Jonathan Siegrist Climbing Biographie 5.15a

It was 10 years ago when Jonathan Siegrist became the eighth climber to send the famous Biographie/Realization 5.15a in France. A video of Siegrist’s redpoint was just uploaded to YouTube by Bearcam Media, watch it below.

In 2001, Sharma made the first free ascent of Biographie, which he called Realization. The reason it has (or had) two names is the difference in ethics between American and French climbers. In France, the person that bolts a route gives it a name while in America, the first ascensionist names it. The route was bolted in 1989 by Jean-Christophe Lafaille and was named Biographie. Upon its first ascent, Sharma named it Realization, in congruence with the American style. Sharma now refers to it as Biographie.

It was the first consensus 5.15a ever climbed, but other routes sent previous to 2001 have since been upgraded. Adam Ondra repeated Alex Huber’s Open Air from 1996 and suggested 5.15a, however many holds had broken over the years. And in 2021, Will Bosi made the second ascent of Steve McClure’s Mutation in the U.K. from 1998 and suggested it could be 5.15a or even 5.15b.

Siegrist has gone on to become one of the most successful 5.15 climbers in the world.

Siegrist on Biographie