The two Belgian Siebe Vanhee and Sébastien Berthe have arrived in Yosemite Valley. Your goal is to redpunkt climb one of the most difficult multi-pitch routes in the world, The Dawn Wall. Does this mean that the route is threatened with an imminent devaluation?
Siebe Vanhee has announced that he and his compatriot Sébastien Berthe have arrived in Yosemite Valley and embarked on one of the most difficult multi-pitch routes in the world: The dawn wall (32 SL, ~ 9a). The Dawn Wall was created on January 14, 2015 by the two Americans Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson free climbed for the first time. The two invested countless attempts spread over several years in the opening and first free inspection. Accompanied by a camera team, the two spent a total of 19 days in the wall for the actual attempt to get through.
First repetition by Adam Ondra
A year after Caldwell and Jorgeson came the Czech over-climber Adam Ondra to Yosemite Valley. It was his first trip to the Californian climbing mecca. After an initially high ascent speed on the first pitches, Ondra was slowed down further up. In the end, Ondra only needed eight days on the wall to be the third person to climb The Dawn Wall completely free.
Adam Ondra on the second day on the wall
Will the Belgians undercut Ondra's time?
In contrast to the Caldwell and Jorgeson, Ondra climbed the route a lot faster redpoint. The big question now is how fast it will Siebe Vanhee and Sebastien Berthe will be able to climb The Dawn Wall freely - and whether they leave the level of difficulty unchanged.
The two are not only known for making short work of difficult multi-pitch routes, but also for devaluing many routes in terms of their difficulty. So will The Dawn Wall soon experience the same fate as numerous MSL routes in the Alps?
That might interest you
- Adam Ondra and Tommy Caldwell in conversation about The Dawn Wall
- Interview: Tommy Caldwell on sustainability and his role as an ambassador
- Sébastien Berthe criticizes the evaluation of European multi-pitch routes
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Credits: Cover picture Julia Cassou