Bouin Flashes 5.14c First Ascent in France
Few climbers have made first ascents of 5.14+ sport climbs with a flash
Photo by: Clarisse Bompard
Sébastien Bouin has made the first ascent of Baise Moi 5.14c at Saint Auban in Verdon Gorges. Bouin, who’s climbed several 5.15 sport climbs, opened Baise Moi with a flash. His previous hardest flash came eight years ago with Les rois du pétrole 5.14a in Pic Saint Loup.
Bouin was fresh off a trip to Norway when he decided to check out Saint Auban, a relatively new crag at the historic Verdon. Most of the projects were bolted by locals François Chollet and Adrien Boulon. On his first day at the crag, Bouin warmed up with an onsight of Le vent l’emportera 5.13b, then flashed Tresor 5.13d. He then turned his attention to Baise Moi, which was a project.
“Crux by crux, I understood the route was possible [to flash], it was 100 per cent my climbing style,” said Bouin of the overhanging 45-metre climb. “Big moves, bad rests between the cruxes. A pure endurance route. I didn’t make any mistakes and I took the risks at the right moments. It’s rare to have this kind of opportunity.” Bouin said he’s not used to trying to onsight such hard lines. “I am not so good at taking risks in my climbing, so I am quite happy about the result of this climb,” he said. “It’s quite hard to combine everything for an onsight or a flash: the good beta, the shape, the right conditions.”
Bouin started climbing at a young age and sent his first 5.14d at 17. In 2022, he made the first ascent of DNA, proposing the grade of 5.15d, and made the first ascent of Suprême Jumbo Love, America’s first 5.15c. For more on Bouin’s climbing visit here.
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