EN 
FR 
Last year, we spent a crazy, physically and psychologically exhausting day at the Aulp du Seuil in 'Un hommage amer'.
This time, in need of projects at his level and close to home, motivated by the images of Gaël Bouquet des Chaux's recent opening, he had himself equipped a line in two days, describing to me the ascent possible only thanks to a few life-saving holes scattered in a large, smooth, compact wall.
True to form, a relentless climber, I discovered him to be a stakhanovist opener. He had climbed alone with his 35kg of perfo, bolts, ropes and other gear, "one day when the family was tired of climbing and I could afford to go off on my own". Exhilarated at the prospect of creating a route on which he could challenge himself, he spent hours scrutinising the wall to find a line of weakness with no dead-ends, methodically assessing the feasibility of the moves.
A veritable climbing machine, on Thursday he launched into a systematic sequence of pitches, following a well-honed routine: climb, spot your movements, set your hands and feet, come back down, link up.
Accustomed to this protocol, I was the spectator-insurer, always admiring this rigorous performance, and I was already satisfied to be part of this moment by being able to climb in its footsteps.
Scores proposed by the opener :
L1 - 8a
L2 - 7a
L3 - 7b (7b+ according to the second?)
L4 - 6c
L5 - 7c+
Thank you Jean-Baptiste for an intense day in the Bauges!
