Decorated Comp Climber Sends New 5.15a
From gold medals to 5.14 big walls, Cédric Lachat is one of Europe's top all-round climbers
Cédric Lachat has made the first ascent of Home Cornus, a new 5.15a at Vercors in France. The route was bolted eight years ago by Romain Gendey. The steep route adds 10 metres to a 30-metre 5.14d test-piece. Home Cornus is now one of the hardest routes at the famous crag, with Sweet Neuf 5.15a being one of the other challenging line. This is the ninth 5.15a that Lachat, who’s currently 38 years old, has redpointed.
“The main crux is located just after the 8a [5.13b], it is a bit technical, requiring body tension and finger strength,” said Lachat. “The difficulty is to be able to climb what comes after (a boulder traverse until a large flake) and save enough for the last moves on crimps.”
During his time as a competition climber, Lachat racked up nearly 20 medals, winning the Youth World Championships at 17. He went on to win bronze in lead and boulder at the 2007 World Championships. Over the past few years, he’s focused on 5.14 multi-pitch routes, such as Orbayu 5.14b, Silbergeier 5.14a and WoGü, all in the Rätikon, Switzerland.
WoGü
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