At the age of 38, the Swiss professional climber Cédric Lachat managed the most difficult route of his career so far: Fantasia (9b).
Located in the beautiful Vercors massif, in the extreme west of the French Alps, Cédric Lachat found a project that initially seemed too difficult for him. And what do you do in such a case - at least if your name is Lachat? For example, first score all other routes in the sector.
"I left the route last year because I thought it was too difficult."
Cédric Lachat
But when Lachat climbed all the other routes and first ascented with At Home Cornus (9a +) in March, the idea came up again to get into the old project, the 40-meter-long endurance route. Said and done.
And as Lachat proved a few days ago, it wasn't a reckless decision. For the first time in his career, the Swiss professional climber managed to climb a 9b route. Since this is a first ascent, the question naturally arises as to whether repeaters will confirm the grade.
"I'm curious and open to other people's opinions about the route and the level of difficulty."
Cédric Lachat in At Home Cornus (9a+) at Vercors
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Credits: Pictures Simon Destombes