Bibliographie (climb) explained

Bibliographie
Location:Hautes-Alpes, France
Coords:44.498°N 5.948°W
Climbing Area:Céüse
Route Type:Sport climbing
Vertical Gain:35m (115feet)
Pitches:1
Bolted By:Ethan Pringle, 2009
First Ascent:Alexander Megos, 5 August 2020
Map:France
Map Width:220

Bibliographie is a circa 35m (115feet) sport climbing route on a limestone cliff on the southern face of Céüse mountain, near Gap and Sigoyer, in France. The route was bolted in 2009 by Ethan Pringle, and was first ascended by Alexander Megos on 5 August 2020. Megos initially graded the route as, the highest difficulty at that time. The route was repeated on 24 August 2021 by Stefano Ghisolfi, who graded the route as, which has become the consensus grade for Bibliographie, making it only the fifth-ever climb in history at a grade of 9b+.

History

Bibliographie was bolted by the American climber Ethan Pringle in 2009, and it lies just a few metres to the right of Chris Sharma's famous 2001 Realization/Biography route. Megos first started working on the route in June 2017, and was still unsuccessful after a four-week visit in September of that year. In June 2018, after 16 days of work, he freed the route Perfecto Mundo, in Margalef, and decided to go straight to Céüse, but again without success. In 2019, he concentrated primarily on climbing competitions and only spent around three days in Céüse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, all climbing competitions were canceled, so Megos refocused on Bibliographie again.

On the last day of a trip to the crag, and after having fallen lower down on the route, Megos made the first free ascent of Bibliographie on 5 August 2020.[1]

Grade

Megos spent 60 days working on Bibliographie, which led him to suggest a grade of (i.e. it had taken him much longer than the 16 days needed for Perfecto Mundo, which was by then a consensus 9b+ route), making Bibliographie the second-ever route at the grade, after Adam Ondra's Silence. At the time, Megos told Rock & Ice that grading such a route was particularly hard given he started with no beta, and had no other opinions to rely on; he added: "I am very curious about what the future of the route will look like, and grateful for other people’s opinions".

Other climbers unsuccessfully attempted Bibliographie including Jakob Schubert, Stefano Ghisolfi and Dave Graham.[2] On 24 August 2021, Stefano Ghisolfi made the first repeat of Bibliographie but graded the route as ; Ghisolfi had previously repeated Megos' Perfecto Mundo, which was a consensus 9b+, and also Adam Ondra's , which was also considered a 9b+. Megos consulted and publicly agreed with Ghisolfi,[3] making the accepted grade for Bibliographie; the fifth-ever climbing route to have such a grade.[4]

Ascents

Bibliographie has been ascended by:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: . Alex Megos Sends Multi-Year Project Bibliographie, Suggests 5.15d. Kevin . Corrigan . 6 August 2020 . 5 February 2023 .
  2. Web site: Stefano Ghisolfi wertet Bibliographie auf 9b+ ab . 2021-08-26. LACRUX Klettermagazin. de.
  3. Web site: Climber . Ghisolfi and Megos downgrade Bibliographie to F9b+. 29 August 2021 . 5 February 2023 .
  4. Web site: Climber . Hardest Climbs In The World: Highest Climbing Grades + Routes . 14 December 2022 . 5 February 2023.
  5. Web site: . Alex Megos Sends World’s Second 5.15d. Delaney . Miller . 6 August 2020 . 5 February 2023 .
  6. Web site: . Interview: Alex Megos Discusses the First Ascent of Bibliographie (9c, 5.15d) . Kevin . Corrigan . 10 August 2020 . 4 February 2020.
  7. Web site: Der zweite Kletterer, der eine 9c bewältigt. Tages-Anzeiger. de. Nadine. Regel . 22 August 2020 . 4 February 2023.
  8. Web site: Alex Megos Agrees With Bibliographie Downgrade to 5.15c . 30 August 2021. Gripped Magazine . 4 February 2023 . en.
  9. Web site: PlanetMountain . Stefano Ghisolfi repeats Bibliographie, Alexander Megos' masterpiece at Céüse . 24 August 2021 . 5 February 2023.
  10. Web site: . Stefano Ghisolfi on Climbing the World's Hardest Grade… and Then Downgrading It . Owen . Clarke. 8 September 2021 . 5 February 2020.
  11. Web site: Gripped Magazine . Breaking News: Sean Bailey Sends Bibliographie 5.15c . 30 September 2021 . 4 February 2023.
  12. Web site: PlanetMountain . Sean Bailey sends Bibliographie at Céüse . 30 September 2021 . 5 February 2023.
  13. Web site: . Seb Bouin Gets His Crimp On and Sends Bibliographie (5.15c) . Stephen . Potter . 7 June 2023 . 7 June 2023.
  14. Web site: Seb Bouin Climbs Bibliographie 5.15c . Gripped. 7 June 2023 . 7 June 2023.
  15. Web site: Potter . Steven . 31 October 2023 . Interview: Jorge Díaz-Rullo on Making the Fifth Ascent of 'Bibliographie' . 6 November 2023 . . en-US.
  16. Web site: Redaktion . 21 October 2023 . Bibliography (9b+) scored. What's next Jorge Diaz-Rullo? . 6 November 2023 . Lacrux Klettermagazin . en.