Arnaud Petit: Three Videos of a Cutting Edge Climber
Arnaud Petit is a cutting edge French climber with a master’s degree in physics. “The people who inspire me are those who do things passionately with focus, whatever their level,” says Petit.
Petit spends most of his time in Ceuse, “Ceuse, is where I started dreaming about climbing really hard routes,” said Petit. “I live right near the cliff, which allows me to take advantage of the site off-season, when it’s less crowded.”
Episode One
Epic TV wrote: In the  irst episode of Céüse with Arnaud Petit, Arnaud reveals his long-term project Biographie and explains how difficult it is to keep motivation rolling when you’ve been working on the same climb for 20 years. Everything has to be perfect, you have to be fit in particular ways, and even if you’re feeling good, it still doesn’t mean you’ll finish the climb. There are about ten men who have ever climbed this benchmark route and Arnaud, who lives in Céüse, wants to be the next. He’s never going to give up trying to clip the anchor at the top of Biographie, but he’s not afraid to try other routes. Close to Biographie, there is another beautiful overhanging route, Mr. Hyde, that Arnaud wants to try his hand at.
Episode Two
Epic TV wrote: When he climbed the classic Céüse route Black Bean 5.13 using only traditional protection, Arnaud Petit opened the world’s eyes to the potential for trad climbing at this renowned sport crag. Three years on from that game-changing ascent, Arnaud is still leading the charge to attempt Céüse’s climbs on trad gear. In this video, Arnaud succeeds in recruiting US climber Mikey Schaefer to his cause, sending him up a tough but well-protected 5.12+. Take a look at the video to see Mikey pushing himself above gear on the same wall that houses some of the planet’s most renowned bolted lines.
Episode Three
Epic TV wrote: Céüse is arguably the most well-known sport climbing cliff in the world and its walls boast some of the hardest routes ever climbed. With such a plethora of hard, bolted climbs on offer, it’s easy to understand why visiting climbers choose to focus on these rather than the crag’s more esoteric classics. However, when you live right next to a climbing spot, as Arnaud Petit and his wife Stephanie Bodet do with Céüse, you get to know all that a crag has to offer; from its most challenging lines to its easier classics. ‘Natilik’ (6a+) fits firmly into the latter of these two categories, with bags of character and incredible positions in spite of its modest grade. The line is climbed predominantly on trad gear, with some long runouts and a final, unconventional ledge shuffle to make it extra memorable.
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