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Realization (climb)

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Template:Short descriptionTemplate:Redirects hereTemplate:Infobox climbing route Realization, also called Biographie, is a circa Template:Convert sport climbing route on an overhanging limestone cliff on the southern face of Céüse mountain, near Gap and Sigoyer, in France. After it was first climbed in 2001 by American climber Chris Sharma, it became the first rock climb in the world to have a consensus grade of Template:Climbing grade.Template:Efn It is considered an historic and important route in rock climbing, and one of the most attempted climbs at its grade.<ref name=NG1/><ref name=OUT4/>

HistoryEdit

File:Ceuse001.jpg
Long south-facing cliffs of Céüse, known as the Corniche de Céûse

In 1989, French climber Jean-Christophe Lafaille bolted the entire circa 35 metre pitch, and named it Biographie (he was not able to climb it).<ref name=UP>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Biographie remained a long-standing open project, and in 1996, French climber Template:Ill freed the lower half of the route, added an anchor at his high-point and graded it at Template:Climbing grade.<ref name=UP/> Petit estimated that the remaining unclimbed section was about Template:Climbing grade but had a very difficult Template:Boulder grade boulder problem that he could not overcome.<ref name=UP/> American climber Chris Sharma made over 30 attempts from 1996 to 2000 but could also not overcome the boulder move.<ref name=UP/> In 2001, Sharma skipped the Bouldering World Cup in Gap, and after three days working on the route, on 18 July 2001,<ref name=MH/> successfully free climbed the route, linking up Petit's first section to Lafaille's final bolt.<ref name=UP/><ref name=PM/>

Sharma's first ascent was captured in Josh Lowell's 2002 climbing film, Dosage Volume 1.<ref name=OUT4/> Witnessing his ascent was a 10-year old Template:Ill, who was out hiking with her father.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Sharma did not assign a grade to the climb.<ref name=O2>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=PM>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> however he did name it Realization.<ref name=UP/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The naming was a source of controversy as in France climbing routes are named by the person who first bolted the route, while in the U.S. (and the U.K.), they are named by the first person to successfully free climb the route.<ref name=UP/> Sharma would later clarify:<ref name=UP/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Quote

Though only aged 20, Sharma considered retiring after completing the ascent, but found new inspiration in extreme deep-water soloing routes in Mallorca.<ref name=O1/> It took almost three years until the second ascent was made by French climber, Sylvain Millet, who also refused to grade it given his lack of experience of other equivalent reference climbs, however, he noted that the failure of other strong climbers to repeat the route (e.g. Patxi Usobiaga, and Dave Graham), implied that 9a+ was the likely grade.<ref name=OUT6>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

On 24 September 2017, American climber Margo Hayes became the first female climber to climb the route.<ref name=MH1>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=MH2>Template:Cite magazine</ref> On 5 August 2020, German climber Alexander Megos created Bibliographie, a Template:Climbing grade route, a few metres to the right of Realization/Biographie.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

RouteEdit

The route starts with an immediate hard "four-move boulder problem", which partially broke in 2010, potentially rendering the lower section even more difficult (it has been compared to the notable bouldering problem, Necessarily Evil). Sustained 5.13 climbing after the initial bouldering problem leads to the main rest, a large right-facing flake. After this pause, a series of "super-resistant two and three-finger pocket moves", with cross-throughs, underclings, and high-steps lead to Arnaud Petit's old anchor (now since removed),<ref name=OUT4/> which is almost halfway.<ref name=PM/>

To the anchor, the route is considered Template:Climbing grade, although some have suggested an upgrade to Template:Climbing grade due to the initial bottom boulder breaking. There is a small rest at the old anchor, then sustained resistance climbing leads to a slightly better rest just below the finishing crux. This final crux is 12 moves, described as "a bunch of foot movement, and some very fickle pockets and crimps". Its difficulty is amplified by the amount of hard climbing undertaken to reach it. Above this crux is a small rest, and 5.11 climbing for 50 feet leads to the final anchor at around the circa 35-meter mark".<ref name=OUT4/>

LegacyEdit

Realization was the first route to carry a consensus Template:Climbing grade grade, and Climbing called it a "technical revolution" in rock climbing.<ref name=O1>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The quality and sustained difficulty of Realization means it is still considered an important rite-of-passage for the world's best rock climbers, whose repeat ascents of the "legendary" route, are covered by the climbing media.<ref name=O2/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=PM3/> Outside magazine called it "the benchmark for the grade",<ref name=OUT4/> and it has become one of the most attempted and repeated routes at the grade at Template:Climbing grade.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2014, National Geographic called it, "one of the most famous sport-climbing routes in the world".<ref name=NG1/> PlanetMountain included Realization on its list of important climbs in the evolution of free climbing (1918–2013).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2012, when Adam Ondra attempted to flash the route (i.e. complete on the first attempt) he said: "It had always been my long-term crazy dream to flash this route".<ref name=O2/> In 2014, when American climber Jonathan Siegrist made the eighth ascent of the route and told Outside magazine: "I can remember the first time that I saw the route — it is truly magnificent. I was shocked to see that such a bold and impressive, seemingly perfect line exists. Add to that, the historic significance of this climb, not to mention its unique and brilliant holds and movement — it really is a proud route".<ref name=OUT4>Template:Cite magazine</ref> On repeating the route in 2014, German climber Alexander Megos said: "I wanted to climb this route because it is the world’s first 9a+ and definitely one of the most famous routes worldwide! But it’s not just the history behind the route, also the route itself is one of the best ones I ever climbed!".<ref name=NG1>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2016, remembering his own 2015 repeat of the route, Italian climber Stefano Ghisolfi called it, "..perhaps the most famous cutting-edge route in the world".<ref name=PM10>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Subsequent first 9a+ contendorsEdit

Many years after the ascent of Realization, other earlier sport climbs have been revisited as potential first-ever 9a+ routes:

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="CM">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Climbing author Andrew Bisharat noted in a 2016 essay on regrading, that "The other interesting point about Open Air that’s worth mentioning is that the route reportedly contains some rather flaky holds that have broken off over the years. So was the Open Air that Ondra climbed the exact same route that Alex Huber climbed? Maybe, but probably not."<ref name="AB">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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AscentsEdit

Realization, or Biographie, has been ascended by:<ref name=MH/><ref name=PM3/> Template:Div col

  • 1st. Chris Sharma on July 18, 2001<ref name=UP/><ref name=PM/>
  • 2nd. Sylvain Millet on May 24, 2004<ref name=OUT6/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 3rd. Patxi Usobiaga on July 29, 2004<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 4th. Dave Graham on July 30, 2007<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 5th. Ethan Pringle on September 2, 2007<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 7th. Template:Ill on August 15, 2010<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 8th. Jonathan Siegrist on June 1, 2014<ref name=OUT4/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 9th. Alex Megos on July 11, 2014<ref name=NG1/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 10th. Adam Ondra on July 22, 2014<ref name=O2/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 11th. Sachi Amma on August 7, 2014<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 12th. Stefano Ghisolfi on June 22, 2015<ref name=PM10/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 13th. Jon Cardwell on May 25, 2016<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 14th. Sean Bailey on August 5, 2016<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 15th. Margo Hayes on September 24, 2017<ref name=MH1/><ref name=MH2/>
  • 16th. Piotr Schab on July 3, 2018<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 17th. Template:Ill on September 22, 2018<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 18th. Template:Ill on July 13, 2019<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 19th. Sébastien Bouin on June 13, 2020<ref name=PM3>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 20th. Matty Hong on May 29, 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Template:Div col end

First female free ascents (FFFA):

  • 1st. Margo Hayes on September 24, 2017<ref name=MH1/><ref name=MH2/>

FilmographyEdit

See alsoEdit

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NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

External linksEdit

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