Sebastien Berthe Repeats Heart Route 5.13b in Yosemite

Belgian climber Sebastien Berthe has made the second free ascent of the Heart Route 5.13b on El Cap in Yosemite. It took 23-year-old Berthe six days with Simon Castagne. The route was first climbed in 1970 by Chuck Kroger and Scott Davis and was freed by Mason Earle in 2015. Earle’s partner was Brad Gobright who sent everything except the crux V10 move. Heart Route is 26 pitches long and has nine at 5.13.

After his send, Berthe wrote on Facebook, “It is certainly the craziest climbing adventure of my life. I reached my physical and mental limits and every pitch was an intense fight. Many thanks to Mason Earle and Brad Gobright for the visionary job they did in this route.”

While he was in Yosemite, Berthe also climbed The Nose in just over nine hours, the Northwest Face of Half Dome, Freerider, Astroman, Steck/Salathe and The Cobra. For more photos from his Heart Route climb see here.