Sébastien Bouin, nicknamed Seb Bouin, (born 7 April 1993) is a French rock climber born in

Draguignan Draguignan (; oc, Draguinhan) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of ...

. By 2022, Bouin was regarded as one of the strongest sport climbers in the world, being only the second-ever climber to establish a route graded , with ' in 2022, and one of only a handful of climbers to create a new route at the grade of . Bouin is also regarded for his documentary series on the history of extreme sport climbing in France.

Climbing career

Seb Bouin started climbing at 11 with his mother Claire. He did his first 8a at 13, first 8b at 14, first 8c at 15, and his first at 17. Unlike other leading climbers, Bouin avoided the indoor climbing competition circuit, focusing solely on finding "mega lines" on outdoor crags, which he described as his sole motivation. By 2012–13, at age 20, Bouin was starting to climb routes at 5.15 (9a/9a+) (e.g. ''Tierra Negra'' 9a/9a+, ''La Modone'' 9a+), and over the next few years would repeat the major test pieces, including: '' La Rambla'' (2017), ''Papichulo'' (2019), and '' Realization/Biographie'' (2020). During this period, Bouin came to international prominence with the third ascent of the controversial route ' (2015), considered at the time, but which Bouin downgraded. Bouin climbed his first confirmed in 2019 with the first repeat of

Adam Ondra Adam Ondra (born February 5, 1993) is a Czech professional rock climber, specializing in lead climbing and bouldering. In 2013, ''Rock & Ice'' described Ondra as a prodigy and the leading climber of his generation. Ondra is the only male athle ...

's ''Mamichula'', and in that same year climbed his first 9b/9b+ with the first repeat of Ondra's ''Move'' (which Bouin felt was 9b+); Ondra called Bouin "one of my favorite climbing partners". Bouin would continue in 2019 to – as ''UK Climbing'' noted – "tick more 9th Dimension climbs than any other climber on earth", including the first ascent of Albania's hardest sport climb, ''The Dream'' (9b), and the first ascent of France's hardest sport climb, ''La Rage d'Adam'' (9b/9b+) at La Ramirole cave in the

Verdon Gorge The Verdon Gorge (French: ''Gorges du Verdon'') is a river canyon located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is about 25 km (15.5 mi) long and up to 700 metres (0.4 mi) deep. It was formed by the ...

. 2022 would be another strong year for Bouin putting up three major new routes, starting off with ' in the

(France), which Bouin proposed at , only the world's second-ever route at that grade after Ondra's ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the c ...

''. Bouin followed with two other first ascents, the enormous 430-foot (130 m) single-pitch ''Nordic Marathon'' in

Flatanger Flatanger is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lauvsnes. Other villages include Jøssund, Hasvåg, and Vik. The municipality is the 2 ...

(''

Climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done ...

'' called it "the biggest single pitch of hard climbing ever done"), and the first in North America, ''

Suprême Jumbo Love ''Jumbo Love'' is a long sport climbing route on remote limestone cliffs on Clark Mountain in the Mojave Desert. Bolted by American climber Randy Leavitt in the 1990s, he invited Chris Sharma to attempt it in 2007. When Sharma completed the ...

'' (a ''direct start'' to

Chris Sharma Chris Omprakash Sharma (born 23 April, 1981) is an American rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. He dominated sport climbing for the decade after his 2001 ascent of '' Real ...

's historic 9b route). Bouin also repeated some of the world's other hardest climbs including ' (9b+ in Norway, third ascent), and ''

Jumbo Love ''Jumbo Love'' is a long sport climbing route on remote limestone cliffs on Clark Mountain in the Mojave Desert. Bolted by American climber Randy Leavitt in the 1990s, he invited Chris Sharma to attempt it in 2007. When Sharma completed th ...

'' (9b in the USA, fourth ascent),

Documentary series

Bouin is also regarded for his love of French extreme sport climbing history, and his ''The Vintage Rock Tour'' documentary series revisits some of the most important – and controversial – moments in French extreme sport climbing. French 1980s climbing legend features in the series, and said of Bouin: "Seb doesn't consume climbing, he is a part of its evolution. He respects history and is adding his signature as a climber. The series came to international prominence in episode 4, when Bouin repeated Fred Rouhling's controversial 1990s routes of ''Hugh'', ' and ''L'autre côté du Ciel''. In a follow-up series, ''Hidden Gems'', Bouin travels to smaller French crags to meet with local climbers and put up new test-pieces.

Personal life

Bouin climbs regularly with his mother Claire Cerisier (who in 2019 was climbing at 8b), including going on sponsored expeditions to Turkey, and belaying him during his development of ''DNA''. In a 2020 interview with ''UK Climbing'', Bouin said that his mother was a major influence on his climbing development and his overall approach to life and facing adversity and challenge. In the same interview, Bouin said he completed his studies and become a fully qualified French state

physical education teacher Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explora ...

to have a fall-back saying: "There is less pressure knowing I have a career to fall back on in time which means I can enjoy my climbing 100%".

Notable ascents

Redpointed routes

: :* ' – La Ramirole,

( FRA) – 29 April 2022. First Ascent. Second 9c in history (after ''

''). Bouin worked the route for 150 days. : :* ''

'' – Clark Mountain (US) – 1 November 2022. First Ascent and direct start to ''Jumbo Love''; first-ever route in North America, and the 6th 9b+ in history. :* ' –

( NOR) – 5 August 2022. Third ascent of the world's first-ever 9b+ route that was first climbed by

in 2012; Bouin felt a

kneebar A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are featu ...

made it (5.15b/c). (5.15b/c): :* ''Nordic Marathon'' –

( NOR) – 21 July 2022. First Ascent of a very long single-pitch route; ''Climbing'' called it "the biggest single pitch of hard climbing ever done". :* ''Beyond Integral'' – North Face, Pic Saint-Loup ( FRA) – 22 October 2020. First Ascent. The route was bolted by Fedric Ferraro. :* ''La Rage d'Adam'' – La Ramirole,

( FRA) – 4 September 2019. First Ascent; hardest sport climb in France that was previously tried by

who felt the grade could be 9b+. :* ''Move'' –

( NOR) – 6 June 2019. First repeat of

's 2013 route (Bouin belayed Ondra); Bouin felt ''Move'' was harder than ''Change'' and should be . : :* ''

'' – Clark Mountain (USA) – 19 October 2022. 4th ascent of the world's first-ever confirmed 9b route. First ascent was by

in 2008. :* ''Iron Curtain'' –

( NOR) – 11 July 2022. First repeat of

's 2013 route (belayed by Bouin). :* ''The Dream'' – Brar crag,

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

(

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

) – 12 December 2019. First Ascent. Hardest climb in Albania in the crag that was described by

as "the best

Tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as traverti ...

climbing I have ever seen". :* ''Mamichula'' –

Oliana Oliana is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Urgell in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the Segre valley immediately below the Oliana reservoir. There is a factory of domestic electrical appliances in the town, and the presence of ...

( ESP) – 31 July 2019. First repeat of

's 2017 route. (5.15a/b): :* ''Les yeux plus gros que l'antre'' (translation: ''Eyes bigger than the cave'') – Russan crag, Pont St Nicholas-Seynes ( FRA) – 11 May 2018. First ascent. The route was bolted over 20 years previously but had defeated all prior attempts and became an "open project"; Bouin called it the "French Chilam Balam". :* ' – Villanueva del Rosario ( ESP) – May 2015. Third ascent. A controversial route that in 2003 was proposed as the world's first-ever by Bernabé Fernández after his first ascent, only to be downgraded in 2011 by

to on the first repeat, and further downgraded by subsequent repeats. Selected : :* '' Realization/Biographie'' – Céüse ( FRA) – 13 June 2020. Bouin completed the 19th ascent of the famous test piece. :* ''Papichulo'' –

( ESP) – April 2019. Repeat ascent of

's 2008 test piece. :* ''Pachamama'' –

( ESP) – March 2019. 8th ascent of

's 2009 test piece. :* ''La Côte d’Usure'' – La Ramirole,

( FRA) – 1 October 2018. First Ascent. Bolted by Bouin when has was 16 years old, he regards it as one of his "Mega Lines". :* '' La Rambla'' – Siurana ( ESP) – 6 December 2017. Bouin completed the 20th ascent of the famous test piece. :* ''La Modone'' –

Luberon The Luberon ( or ; Provençal: ''Leberon'' or ''Leberoun'' ) is a massif in central Provence in Southern France, part of the French Prealps. It has a maximum elevation of and an area of about . It is composed of three mountain ranges (from wes ...

( FRA) – May 2012. First repeat of Gérôme Pouvreau's 2011 route; Bouin's first-ever route.

References

Rock & Ice ''Rock & Ice'' is a magazine published by Outside focusing on rock and ice climbing. The first issue came out in March 1984. The first publisher was Neal Kaptain. George Bracksieck worked for him, beginning in January 1984, and the two became ...

'' (1 October 2018) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouin, Sébastien 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Var (department) French rock climbers People from Draguignan