Paul Bonhomme Skis Taschorn for 10th Epic New Ski Line in Alps
For five months, he's been opening some of the biggest lines in France, Switzerland and Italy
French climbers Paul Bonhomme and Vivian Bruchez have made the first ski descent of the southwest face of Taschorn, a 4,491-metre peak in Switzerland. The 950-metre extreme ski line was skied from top to bottom, except for a short section of downclimbing.
This is the final of Bonhomme’s 10x project ski objectives, all of which have been up and down big, bold lines never before completely skied.
In early January, Bonhomme and Vivian Bruchez completed the first descent of the Secret Garden 5.4/E4, 650 m, on Pointe de Blonniere. Since then, the French mountain guide has skied some of the last unskied lines in the Alps. The project was simple: open 10 new, unskied routes in France, Italy and Switzerland during the 2020/21 ski season. The lines had to be 500 metres in length, a minimum of 50 degrees, and not use lifts, sleds or helicopters.
Bonhomme said in an interview earlier this year, “You have to know one thing with these new lines: they’re not very logical lines. They can be very beautiful, but it’s never very logical. You have to have a lot of mountaineering skills and vision. It’s not just skiing, but also abseiling, and when you go up, ice climbing, sometimes a little rock climbing. So I think there are no more really logical lines to open in the Alps, it’s more mountaineering lines.”
10 New Ski Lines
The Secret Garden, 650 m, 5.4/E4, Pointe de Blonnière, France
Spur of the Acrobats, 1,200 m, 5.4/E4, North Face of Chaperon, France
The Secret of Maria, 1,100 m, 5.3/E4, Rocca Bianca, Italy
Tears of Ulysses, 600Â m, 5.3/E4 Pelago Northeast Spur, France
The Cathedral, 1,600 m, 5.5/E4, Rochers du Rochail, France
Head in the Stars, 1,000 m, 5.3/E4, Tȇte Carrée, Italy
Pillars of Bagnes, 1,200 m, 5.4+/E4, Combin de la Tsessette, Switzerland
The Angels traverse, 600 m , 5.4/E4, Pouznec West Face, France
Merci Mamans, 900 m, 5.4/E4, Bietschorn Southwest Face, Switzerland
X, 650 m, 5.4/E4, Taschorn Southwest Face, Switzerland
X Descent
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