Yannick Flohé Makes Back-to-Back Sends of V16 and V15
The German climber sent a tough V15 shortly after sending the Jimmy Webb classic, Ephyra V16
On January 24, German climber Yannick Flohé had a big day of climbing in Chironico, Switzerland. In a single session, he sent Ephyra V16 (8C+) and From Dirt Grows the Flowers V15 (8C). Ephyra’s crux features a very difficult lateral move onto the left shoulder. Since Jimmy Webb’s first ascent, Nicky Ceria, Giuliano Cameroni, and Will Bosi have made repeats. Flohé’s send was the fifth ascent.
First climbed by Dave Graham in 2005, From Dirt Grows the Flowers V15 is found beside Ephyra and contains an extremely difficult mantle exit. Many top climbers have repeated the problem including Adam Ondra, Jan Hojer, and Jimmy Webb.
It took Flohé four sessions over two trips to send Ephyra. During his first trip, he found the mantle so difficult on From Dirt Grows the Flowers that he didn’t consider the problem a project. Via Instagram he had this to say about his double-send day: “I came back with prime conditions and good skin. I warmed up trying the mantle of From Dirt which felt surprisingly good and after a couple of tries I climbed my main project Ephyra. I still had some power left so I worked out the beginning of From Dirt again and after falling two times at the very end somehow my foot didn’t slip and I found myself on top of this block. What a day.”
Flohé, 23, had an incredible 2022. On January 1, He started the year off with a send of the famous Off the Wagon Sit V16, his first of the grade. In March, he climbed two V15’s in Switzerland over a period of four days. The first was Forgotten Gem V15 in Chironico, first ascended by Kim Marschner. The second was Aidan Roberts’ Everything the Light Touches V15, a sit start variation of the popular The Kingdom V15 in Brione.
In addition to these big sends, he sent 11 V14s throughout the year—four in Fontainebleau and seven in Switzerland. In November, he sent four 5.14c’s in a little over a week while on a trip to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. He also had comp climbing successes last year, winning gold in boulder at the Brixen World Cup and bronze in lead at the Koper World Cup. In 2021, he won gold in combined at the World Championships in Moscow.
You can watch previous sends of Ephyra V16 and From Dirt Grows the Flowers V15 below:
Jimmy Webb’s FA of Ephyra V16
Niky Ceria’s Second Ascent of Ephyra V16
Eliot Stephens on From Dirt Grows the Flowers V15
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