Matty Hong Climbs Biographie 5.15a in Style
This is one of the best short films about an ascent of the famous sport climb in France
Earlier this year, Matty Hong repeated Biographie 5.15a in Céüse, and a new video featuring the send was just published by Mellow. Hong became the fourth American to climb 5.15b with Fight or Flight in 2018 after Chris Sharma, Ethan Pringle and Daniel Woods.
Hong was 15 when he climbed his first 5.14a in Rifle, and he went on to send Papichulo 5.15a and La Rambla, both in Spain. In 2021, we talked to Hong after he made the second ascent of Tommy Caldwell’s Flex Luthor 5.15 in Colorado – read our conversation with him here.
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. It’s been climbed several times, including by Margo Hayes in 2017.
Biographie 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.
Hong on Biographie
Known Biographie Ascents
Chris Sharma on July 18, 2001
Sylvain Millet on May 24, 2004
Patxi Usobiaga on July 29, 2004
Dave Graham on July 30, 2007
Ethan Pringle on Sept. 2, 2007
Ramón Puigblanque on July 27, 2008
Enzo Oddo on Aug. 15, 2010
Jonathan Siegrist on June 1, 2014
Alex Megos on July 11, 2014
Adam Ondra on July 22, 2014
Sachi Amma on Aug. 7, 2014
Stefano Ghisolfi on June 22, 2015
Jon Cardwell on May 25, 2016
Sean Bailey on Aug. 5, 2016
Margo Hayes on Sept. 24, 2017
Piotr Schab on July 3, 2018
Stefano Carnati on Sept. 22, 2018
Jorge DÃaz-Rullo on July 13, 2019
Sébastien Bouin on June 13, 2020
Matty Hong on May 29, 2023
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