Esteban Daligault ticks Bon Voyage (9a) trad

Esteban Daligault, with eight 9a’s to his name, has repeated Bon Voyage (9a) in Annot, after some eight sessions. James Pearson put it up in 2023 and it is considered one of the hardest trad routes in the world and Esteban did the fourth repeat after Adam Ondra, Jacopo Larcher and Sebastien Berthe. (c) Henning Wang

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Easily one of the most aesthetic routes I’ve ever climbed. A trad roof, a very natural line, finishing with a traverse — classy from start to finish. I first tried it for a couple of days last spring. Back then, it felt really hard and I thought it would be a long-term project. Then I came back this fall… and things clicked much faster than I expected. I also spend a lot of time alpine climbing, so my main focus had been on alpinism. I was stoked to see that I managed to keep my climbing fitness alongside it. Sometimes everything just comes together at the right moment.

How safe was it, what about the double protection and did you use the fixed slings?
Yeah, it felt pretty safe — the gear is solid. I placed around ten pieces, mostly in the roof where it’s a bit more committing. I placed a 0.3 cam, with a 0.2 below it in case the 0.3 fails. I used them [the fixed slings] during the first tries but not during the send.

Can you tell us more about your most memborable alpine climbing experience this season?
A few weeks before Bon Voyage, I climbed the Directe de l’Amitié on the Grandes Jorasses. Direct de lAmitié on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses is a legendary 1,100 m route, together with Virgile Devin and Simon Martinet. We completed the first fully free ascent, including the long crux pitch previously climbed in aid (up to M9+). For me, it was a very intense and meaningful experience — highly committed climbing, strong teamwork, and a real adventure built on trust and friendship.