'It was the lack of obvious areas for development that made it engaging'...

After four years, and seventeen sessions, Billy Ridal has made an ascent of the iconic Fontainebleau boulder, The Big Island (f8C).

First climbed by Vincent Pochon in 2010, The Big Island has become a classic of the grade, seeing ascents from climbers such as Dave Graham, Toru Nakajima, Ned Feehally, and Niky Ceria. 

In 2021, Simon Lorenzi made the first ascent of the low start, The Big Island (assis) / Soudain Seul (f9A), suggesting a grade of 9A, making Soudain Seul the world's second 9A boulder, after Burden of Dreams. Since then, the low start has seen a further three ascents, from Nico Pelorson, Camille Coudert, and - most recently - Adam Ondra.

We caught up with Billy shortly after he climbed The Big Island to find out how he first came across the boulder, what changes he made to help get it done, and what other Fontainebleau boulders he's been enjoying since he put his project to bed.

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Billy, congratulations on climbing The Big Island! When did you first hear about, or see, the boulder, and what were your first impressions of it?

Thanks very much! I saw the Dave Graham footage way back when, but Ned doing it back in 2015 solidified it to me. 8C didn't get done much then, especially by a Brit, especially one that looks so perfect.

I first tried it in 2021, I was just passing through and it was way too hot, but I wanted to see if there was potential. There was, but it took a few years to get back to it with other goals taking priority. After The Nose, it's been one of my main objectives.

Tell us a bit more about that first session and how it went?

It was a sunny day in September and I was just in Font for a day before heading elsewhere. All I really wanted to do was feel some positions to see if it was one for the future. I did the intro moves and pulled into most of the subsequent positions, I don't think it looked like much to be honest, but I came away feeling like it had potential.

I returned in December for a few days and had a session in much better conditions, that was more confidence inspiring. I did the crux move and I think enough of the other hand/foot moves to see that there was something to link together. I was much further away from a workable sequence than I thought, but it was evident it was possible.

You mentioned on Instagram that this boulder was one that 'perfectly rode the line of possibility', that is, one that continued to feel like it was on the cards, despite the fact that it was taking a long time to get done. What was it about The Big Island that meant that it continued to feel possible throughout?

For me on most hard boulders the limiting factor is quite evident in one or two moves, where usually I just feel if I was a touch stronger on a hold it would be much easier. Everyone has experienced that, even though there's nearly always more going on.

I think I've always had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about having weak fingers (hard not to when your youth category had Will and Aidan in it, tough reference points...) so I tend to find it a bit demotivating when the limiting factor is so obvious to me, and makes me question if I'd just be better off going and doing some fingerboarding rather than sticking it out.

The Big Island wasn't that at all, weight is equalised between three or four points for most of the boulder, so at least in my sequence, fingers didn't feel like a dominant factor. This helped me get excited digging into all the other factors. It was the lack of obvious areas for development that made it engaging.

I also needed to refine my sequence again and again, the sustained body tension means each move massively affects the next, a small mistake on move two can compound to game over by move six as things get progressively more off kilter, and it would take doing every possible different link to realise if something did or didn't work. I think it took eight sessions before I was pretty locked into a sequence, and I was looking for small tweaks all the way to the end.

The conditions are also fantastically random. It's a bit of a meme the number of fans people have pointed at the thing nowadays, Ondra's giddiness when having one pointed at the sloper rail in his recent video speaks to how big an impact it makes on that hold.

Temperature, humidity and time of day all have an impact, and even more so your skin. I didn't get the balance right here last year and it meant it all unraveled, feeling progressively worse on the holds. I turned up this year with all kinds of chalks for drier or more humid conditions and everything in between. Then trying to figure out my body temperature vs skin temperature vs finger recruitment. I think I have learnt the most here in understanding my own optimal performance window, which I hope will apply to other situations. Even with all of that quite dialled in, some goes would feel inexplicably sticky or slippery. 

You climbed the boulder during your 17th session on it, and dedicated the last two seasons to preparing for this boulder - what changes did you make during this period with The Big Island in mind, and what specific training did you adopt for this project?

Both years I put quite a big emphasis into my lower body, more than any other boulder I've climbed, you climb this thing with your legs.

I have a bit of a history of hamstring issues too so I wanted to turn up well conditioned to handle a siege on it. I pushed too hard and with too high a frequency last year despite the prep, and got to the point where it was too painful to function on the boulder anymore.

With the help of David Mason I was more targeted on strength than end range strength this year, I think this put me in good stead. Even so, I was balancing a developing niggle on my right leg throughout the process, and on the send go itself I felt my left hamstring go again. It would have been game over, but fortunately, I didn't need to pull back on!

Other than that, training was geared around the shoulders, open grip strength, on wall scapular retraction engagement and compression PE.

I'm always intrigued by the mental challenges of keeping positive when taking on a long time project. How do you try to manage the psychological stresses of trying to complete a project that you've invested a lot of time and emotion into, whilst not allowing the pressure to get to you?

I used to think that my head was pretty solid from competing, looking back, I think I mostly developed an ability to keep myself together under stress. That's good for managing yourself in a sub optimal situation, but it isn't the same as understanding what your optimal mental space is.

Last year when things stagnated I crumbled mentally, I wasn't able to make peace with the situation and as uncontrollable factors worsened, I piled more pressure on myself, hoping that I could pull it out the bag. I didn't, and came away from that trip in a bit of a mental slump. It was really important to me this year that I didn't create the same situation for myself, this was mostly in recognising that patience is your friend, trying to force it just doesn't work when it's properly hard for you. 

This was true in taking my time spacing out sessions to be properly recovered and avoid injury, in waiting for the right day to come, and in understanding that at a certain point, each go is just another roll of the dice. Sometimes you roll poorly and it's best to view it as just that. You didn't do anything wrong, let it go and focus on the next attempt.

I'd find a session having positive or negative momentum within it as each go influenced my perspective, this is irrational and often leads to poor decision making. Stick to the process and focus on enjoying it, which is easier said than done, but is a useful mantra to continually remind yourself with when you notice things going awry. 

It's funny though, I'm waxing lyrical about my mental epiphanies, but if the weather had crapped out for the last ten days of the trip, or my hamstring had bust one go earlier, I'd have been absolutely gutted, and trying to figure out where it all went wrong. So take all that with a grain of salt, it probably won't work in a different situation and there will be another process to learn.

Now I've talked myself round to the sickeningly cliché 'Enjoy the Process', how disappointing.

How did it feel to pull over the lip, and to finally finish this project?

I was quiet on top. I've had much more intense outbursts from boulders before, usually when I'm stressed and I've 'pulled it out the bag'. This was just another go, one of many that I'd already had that trip, rather than what felt like a big moment.

My first thought was actually to question if it had actually happened, genuine uncertainty as to whether I'd pulled on from the start. With realisation came a quiet warmth that sat with me for the rest of the evening, and the rest of the trip really. Real satisfaction I suppose, rather than a brief joy before quickly returning to a hunger for the next thing.

Finally - now that you've had some time to explore the rest of the forest - any other Fontainebleau boulders that you found to be particularly enjoyable?

Ah SO many! It is such a delight to climb in that Forest, most everything I climbed aside from Big Island were quick ticks, but that made them no less stunning. A few that come to mind:

Toutes Peines Confondues (f8A) - A striking crack line that peters out into a classic Font slopey maul, really cool variety of movement on this one.

Calimero (f8A) - Gorgeous stand alone egg shaped boulder with just enough holds, it's perfect.

La Ligne Blanche (f7B) - A clean cut hanging arete that kicks out into a bulging top out, mega.

Rababoum (f7A) - Another perfect arete, god the aretes are good here.

Pierre Précieuse (f7A+) - A figure-four move where you end up fully sat on your own hand, only in Font.

Maudit Manège (f7C) - Pretty off the beaten track this one but so good, seemingly basic but subtle and insecure in its positions.

The Seneca Effect (f8A) - The most basic boulder I've ever done in Font, could be a 7C Moonboard benchmark. A stunner and all the better for its honesty of style.

No match for climb id:146568,"La Science Friction" - Hilarious, wouldn't have batted an eyelid if it were 7B.