In February, Adam Ondra made the first repeat of James Pearson's Bon Voyage (9a) E12 in Annot, France (UKC News). A video of his ascent has now been released on his YouTube channel.
Ondra was impressed with Bon Voyage, commenting at the time that it 'could be (physically) the hardest route on trad gear in the world'. He graded the line 'hard 9a' if it were a sport line, but said that placing gear significantly increases its difficulty.
Initially reluctant to grade the line in spring 2023, Pearson eventually suggested E12 in December after consulting with Jacopo Larcher, Sébastien Berthe, and Ignacio Mulero, who all spent time working it.
Ondra's video features interviews with Pearson and shows his process during the four attempts he required to tick the route, with plenty of screaming, cursing and try-hard.
Comments
This one couldn't wait for Friday!
Could have done with this earlier, see https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/rock_talk/ondra_on_bon_voyage-769875
Is it possible to transfer the posts across so that there's just a single thread?
That was brilliant.
Some great close up shots of the moves there, and what was presumably some fluent Czechian !
Great film.