Seb Bouin Climbing Wolf Kingdom 5.15c
Tough for the grade, the Bouin first ascent is a king line in Pic Saint-Loup
In November last year, Seb Bouin made the first ascent of Wolf Kingdom 5.15c (9b+) in Pic Saint-Loup, France. The route adds a 5.14d into the difficult portion of Les Rois du Lithium 5.15b. Bouin bolted Wolf Kingdom a year and a half before his FA, working the route on and off in the interim. Just six days before his FA, he had a productive day at Têtard Parc near Grenoble, where he flashed Le Dernier Têtard 5.14b and redpointed Amicalement Blues 5.14d on the same day, showcasing an impressive streak of performances leading up to completing his big project. Black Diamond just released a 31-minute film detailing Bouin’s Wolf Kingdom experience, which you can watch below.
“Wolf Kingdom is probably one of the hardest lines I’ve ever climbed,” said Bouin after his FA on Instagram. “The grading decision was important to me. It feels harder than all the [5.15c] routes I’ve done so far, but a bit easier than DNA [5.14d]. Since Wolf Kingdom aligns 100% with my climbing style, it was tough to compare it and assign an accurate grade. This line is closer to what I’m good at compared to DNA. It could be a hard [5.15c] or a soft [5.15d]. In terms of time, feeling, and comparison with other routes, I’m giving it the [5.15d] grade. We’ll see what other climbers think in the future. Either [5.15c] or [5.15d], it has all the qualities to become a classic (in terms of beauty and style).”
Based on these comments, it’s interesting that Bouin didn’t go with a slash grade of 5.15c/d for Wolf Kingdom. He’s known for his use of the slash grade, giving three of his previous FAs a grade of 5.15b/c: La Rage d’Adam, Beyond Integral, and Nordic Marathon.
Bouin is one of the world’s most accomplished sport climbers. In April 2022, he made the first ascent of his hardest route to date, DNA, which took him over 150 days of effort to complete. He has several hard repeats to his name, including Alex Megos’ Bibliographie 5.15c and Adam Ondra’s Change 5.15b/c and Move 5.15b/c.
