11 December 2020
The Big Island 8C by Nathan Michel
Nathan Michel is having his best bouldering year ever doing five 8B+' and now his second 8C, The Big Island in Fontainebleau. Video on his Insta. Until 2019, the 27-year-old had just done a total of three 8B+'.
"This year is a special one for me since I feel like I can finally start to express myself on the rock. I believe it comes from a few changes: - There is now around me a well-developed community of climbers that creates a strong emulation, making motivation and training easier,
- I seriously started proper training for bouldering again,
- I spend all of my free time climbing and go bouldering outside at every chance I get.
All this allowed me to finally climb a line I had been dreaming about for a long time: The Big Island. I had already tried it a few times three years ago, but I wasnโt strong enough at that time. In September, while listing on a paper my new goals for this year so as to plan my training, I included this boulder without hesitation. I then had two sessions in October that allowed me to refine my betas and work on the movements. I was close to sending it but conditions were far from perfect and I ended up being too tired to do it anyway. Though at the end of November, conditions looked like they were going to be excellent, so I planned another trip in Font. The first session allowed me to get back into the sequences and then, the morning after, I finally sent it on my second try of the day!"
"This year is a special one for me since I feel like I can finally start to express myself on the rock. I believe it comes from a few changes: - There is now around me a well-developed community of climbers that creates a strong emulation, making motivation and training easier,
- I seriously started proper training for bouldering again,
- I spend all of my free time climbing and go bouldering outside at every chance I get.
All this allowed me to finally climb a line I had been dreaming about for a long time: The Big Island. I had already tried it a few times three years ago, but I wasnโt strong enough at that time. In September, while listing on a paper my new goals for this year so as to plan my training, I included this boulder without hesitation. I then had two sessions in October that allowed me to refine my betas and work on the movements. I was close to sending it but conditions were far from perfect and I ended up being too tired to do it anyway. Though at the end of November, conditions looked like they were going to be excellent, so I planned another trip in Font. The first session allowed me to get back into the sequences and then, the morning after, I finally sent it on my second try of the day!"
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16 March 2026
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โI stopped focusing on competition bouldering after last yearโs World Cup in Prague, partly because I can already feel it on my body, especially in my shoulders. The modern competition style, with a lot of jumping from one hold to another, is very demanding for the shoulders.
Outdoor bouldering isโฆ
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