2 June 2026
Katherine Choong does Ravage (8b+/8c)
Katherine Choong, one of the best female multi-pitch climbers in the world, has done the first female ascent of Ravage (8b+/c) in Basler Jura. It was put up by Marc Le Menestrel in 1986 as the first 8c in the world.
โRavage is a route I had been wanting to climb for years. First, for the legend: it was the first 8c in climbing history, and at the time, considered the hardest route in the world. Even though it was later downgraded to 8b+/c, which I think is fair, even though it still demanded a lot from me, it remains iconic. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the first ascent, achieved in 1986 by Antoine Le Menestrel, who โwon the raceโ to the first ascent at the time against the routeโs bolter, Wenzel Vodicka, who went on to make the second ascent.
It was also important to me personally to climb it because the third ascent, three years later, was done by Philippe Steulet, a pioneer of professional climbing from my region, whom I personnaly knew before his passing at the Eiger. And, well, the route is just 30 minutes from my home, at Chuensiberg in northern Switzerland, so I really had no excuse not to try it.
Ravage is a very short route, about ten meters, brutal, with extremely polished footholds. The first time I tried it, I honestly didnโt like it at all, mostly because I could barely execute any moves: everything felt too reachy, and thus impossible for me. But after spending quite some time figuring out the solutions, adapting the techniques to my height, and falling again and again on the same dynamic move (well, โdynamicโ if youโre under 1.60m tall with short reach ;-) ), I finally clipped the anchors on May 2. Without kneepad of course ;-)
And I think that the moment I reached the anchors, I truly understood the meaning behind the name Ravage that Antoine had given his route: "After climbing, there are no more thoughts left. No overthinking. At the top, I felt destroyed and happy. No thoughts remained. I felt free."
As a little anecdote, I went back later to film some footage and ended up climbing the route again. It just goes to show that once a move is fully integrated into both body and mind, everything feels easier.โ
โRavage is a route I had been wanting to climb for years. First, for the legend: it was the first 8c in climbing history, and at the time, considered the hardest route in the world. Even though it was later downgraded to 8b+/c, which I think is fair, even though it still demanded a lot from me, it remains iconic. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the first ascent, achieved in 1986 by Antoine Le Menestrel, who โwon the raceโ to the first ascent at the time against the routeโs bolter, Wenzel Vodicka, who went on to make the second ascent.
It was also important to me personally to climb it because the third ascent, three years later, was done by Philippe Steulet, a pioneer of professional climbing from my region, whom I personnaly knew before his passing at the Eiger. And, well, the route is just 30 minutes from my home, at Chuensiberg in northern Switzerland, so I really had no excuse not to try it.
Ravage is a very short route, about ten meters, brutal, with extremely polished footholds. The first time I tried it, I honestly didnโt like it at all, mostly because I could barely execute any moves: everything felt too reachy, and thus impossible for me. But after spending quite some time figuring out the solutions, adapting the techniques to my height, and falling again and again on the same dynamic move (well, โdynamicโ if youโre under 1.60m tall with short reach ;-) ), I finally clipped the anchors on May 2. Without kneepad of course ;-)
And I think that the moment I reached the anchors, I truly understood the meaning behind the name Ravage that Antoine had given his route: "After climbing, there are no more thoughts left. No overthinking. At the top, I felt destroyed and happy. No thoughts remained. I felt free."
As a little anecdote, I went back later to film some footage and ended up climbing the route again. It just goes to show that once a move is fully integrated into both body and mind, everything feels easier.โ
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