Camille Pouget flashes Pavillon 36 (8b+)

Camille Pouget, who was fifth in the Chamonix WC this summer, has flashed Pavillon 36 (8b+) in Saint-Pancrasse.

Can you tell us more about the flash?
In the morning, I went to the gym for a strength session on the Kilterboard, and in the afternoon, I had planned to train lead climbing. But I couldn’t find any partners to climb with. My coach told me they were going to a crag I didn’t know, so I decided to finally join them. At the crag, they were working on an 8b+ — the "best line in the area" — called Pavillon 36. I decided to give it a go, just to “try” the beta with no expectations, and to see what the route was like, planning to work on it after my first fall. At the beginning, I was close to taking a rest because the first crux was hard for me — a big move to a left-hand pinch, then placing a really high toe hook to match on a kind of sloper. It felt a lot like a bouldering comp problem. But in the end, I decided to keep going, move after move, and with the advice from my friends below… I never fell.

That was really unexpected — when I clipped the anchor, I was surprised! It took me a few minutes to realize I had just made my first flash ascent at this grade (even if I know it’s not the hardest route at this level). In the future, I’d love to enjoy more moments at crags like this one, because I’m not used to climbing outside very often. I’m pretty sure that if I worked a route, I could do harder ascents. 😉