Seb Bouin has made the first ascent of La Rage d'Adam at the Ramirole crag in the Verdon Gorge and graded it 9b/+, making it the hardest sport route in France. Seb had been occasionally trying the route since 2015, around the time that Ondra dismissed it as being 'too hard to be climbable in the near future.'

This year, the route was a big objective for Seb, particularly considering his current form. The route breaks down into a short 8c (6 quickdraws) to reach a boulder problem crux. Seb told UKC:

'This boulder is HARD. It's around 10 amazing moves on little pinches and underclings in a super overhang part. Then you have 25 meters of "easy" climbing (around 8b).'

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La Rage d'Adam 9b/+ FA ✔️ Wednesday was the day, hooo yeah 😎. This route was bolted few years ago. I visited it for the first time 4 years ago. Since that, I was trying it a little bit each year, but not so seriously. This year, it was a big objective to me. This route is really impressive by the beauty and the purety of the moves. The difficulty is not so long : there is a first short 8c (5.14b) of 6 quickdraws to reach the boulder crux problem. This boulder is HARD. It's around 10 amazing moves on little pinches and underclinds in a super overhang part. Then you have 25 meters of "easy" climbing (around 8b). I am quite uncertain about the grade, this route is not so much my style, and I have not so much experience in this grade. It could be hard 9b or 9b/+. I will propose 9b/+, waiting repetitions to confirm or adjust. @adam.ondra tried this route few years ago. Here few words about his feelings : "It was a summer day of 2015, conditions felt quite good though and Seb showed me this project, that he had briefly tried before. He mentioned hard boulder problem and when arrived there, even after 20 minutes I did not really imagine any possible sequence that could make it more climbable. After even minutes hanging in the bolts, I came up with some crazy gaston beta, but I could not do the moves either and dismissed the route as too hard to be climbable in the near future... Well, Seb did not give up, came back, got some better beta, got super strong and finally sent it this year. My guess is that it could be more of 9b/b+, if not even harder, based on my one and only experience of the route - which felt HARD!" ° Pic by @julia.cassou La Rage d'Adam 9b/+ FA ✔️ Cette voie a été équipé il y a quelques années. C'était un gros objectif pour cette année. Cette voie est vraiment impressionnante par la pureté et la difficulté qu'elle propose. A propos de la côte je suis assez incertain. Cette voie n'est pas trop dans mon style, et je n'ai pas l'habitude de côté dans ce niveau. Cela pourrait être 9b dur où 9b/+ . En attendant confirmation ou ajustements. @adam.ondra a déjà essayé cette voie, ses impressions en anglais ci dessus.

A post shared by Seb Bouin (@sebbouin) on Sep 6, 2019 at 1:42am PDT

Adam Ondra has recounted his time spent on the route with Seb:

'It was a summer day of 2015, conditions felt quite good though and Seb showed me this project, that he had briefly tried before. He mentioned a hard boulder problem and when arrived there, even after 20 minutes I did not really imagine any possible sequence that could make it more climbable.

'After even minutes hanging in the bolts, I came up with some crazy gaston beta, but I could not do the moves either and dismissed the route as too hard to be climbable in the near future... Well, Seb did not give up, came back, got some better beta, got super strong and finally sent it this year!

'My guess is that it could be 9b/b+, if not even harder, based on my one and only experience of the route - which felt HARD!'

Seb has been on a sport climbing rampage this year and in April managed to repeat Ondra's Mamichula (9b) at Oliana, shortly followed by Move (9b/+) at Flatanger in June. Not wanting to rest on his laurels, he plans to climb France's hardest multi-pitch, Hossana, this week.