Barefoot climber Charles Albert celebrates Harder Better Faster (8c +?) In Fionnay

The French Charles Albert succeeds in climbing a direct variant of the Boulders Foundation's Edge (8c).

A few days ago, Charles Albert hitchhiked after Fionnay, slept one night in pouring rain under a block and the next day, in extremely poor conditions, he quickly got to inspect a direct entry-level version of the famous 8c boulder Foundation's Edge, a Dave Graham First started in 2014.

Charles Albert bivouacked here in the pouring rain before climbing Harder Better Faster. (Picture Structure Pan d'Escalade)
Charles Albert bivouacked here in the pouring rain before climbing Harder Better Faster (8c +?). (Picture Structure Pan d'Escalade)

Charles is silent

Charles Albert himself has not yet published or communicated the visit. A short video with information as well as a picture of the bivouac was published by the Structure Pan d'Escalade bouldering hall from Geneva. Accordingly, there is no information on the difficulty of the new variant.

It is speculated that Harder Better Faster is a boulder with a difficulty of 8c +.

Charles Albert is one of the absolute top boulderers

The French Charles Albert caused a stir many years ago when the first pictures and videos became public showing him climbing barefoot. And not in easy terrain, but in the most difficult bouldering lines in the world.

Charles climbed with us at the end of 2015 La valse aux adieux prolongee first 8c, later it was the Fontainebleau classic par excellence, La Révolutionnaire (8c). On a Rocklands trip followed Monkey Wedding, again 8c.

He proved that it can be even more difficult in December 2018 when he launched the seated start version of Hypothesis (8c +) decrypted. The biggest bomb left Charles Albert but burst at the end of 2019 when he after the inspection of No Kpote Only suggested level of difficulty 9a.

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Credits: Cover picture Structure Pan d'Escalade

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