Sean Villanueva and Siebe Vanhee Open a New Big Wall

In August 2015, Siebe Vanhee and Sean Villanueva took off on an adventure in the Tsaranoro massif, in the south of the African island Madagascar. They spotted a major unclimbed line on Tsaranoro Atsimo.

Armed with a drill, skyhooks and thirst for exploration we tackled the face ground up. This was very different to other first ascents they had done, as they usually do not bring a power drill, and very rarely place a bolt. But these walls are so blank and deprived of cracks and other features to place natural protections. In the end, they established a 700-metre 5.13 called Fire in the Belly.

Villanueva wrote a short story about the route here, in which he said, “I started climbing. I had no suppositions, no expectations, no ambitions, just hunger: hunger for enjoyment, hunger to give myself to the fullest, hunger to fight hard. When my fingers touched the sharp crystals I felt no pain, I just felt the desire to pull on them. I flowed upwards, the moves felt easy. Arriving at the last crux I had no idea which method I would use, as I had never even gotten close to doing this move. I didn’t care if I fell. I just wanted to give it my best. I was willing to fight, regardless of the outcome.”

Madagascar FA

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