Emma Vigneron climbs Cannabis direct (8c)

Emma Vigneron, with three 8b+’ under her belt, has sent Cannabis direct (8c) in Roquevaire.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I actually started working on the route last year. After sending the right-hand version, graded 8b+, I naturally moved on to its neighbor, graded 8c. I completely fell in love with this route. The profile alone is insane — it starts off super physical with big holds and heel hooks, then the upper section is almost slabby, with flat-foot placements and tiny crimp holds. There are also tons of varied moves: heel hooks, dynamic moves, pinches, crimps…

I tried it for several weeks last year, and I think I kind of burned out. I kept falling at the exact same move session after session. And since I had already tried the right-hand version, I’d been working the shared lower section for months — I was just over it. I was sad not to have sent it, but even more than that, I was sad because I wasn’t enjoying it anymore. So I decided to stop. A few months later, I went back to it. I knew exactly what I needed to do to send it, and I was ready to try hard — I wanted it to be my first 8c. So I took time to dial everything back in. I did strength training with pull ups to cruise through the physical lower section, and I worked on my endurance to be able to make it to the top, because the only rest isn’t great, and last year my endurance just wasn’t there.

It was frustrating because when I started putting down real redpoint attempts, I fell several times on the very last move — and it’s a dynamic one, so it feels super random. Then it rained for almost a month, so I went back to training really hard. And on Sunday, I sent it. I hadn’t been back on it for two weeks, and it only took one run. I was cruising, I felt calm. Usually when I’m about to send, I’m fighting for it, I feel awful, I’m battling the whole way… but this time, no. It felt easy. I was ready.

What is your climbing background?
I started climbing in 2016 and spent four years doing only bouldering, both indoors and outdoors. Then in 2020, COVID arrived and the gyms closed, so I discovered sport climbing on crags with my ex-boyfriend because it was the only way to climb, and I slowly fell in love with this discipline. I climbed my first 7b+ in early 2020, and by the end of 2020, I had done my first 8a, La Femme en Rose at Saint-Léger du Ventoux.

What are your plans and ambitions for 2026?
I have quite a few projects left on the back burner, so there’s work ahead this year 😂. I’d really like to do La Tournée du Patron 8b+ at Saint-Léger, Slow Food 8b+ at Céüse, and À Fleur de Peau 8b+ at La Saume! Then I’d like to find another big project, but the route has to be a real favorite of mine, so I’m putting all my hopes on L’Idéal Chimérique, which is an 8c/+ at Saint-Léger! It looks pretty fun with some small dynos, and at this level, to really push myself, the route has to make me truly excited, so I’m hopeful and can’t wait to go check it out!