded the word impossible is Lynn Hill the tenacious American climber born in 1961 winner of many of the first climbing competitions including a historic five Arco Rock Masters In 1993 she teamed up with British climber Simon Nadin, the overall winner of the first-ever World Cup in 1989 the pair managed to free one of the two crux pitches as the name implies the enormous overhang that bars the way to the upper reaches of the cliff the pair was forced to bow to the enormous difficulties posed by the pitch just above them this time Hill abseiled in from the summit and after three days of attempts managed to decipher the moves of the infamous corner using a bizarre sequence which she would later call the Houdini Move "Climbing it free would involve an ingenuity and technical finesse that I rarely encountered on any other route." explained the 32-year-old at the time It was just like a highly complex boulder problem but this time almost 1000 meters above the slow Merced River she would have succeeded without falling and the pair immediately returned to the valley floor over a period of four days later that September Hill the following year and the 33-year-old one-upped her first free ascent of The Nose with a stroke of utter genius: starting into the night of 19 September 1994 together with Steve Sutton Hill climbed The Nose all free in a 23-hour push This undisputed milestone in climbing history was summed up perfectly by German climber Alexander Huber a few years later: "Lynn Hill’s ascent of The Nose was a true exploit an event that rocked the entire climbing world In her provocative but nonetheless charming manner she demonstrated that she had shifted the balance in a traditionally male-dominated sport." with its delicate yet powerful moves "Bain" was considered the quintessential slab and with her repeat Bereziartu engraved her name in sport climbing history by becoming the first woman in the world to climb the legendary grade 9a To reach this goal she had invested seven days of attempts spread out over three weeks and two separate trips but above all she banked on past experience which made her the climber who more than any of her peers had explored the limits of female sport climbing First female 8c. First female 8c+. It is in the wake of these successes that Bereziartu then decided to focus on 9a, with power gruelling workouts - "the basis for climbing" - as the once explained. In 2001 repeated 8c+ by climbing Noia at Andonno freed only a year earlier by the other Nicole brother 9a/9a+ was the climb’s unprecedented grade in a period in which 9a+ were few and far between This is another shining example of a climb that was way ahead of its time; the 34-year-old she was not "only" at the apex of women's sport climbing since 9b had yet to be explored or confirmed Cyme has announced a new version of its macOS universal photo organizer, Peakto adds annotation features to the artificial intelligence (AI) photo meta-cataloguer Peakto is compatible with Lightroom, Luminar, Capture, Apple Photos, and, most recently, Instagram The new update allows photographers to annotate their images across compatible apps through a unified interface The borderless annotation feature can be applied to hundreds of photo catalogs simultaneously complementing Peakto’s existing AI annotation feature that automatically assigns keywords and categories to images “Our photos are scattered in different folders We created Peakto to put photographers back in control and allow them to find and create albums from all their images,” says Matthieu Kopp “This new borderless photo annotation feature is a must-have for good organization and consolidates Peakto’s status as a centerpiece from which to explore Peakto brings all a photographer’s images together in one place photographers can view all their pictures organized across different apps and catalogs and assign stars Peakto recovers annotations made in the original catalog while allowing users to create new ones within Peakto itself Users have two options to find specific images or make image selections within Peakto The app can automatically assign keywords using AI or the photographer can make personal notes “Peakto simplifies the sharing of the best images from a shoot or the selection of visuals for a book or portfolio,” says Cyme Peakto’s AI tools classify all images based on their content AI also selects a photographer’s best shots and assigns scores to images Even if photos are scattered across multiple apps users can batch export images in full resolution Peakto alerts photographers if an image isn’t available in high enough resolution for a specific outport task including the new cross-app annotation information As photographers edit images in the photo editing app of their choice Peakto remains current and offers live previews of images When users click on an image within Peakto it opens the photo up in the software used to edit it If photographers edit the same image across multiple apps each version is grouped together within Peakto which makes it easier to manage older photos that have been passed through different apps over time Cyme has announced some of its plans for Peakto including updates later this year that will improve the navigation of all stored photos and make it easier for users to share their best images Peakto is only available for Mac via a subscription or a lifetime license Subscriptions start at $9.99 per month or $99 per year Peakto is optimized for Apple silicon and requires macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later Become a PetaPixel Member and access our content ad-free Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker At UKC/UKH we are all experienced internet users and as such we understand why some people want to use Ad Block to remove annoying and distracting advertising that proliferates on some web sites We don't feel that UKC/UKH should be considered as such a site We have developed a site that has subtle and appropriate advertising; we don't use pop-ups we don't force you to read adverts before you can see content and we don't use third party ad servers dishing up totally inappropriate advertising We have worked incredibly hard over the years to make sure that we keep a good balance between advertising and editorial content Please could you consider disabling Adblock when visiting UKC/UKH Italian climber Alessandro Zeni made the first ascent of Cryptography at Saint Loup in Switzerland The route links Bain de Sang (9a) and Bimbaluna (9a/9a+) avoiding the rests on both routes and essentially linking the cruxes together Zeni has graded the route 9b and if confirmed would make it one of the hardest slabs in the world Bain de Sang was first climbed by Fred Nicole back in 1993 and Bimbaluna was climbed by François Nicole in 2004 these routes aren't the first desperate slab climbs he has done he made the first ascent of Energia Cosmica interesting to see something of that standard that isn't over-hanging or even vert However the music did make me wonder if he was gonna have an epic fight scene with his belayer at the end I'm pretty disappointed he didn't slay a dragon when he got to the belay and every Italian guidebook I've read will call a wall a slab :-( Olympic gold medalist Janja Garnbret has onsighted the famous 50-metre-tall Fish Eye 5.14b in Oliana which is likely the first-ever female onsight of the grade Fish Eye was first climbed by Chris Sharma in 2009 and it has dozens of repeats that confirm it as 5.14b Charlotte Durif onsighted Le roi du pétrole at Pic Saint Loup but it’s since been downgraded to 5.14a At least 10 women have onsighted a confirmed 5.14a, including Katie Brown on Omaha Beach, Josune Bereziartu on Hidrofobia’, Charlotte Durif on Les rois du pétrole, Maja Vidmar on Humildes pa casa, Sacha DiGiulian on Omaha Beach, Kajsa Rosén on T1 full-equip, Laura Rogora on L-mens, Anak Verhoeven on Gorillas en la niebla, Martina Demmel on Humildes pa casa, and Vita Lukan Geminis. A post shared by JANJA GARNBRET (@janja_garnbret) the assault of the Allied forces on the coast of Normandy was the start of one of the most formidable military operations in history depended the outcome of the war against Hitler and the Third Reich But the fighting that followed in the countryside of Normandy and the towns of the region brought devastation Many cities in Normandy were more than 50% destroyed and thousands of civilians lost their lives Surprising as it may seem given its geographical location—it’s only a few miles from the D-Day beaches—Bayeux is one of the few cities to have been spared This "miracle" is due to a Benedictine priest He had been a monk at the Abbey of Solesmes (world famous for its Gregorian chant) and at the time of the D-Day landings was the chaplain of the community of the Sisters of Charity in Saint-Vigor-le-Grand The likely outcome was that the Allies would bomb the town as if the Germans were leaving their position Aubourg hurried to alert the Allies of this development Having been assigned to ministry on the Isle of Wight for several years (after leaving the Abbey of Solesmes) Therefore he was quick to announce to the British officers that the Germans had left the city they checked the priest's information to confirm it the decision was made: Bayeux would not be bombed In a letter dated June 20, 1959, brought to light by Fr. Soltner, archivist of the monastery of Saint-Pierre de Solesme, and on which the French website Ouest-France reported on a few years ago but I am unable to say whether I saved Bayeux," he told the reverend priest of Solesmes Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you Please make a tax-deductible donation today Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting Catholic news This airfield is mostly dedicated to gliders View important Copyright © information related to freeware files here The archive lfnl.zip has 15 files and directories contained within it This list displays the first 500 files in the package Signing-up for PRO gives you super fast, unrestricted speed to the thousands of MSFS, FSX, P3D & X-Plane downloads which include aircraft, scenery, and more - click here to view the library for free or.. Sign-Up Now PRO membership payments go directly back into the website to pay for hosting It's what also enables us to offer a free download tier Join over 145,000 subscribers of our free dedicated flight simulation newsletter Are you using the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 release the first female 9a now goes to Josune Bereciartu The news of her ascent sped through our “small” vertical world in an instant and given its importance we decided to halt the “unstoppable” to find out exactly how and why Here’s Josune with the first ever female 9a "I started to think about climbing a 9a two years ago I could do the crux quite well but the big dyno just to reach it was awful for my climbing style so when Rikar freed it I didn’t try it any more I always wanted to do a route that was a consolidated 9a and it is because of this that I chose Bain de Sang I also liked the Nicole brother’s climbing style a lot so at the beginning of summer I started to think seriously about going to Switzerland really believed in my project to climb 9a and had given me two years to complete it At the beginning of October I felt in good shape, climbing "Ocho anos de sexo", "Specialistes" and "Specialistes direct" pretty quickly so I decided to travel to Switzerland to work the moves and return next year But to my surprise I felt really comfortable on the route except for the last move which is the crux worked a bit and then returned to Switzerland hoping to find perfect climbing conditions But when I returned the weather was bad and I had to wait for four or five day to try the route again On the first day I fell three times from the crux but one attempt was really good and I felt I would be able to do it The weather was bad on the next day and then after that things turned out to be disastrous I felt nervous and tense and fell in places that I had never fallen and I really thought that I would never climb the route again and while I was warming up I felt those feelings deep inside you that make you realise that something is special I redpointed Bain de Sang first try that day - I climbed very concentrated and without making any mistakes I didn’t realize what was going on and then it was all over I was super happy and it was one of the happiest days in my climbing career famous for being the first woman to have climbed 8c On the steep south face of Poncione d’Alnasca, high above Val Verzasca in Switzerland, Italian climbers Matteo Della Bordella and Alessandro Zeni have made the first free ascent of Leap of Faith The 500m route takes a line on the lefthand side of the granite pyramid and was established ground-up by Della Bordella with Davide Bacci and Luca Auguadri between 2015 and 2016 the 16-pitch outing breaches difficulties up to 8a+/b max and 7b+ obligatory Ascending with a portaledge and in true big wall style the two worked the pitches at the end of September then returned in October to close the circle with the route’s first free ascent A lightning trip to Dvigrad in Croatia netted Alessandro Zeni a fast repeat of Malvazija, the legendary slab at Dvigrad bolted by Maurizio Zanolla in 1987 and freed the magician a year later it was considered one of the hardest routes in the world at the time Over the years its reputation increased significantly also because it was considered impossible by some after holds had allegedly broken off In 2010 US climber Cody Roth managed to redpoint the line, suggesting for what he had just climbed the grade of 8c+. Zeni, who in 2020 established the 9b slab Cryptography at Saint Loup in Switzerland required four days of attempts for his repeat and has now confirmed the grade put forward by Roth Zeni’s is a beautiful and rare ascent of this intense slab that evidently continues to inspire TOPO: Dvigrad, Croatia Alessandro Zeni thanks his sponsors La Sportiva, Karpos and Grivel Savoury and satisfying are among the descriptors most commonly used by our judges at the Decanter World Wine Awards when describing the best red wines of the Languedoc in southern France Archetypal blended styles with appellation requirements that call for a minimum of two varieties revealing a host of enticing aromas and flavours to delve into particularly from the region’s top appellations and named sub-zones such as Minervois Languedoc’s increasing attention to small-production and high-quality wines has meant that exports of the region’s AP wines continue to grow, as do the tallies of top medals won at international wine competitions such as the Decanter World Wine Awards. The 2022 competition results saw five wines awarded Platinum medals (97 points) from various Languedoc appellations and the choices made by the winemaker mean that these wines can range from refined and elegant reds to deep and rich Below, explore the styles which the DWWA experts scored highest from 10 of Languedoc’s regional appellations – and there are many more to discover at awards.decanter.com Italian climber Alessandro Zeni completed his project on BimbaLuna really mythical not only for its difficult but above all for its history it was resolved also by Josune Bereziartu in 2005 becoming in this way the first pitch of this grade climbed by a woman In addition to taking part in national and international competitions Alessando is a specialist of slab climbing on vertical wall where a strong fingers power and feet technique are indispensable In February he resolved also Bein de Sang and this summer the five stars multipitch Silbergeier in Ratikon news zeni fb page Privacy policy - Cookie policy - Privacy Preferences | Credits: 8 Flow Agency