Seb Berthe does Beyond (9a+)

Seb Berthe has done the third ascent of Beyond (9a) in Pic St Loup. The 30-year-old is a former international competition climber who twice has won the Belgium Championship. He is perhaps best known for his big wall ascents but more recently he has been turning his attention to sport climbing, and he started last year by doing La Rambla (9a+) and later he onsighted Ajo crudo (8c).

”Beyond got two ascents in 2019 by Seb Bouin and Lucien Martinez and was graded 9a. In 2020 a hold broke in the second crux and the section got significantly harder (went from 7B to 7C+ boulder), which brought the grade of the whole route to 9a+. I did the 3rd ascent of this version after Seb Bouin and Tanguy Merard.

Beyond is probably one of the best of this grade in France and even in Europe: Huge overhang, big dropknees, dynos, kneebars, amazing tufas… The route can be broken down in severals section: a first 7c part (about 8m), crux 1 (around 7C+ boulder): 4 moves on crimps followed by big dyno to a good tufa, a good rest with kneebars, 12 transition moves (around 7B+ boulder), crux 2 (around 7C+ boulder): pulling hard with a left crimpy undercling and a big move with a dropknee to a small hold. About the grade, the route suits my style quite well, and it felt super hard at the beginning, but I made fast progress and after a few sessions it didn’t feel that hard. I think it is a low-end 9a+. There is a second pitch which is graded 9b/+ also first ascended by Seb Bouin in 2020. Maybe a future project ?!