[HaeMeS]

1st 9A in Font by Charles Albert?

https://www.grimper.com/news-le-grimper-194-kiosque-histoire-deuxieme-proposition-9a-bloc-planete-decouvrir-exclu

[petejh]

Love this google translation of Grimper:

''In this issue, the climbing UFO Charles Albert is honored for his success in the second 9A block of the world''

Mutant?

[jwi]

For those who doesn't have Grimper:

The problem is on an old bivack site at https://bleau.info/rocherbrule and is called No Kpote Only (Bareback only) after some grafitti on the (destroyed) bivack. The first ascent was witnessed by Grimper's news editor Lucien Martinez, a very strong climber from southern France who knows Fontainebleau quite well. Yes, of course Albert climbed the problem barefoot.

Charles Albert, who spend 20 sessions on the problem, think it is 9a, because the 8cs he's tried in the same style seems like warmups in comparison, and that you need to be very flexible, quite tall, and strong on crimps to succeed – and mentions that it would probably suit Adam Ondra quite well.

Move to news? There is absolutely zero doubt that the boulder has actually been climbed, and very little doubt that it is brutally hard.

For those who can read French but doesn't have the latest issue of Grimper: get it! Worth the price and more just for the article on this problem. The issue also have a good interview with Albert.

[sdm]

You can see footage of an attempt here:

https://youtu.be/SZNpaE0aJbc?t=394

[HaeMeS]

Really nice story indeed. CA living on lentils and rice. Repeating or opening the hardest problems, sans shoes et sans pads.   

Edited.

[lagerstarfish]

in complete anonimity

 

[HaeMeS]

The one @Cuvier.

[Fiend]

Wow. Bold moves! Thanks a lot for the video sdm, that does look brutally hard, and almost aesthetic enough to be at the right side of the Tor rather than in La Foret.

[AMorris]

You can see footage of an attempt here:

https://youtu.be/SZNpaE0aJbc?t=394

oh my christ. I will never know how he executes that iron cross move. That looks impossible   

[Wood FT]

Wow. Bold moves! Thanks a lot for the video sdm, that does look brutally hard, and almost aesthetic enough to be at the right side of the Tor rather than in La Foret.

More like Dumby.

I like how through the French encouragement there's a quick 'yes mate!' from the group. I imagine there are lots of euro wads shouting 'G'wan pal!' at the sport crags while we're not there.

Anyway, looks ace and yes, very Ondra.

[Doylo]

Prob 7a+ with shoes. Might be another soon if BigJimmyWebb does Island sit.

[Andy W]

This should be massive news, shouldn't it? Second 9A! yet it seems as if the major reaction is underwhelmed. I found myself asking why this is, personally I initially found his persona a bit annoying, based on nothing of course. In reality he has done or at least claims to have done one of the two hardest problems in the world, its taken him a lot less time than Nalle took on Burden of Dreams, of course there are many differences, climate etc that could have a part to play.

The key reason may be that he isn't marketable, doesn't fit the 'athlete' niche, doesn't wear shoes, makes him weird, plus not very marketable, he doesn't even wear nice trousers! If the bouldering world emulated him, the cash would cease to flow.

The barefoot thing seems to throw people as well, one reason might be because the grades will vary wildly with this barefoot approach thus destabilising our view of difficulty and what not.

Time will well, super maverick outsider maybe or we wait to see who and when repeats the two 9A's in the world. On that note is Burden of Dreams getting any attention?

[Will Hunt]

It's the lack of hype. All the latest "hardest in the world" have come with an accompanying amount of build up, hype, and accompanying marketing. Dawn Wall, Burden of Dreams, Silence: they all had a crescendo, with accompanying film. I don't think this is unwarranted. After all, if someone is genuinely pushing the boundaries then there's no reason not to make a big deal of it. All those things also involved a massive journey to get there, and part of the delight for the climbing community was seeing someone at the top of the game reach the end of such a journey with a success. Other than some chat about him having lots of sessions on it, we don't really know how much effort went into this line.

[teestub]

This should be massive news, shouldn't it? Second 9A! yet it seems as if the major reaction is underwhelmed.

It’s a bit disappointing that the first 9a in the forest is something that looks like it could be in a Lancashire quarry. This is my reason for finding this underwhelming, certainly not his presentation or persona.

[36chambers]

I'm just speculating, but it might be because he's a relatively new name in the super hard climbing scene and so his suggested grades have less weight than someone like Nalle.   

On that note is Burden of Dreams getting any attention?

Daniel Woods mentioned trying it, as one of his aims for the year, at the end of his Hardclimbs podcast interview.

[36chambers]

He's a video of Nalle and co, climbing what I assume to be the finish of the 9A, and not making it look easy

https://youtu.be/dG6xzlYepIo?t=724

[Muenchener]

It’s a bit disappointing that the first 9a in the forest is something that looks like it could be in a Lancashire quarry.

The longer shot with the woman trying it in the video 36C linked to does at least make it look a bit more like Font & less like Wilton One. Also shows how steep it actually is.

[spidermonkey09]

It’s a bit disappointing that the first 9a in the forest is something that looks like it could be in a Lancashire quarry.

I get this, but BoD was such a classically good line with such good aesthetics (forest, snow, basic line of crimps up a steep wall) that its very hard to compare to that. This one is almost British in its grimness, which part of me sort of likes. The name amuses me also having had a new near misses with discarded jonnies while wearing flip flops in Font...

[Bradders]

It’s a bit disappointing that the first 9a in the forest is something that looks like it could be in a Lancashire quarry. This is my reason for finding this underwhelming, certainly not his presentation or persona.

I disagree. Obviously it's unfortunate that the boulder has had graffiti sprayed all over it but based on the vid posted by 36C (nice one), I think it looks like just as impressive a piece of pure sandstone as the Big Island Assis boulder - which as mentioned is the most well known potential candidate for the first problem at that sort of level.

It's also not surprising that something this hard would be in a relatively lowball cave. It's not going to be some big booming arete. Even the Big Island Assis has a stepped landing etc. although granted is the better looking.

[Will Hunt]

It's not going to be some big booming arete.

Why not though? Livin' Large is 8C. The Finnish Line is 8C+. Just need a big boomin' arete with a little bit more to it than those.

Regards quality of line. Would it not also be fair to say that this is a contrived, harder start to a more direct 7C/8A? Basically, it's a harder version of Barry Kingsize Sit 

[Bradders]

Fair point, but it's still not surprising that it's a steep roof/lowball. I suppose my thought  was that most of the big boomers in Font have been done but I'm happy to be corrected. Any example candidates?

I wouldn't say it looks contrived at all. You climb from a logical start at the base of the boulder up into the prow and to the top. The fact that you can start higher is neither here nor there; like saying the first three moves of Zoo York are pointless just because you trav slightly to get onto the arete...

[teestub]

The normal start does look OK, I had only watched the lowball crabbing vid. Looks like Lebreton and Nalle are starting in the obvious position but hard to tell without having visited the boulder.

Considering there's more than 3k 7's and 8's in Font it seems likely that there's a nice aesthetic 9a waiting in there to be brushed up somewhere in the vastness of the forest. Pilier du Desert sit is meant to be a great looking project but no idea how hard.

[36chambers]

Why not though? Livin' Large is 8C/+. The Finnish Line is 8C.

keep up.

[Will Hunt]

As Stubbs says, hard to tell without actually having been, but Nalle appears to start with his arse on the deck and pulls straight into the nice groove-prow thing. The Albert start crabs into it from a little bit lower where the ground is more eroded. To this end I'm relieved that this isn't the worlds first 9A, though it is nice to see when locals get really psyched for arbitrary hard moves on shithole boulders.

[AMorris]

Going by the video it seem's fairly obvious that Charles has climbed it from the left, under the graffiti via a bunch of hard moved, whereas Nalle climbed it from low right.