12 January 2023
Nordic Marathon 9b/+ by Seb Bouin
Sebastien BOUIN did the FA of the 130 m long Nordic Marathon 9b/+ this summer and here is the old news article. Now Seb shares some new thoughts about the send and his trip to Flatanger.
"It was one of the craziest ideas I ever had: crossing the huge cave of Flatanger via the most overhanging part. Adam Ondra told me about this idea before I went there. I was really excited to check out this mega project. Here is the video of this huge FA of 130m. I called the route Nordic Marathon, and proposed the 9b/+ grade. I also did two other hard routes during this trip : The first repeat of Iron Curtain, proposed as 9b by Adam Ondra. I think it more 9a+ with Kneepads. And I did the third ascent of Change, the world first 9b+. I proposed the 9b/+ range using kneepads. But, the trip wasnโt just about sending. It was the whole process where joy, happiness, emulation and motivation, relationship, lifestyle, discovery, and meetings, played a big role.
This feeling when life seems easy and simple brings me peace. And with this peace, I no longer feel the pressure and stress of my objectives. It's rare to have everything coming perfectly together and find myself surfing on the top of the wave. The fine line between success and failure is sometime small. And the tiniest mistakes can cause you to fall. Everything was perfectly in harmony to make the many successes of this trip happen. My physical shape, the perfect projects (not too hard, just on the good limit), the best partners, the conditions, and the luck. I am so grateful to live such beautiful moments. This kind of trip does not happen that often in a climberโs life. Thanks to everyone who contributed, near or far, to this one.โ
"It was one of the craziest ideas I ever had: crossing the huge cave of Flatanger via the most overhanging part. Adam Ondra told me about this idea before I went there. I was really excited to check out this mega project. Here is the video of this huge FA of 130m. I called the route Nordic Marathon, and proposed the 9b/+ grade. I also did two other hard routes during this trip : The first repeat of Iron Curtain, proposed as 9b by Adam Ondra. I think it more 9a+ with Kneepads. And I did the third ascent of Change, the world first 9b+. I proposed the 9b/+ range using kneepads. But, the trip wasnโt just about sending. It was the whole process where joy, happiness, emulation and motivation, relationship, lifestyle, discovery, and meetings, played a big role.
This feeling when life seems easy and simple brings me peace. And with this peace, I no longer feel the pressure and stress of my objectives. It's rare to have everything coming perfectly together and find myself surfing on the top of the wave. The fine line between success and failure is sometime small. And the tiniest mistakes can cause you to fall. Everything was perfectly in harmony to make the many successes of this trip happen. My physical shape, the perfect projects (not too hard, just on the good limit), the best partners, the conditions, and the luck. I am so grateful to live such beautiful moments. This kind of trip does not happen that often in a climberโs life. Thanks to everyone who contributed, near or far, to this one.โ
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