20 October 2005

Akira, 9b - La via più dura del mondo!?

 

Akira, 9b - The World's Hardest Route!?

When Chris Sharma after years (well?) 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 it?s quite possible that this is the truth, they seem to have forgotten about "Akira". Many of you, especially if you?re 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 Périgord, France. The route really consists of two parts, the first being a horizontal roof and the second slightly less steep. You don?t tie (that?d be clip in) in until you?ve 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 it?s never been repeated, some of you might immediately dismiss it as over graded. In fact that?s 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 close?

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 9a?s as well. The first one, "Hugh", opened in 1993, got it?s first repeat as late as in November this year (2001). Alessandro "Jolly" Lamberti confirmed the grade. The other one, "L'autre côté 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 that?s hardly true for his other creations. This means he hasn?t created a route suiting his own specific strengths.


Fred Rouhling probably cruising Ebola 8A: Source

So, how come Rouhling hasn?t received the attention he deserves? Well, there are, of course, many reasons, the main ones being:

He?s French, but not from Paris or Provence, the two "climbing capitals" in France, playing a similar role to Sheffield in the UK. If you?re not part of the climbing in-crowd, you?re nothing and therefor not worth taking seriously. In fact Fred is something of a French equivalent to John Dunne, but then again, I guess he?s not that famous across the pond either?
He?s a discrete guy, someone doing his own thing and not interested in being famous. When he gave Akira "9b", he didn?t 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 right?

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 don?t change facts, remember that. Just cause Chris Sharma is a great climber, that doesn?t mean there aren?t other climbers, perhaps even greater than him?

 
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