12 May 2025
Alizee Blass, 12, ticks Super Samson (8c)
Alizee Blass, who did her first 8c at age 11, has done Super Samson (8c) in Claret. The 12-year-old is following in her brother Theoโs footsteps, who sent his first 9a at age 12. Their father Vladimir Arnaoudov gives us the background story of Alizeeโs send. (c) Laurent Dormont
โAlizee started working on the route when she sent Guรจre d'usure (8c) in February this year. Super Samson is right next to Guere d'usure but the style is quite different - it has a short and very bouldery crux (around 7c+ boulder) and it is much more rarely climbed. It is generally considered harder than Guere d'Usure.
Alizee could do the crux after a couple of sessions but sending the route took much longer than she was expecting because it turned out that doing the boulder on its own is not quite the same as doing it after climbing the approach (around 7c /7c+ route) with no rest. Also she could not try the route more than a couple of times per session because Claret gets quite warm in the sun at this time of the year and the route only gets in conditions at the end of the afternoon.
When Alizee started trying the route Caroline Sinno was also trying it which was a great inspiration for Alizee. Caroline did the first female ascent earlier in the year and this gave Alizee a big motivation boost. She kept falling in the crux session after session but did not lose motivation. Last Saturday the conditions were great - it was cloudy and quite windy. Alizee did her usual routine - she warmed up in a 6b+ and then directly went to try the route. She was not feeling very strong on the first attempt and we suggested that she try another route, just to avoid the feeling of being stuck on a project for too long, but she did not want to hear about it and absolutely wanted to return on the route. On her second try of the day she was feeling better and fell a bit higher than usual (half a move higher, which is a lot on this route:). She decided to give it a third try (which was very "unusual") and she sent the crux looking solid. When she reached the last bolt before the chain (the last section is around 7a+) she was so happy that she did not pay attention to her feet placements - her foot slipped and she almost fell but managed to hold on to the rock.
Alizee has a few other projects in our local crags between 8b and 8c+ but no particular rush to try them in any particular order - aside from her projects in Claret (Guere d'usure and Super Samson), she is generally happy to follow the rest of the familly and try whatever route is available.โ
โAlizee started working on the route when she sent Guรจre d'usure (8c) in February this year. Super Samson is right next to Guere d'usure but the style is quite different - it has a short and very bouldery crux (around 7c+ boulder) and it is much more rarely climbed. It is generally considered harder than Guere d'Usure.
Alizee could do the crux after a couple of sessions but sending the route took much longer than she was expecting because it turned out that doing the boulder on its own is not quite the same as doing it after climbing the approach (around 7c /7c+ route) with no rest. Also she could not try the route more than a couple of times per session because Claret gets quite warm in the sun at this time of the year and the route only gets in conditions at the end of the afternoon.
When Alizee started trying the route Caroline Sinno was also trying it which was a great inspiration for Alizee. Caroline did the first female ascent earlier in the year and this gave Alizee a big motivation boost. She kept falling in the crux session after session but did not lose motivation. Last Saturday the conditions were great - it was cloudy and quite windy. Alizee did her usual routine - she warmed up in a 6b+ and then directly went to try the route. She was not feeling very strong on the first attempt and we suggested that she try another route, just to avoid the feeling of being stuck on a project for too long, but she did not want to hear about it and absolutely wanted to return on the route. On her second try of the day she was feeling better and fell a bit higher than usual (half a move higher, which is a lot on this route:). She decided to give it a third try (which was very "unusual") and she sent the crux looking solid. When she reached the last bolt before the chain (the last section is around 7a+) she was so happy that she did not pay attention to her feet placements - her foot slipped and she almost fell but managed to hold on to the rock.
Alizee has a few other projects in our local crags between 8b and 8c+ but no particular rush to try them in any particular order - aside from her projects in Claret (Guere d'usure and Super Samson), she is generally happy to follow the rest of the familly and try whatever route is available.โ
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