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Akira, 9b - The World's Hardest Route!?
When Chris Sharma after years (wellย
) of work, sent "Realization", 9a+, this past summer, American media instantly said what we expected them to say; "Sharma climbs the hardest route in the world!", but even though itยs quite possible that this is the truth, they seem to have forgotten about "Akira". Many of you, especially if youยre living in the US, might never have heard of this route, or of the man who opened it back in 1995.
Akira, 9b, opened by Fred Rouhling, a 31 year-old sports teacher, can be found in a cave at Le Pรฉrigord, France. The route really consists of two parts, the first being a horizontal roof and the second slightly less steep. You donยt tie (thatยd be clip in) in until youยve past the first part of the route. It has been described as "an 8b+ (.14a) to an OK rest, followed by two 8A/B (V12/13) boulder problems, without rest between them, directly followed by an 8a (.13b)", or as "an 8c+ followed by an 8c". Fred worked it for three months before he could finally link it.
Since itยs never been repeated, some of you might immediately dismiss it as over graded. In fact thatยs exactly what happened as soon as Fred declared the 9b grade. People left and right said he was full of shit and semi-famous climbers from all over France tried the route, looking for a spectacular second ascent, trying to make a name for themselves. After the initial debate, things went quiet. Nobody was able to send, nobody was even remotely closeย
Before you dismiss the 9b/5.15b grade, there are a few things to take into consideration:
There are at least two moves on this route that nobody has been able to repeat.
Fred has opened two 9aยs as well. The first one, "Hugh", opened in 1993, got itยs first repeat as late as in November this year (2001). Alessandro "Jolly" Lamberti confirmed the grade. The other one, "L'autre cรดtรฉ du ciel", opened in 1997, has yet to see a second ascent. Yuji Hirayama and Dai Koyamada tried it last year and they both confirmed the grade.
Akira is completely natural, a thing thatยs hardly true for his other creations. This means he hasnยt created a route suiting his own specific strengths.
 Fred Rouhling probably cruising Ebola 8A: Source |
So, how come Rouhling hasnยt received the attention he deserves? Well, there are, of course, many reasons, the main ones being:
Heยs French, but not from Paris or Provence, the two "climbing capitals" in France, playing a similar role to Sheffield in the UK. If youยre not part of the climbing in-crowd, youยre nothing and therefor not worth taking seriously. In fact Fred is something of a French equivalent to John Dunne, but then again, I guess heยs not that famous across the pond eitherย
Heยs a discrete guy, someone doing his own thing and not interested in being famous. When he gave Akira "9b", he didnยt do that in order to become a star, but because he genuinely believed the route to warrant that grade. In retrospect, it seems he was rightย
Next time, before you blow things out of proportion: check the facts. Sure, sending "Realization" was a great, even fantastic, achievement, but looks and charisma donยt change facts, remember that. Just cause Chris Sharma is a great climber, that doesnยt mean there arenยt other climbers, perhaps even greater than himย
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