E12 route Bon Voyage sees third ascent
Seb Berthe has made the third ascent of James Pearson's route, Bon Voyage, E12.
Yesterday we reported that James Pearson's 2017 route Le Voyage (8b+) had received three ascents in just two days. Today, we learned that one of those three ascents, that of Sébastien Berthe, was a flash.
Seb received beta from both Robbie Phillips and Mathieu Miquel prior to his flash attempt, both of whom had recently made their own ascents of the route.
Sharing the news on instagram, Seb said:
'Wow... I flashed Le Voyage (E10-8b+) in Annot. Climbing flowly, for the first time, on this sandstone unbolted wall, was probably one of my best experiences as a climber. What a feeling to clip the anchor of this amazing 40m-line!'
'Thank you so much Robbie Phillips and Miquel Mathieu for the flash, all the betas and infos you gave me made this goal real, congrats on your ascents! Thank you James Pearson for putting up such a gem!'
The flash ascent, which is amongst the hardest flashes in the history of trad climbing, was recorded as part of an upcoming video due to be released on Robbie Phillips' youtube channel.
More info to follow...
Comments
Wtaf... Is that the hardest trad flash ever?
One of them. The other obvious contender would be Alex Megos' flash of The Path in 2016.
Alex Megos flashed The Path, which on paper is the same grade (5.14a or 8b+ on gear), but I don't know of anything else at that level. Also no idea of how detailed their respective beta was, as of course a 'flash' covers a bit of a spectrum.
Anyway very cool. If there was a cool climber list in 2023, Séb Berthe would be one of the first names on it.
Pete Whittaker's flash of La Fuerza de la Gravedad must be pretty close too at 8b/8b+ (5.13d/5.14a).
Are all these flashes done placing gear on lead? It must potentially make a huge difference.