Sébastien Bouin

Sébastien Bouin, nicknamed Seb Bouin, (born 7 April 1993) is a French rock climber born in Draguignan. By 2022, Bouin is regarded as one of the strongest sport climbers in the world, being only the second-ever climber to establish a route graded 9c (5.15d), with DNA [de] in 2022, and one of only a handful of climbers to create a new route at the grade of 9b+ (5.15c). Bouin is also regarded for his documentary series on the history of extreme sport climbing in France.

Seb Bouin started sport climbing at 11 with his mother Claire.^[2] He did his first 8a at 13, first 8b at 14, first 8c at 15, and his first 9a (5.14d) at 17.^[3] 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.^[2] 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+),^[1] and over the next few years would repeat the major 9a+ (5.15a) test pieces, including: La Rambla (2017), Papichulo (2019), and Realization/Biographie (2020).^[1] During this period, Bouin came to international prominence with the third ascent of the controversial route Chilam Balam [fr] (2015), considered 9b (5.15b) at the time, but which Bouin downgraded.^[4]

Bouin climbed his first confirmed 9b (5.15b) in 2019 with the first repeat of Adam Ondra'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".^[2] Bouin would continue in 2019 to – as UK Climbing noted – "tick more 9th Dimension climbs than any other climber on earth",^[2] 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.^[2][1][5]

2022 would be another strong year for Bouin putting up three major new routes, starting off with DNA [de] in the Verdon Gorge (France), which Bouin proposed at 9c (5.15d), only the world's second-ever route at that grade after Ondra's Silence.^[1] Bouin followed with two other first ascents, the enormous 430-foot (130 m) single-pitch Nordic Marathon 9b/9b+  in Flatanger (Climbing called it "the biggest single pitch of hard climbing ever done"),^[6] and the first 9b+ (5.15c) in North America,^[7] Suprême Jumbo Love (a direct start to Chris Sharma's historic 9b route).^[7][8] Bouin also repeated some of the world's other hardest climbs including Change [fr] (9b+ in Norway, third ascent),^[9] and Jumbo Love (9b in the USA, fourth ascent).^[10]

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.^[2] French 1980s climbing legend Antoine Le Menestrel [fr] 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.^[2] The series came to international prominence in episode 4, when Bouin repeated Fred Rouhling's controversial 1990s routes of Hugh, Akira [fr] and L'autre côté du Ciel.^[11][12][13] In a follow-up series, Hidden Gems, Bouin travels to smaller French crags to meet with local climbers and put up new test-pieces.^[14][15]

Bouin climbs regularly with his mother Claire Cerisier (who in 2019 was climbing at 8b),^[16] including going on sponsored expeditions to Turkey,^[17] and belaying him during his development of DNA.^[1][18] 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.^[2][3][19]

In the same interview, Bouin said he completed his studies and become a fully qualified French state physical education teacher 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%".^[2][3]

9c (5.15d):

• DNA [de] – La Ramirole, Verdon Gorge (FRA) – 29 April 2022. First Ascent. Second 9c in history (after Silence). Bouin worked the 50-metre (160 ft) route for 150 days.^[1][20][21]

9b+ (5.15c):

• Bibliographie – Céüse (FRA) – 6 June 2023. Fourth ascent of the fifth-ever climb in history (once considered a potential first 9c) to be graded at 9b+ (5.15c).^[21][22]

• Suprême Jumbo Love – Clark Mountain (US) – 1 November 2022. First Ascent and direct start to Jumbo Love; first-ever 5.15c (9b+) route in North America,^[8][7] and the 6th 9b+ in history.^[23][21]
• Change [fr] – Flatanger (NOR) – 5 August 2022. Third ascent of the world's first-ever 9b+ route that was first climbed by Adam Ondra in 2012; Bouin felt a kneebar enabled by the use of a knee pad made it 9b/9b+  (5.15b/c).^[9][21]

9b/9b+  (5.15b/c):

• Nordic Marathon – Flatanger (NOR) – 21 July 2022. First Ascent of a very long 430-foot (130 m) single-pitch route; Climbing called it "the biggest single pitch of hard climbing ever done".^[6][21]
• Beyond Integral – North Face, Pic Saint-Loup (FRA) – 22 October 2020. First Ascent. The 50-metre (160 ft) route was bolted by Fedric Ferraro.^[19]
• La Rage d'Adam – La Ramirole, Verdon Gorge (FRA) – 4 September 2019. First Ascent; hardest sport climb in France that was previously tried by Adam Ondra who felt the grade could be 9b+.^{[1][5][24][21]}
• Move – Flatanger (NOR) – 6 June 2019. First repeat of Adam Ondra's 2013 route (Bouin belayed Ondra); Bouin felt Move was harder than Change and should be 9b+ (5.15c).^[9][6][25]

9b (5.15b):

• Jumbo Love – Clark Mountain (USA) – 19 October 2022. 4th ascent of the world's first-ever confirmed 9b route. First ascent was by Chris Sharma in 2008.^[10][26]
• Iron Curtain – Flatanger (NOR) – 11 July 2022. First repeat of Adam Ondra's 2013 route (belayed by Bouin).^[6]
• The Dream – Brar crag, Tirana (Albania) – 12 December 2019. First Ascent. Hardest climb in Albania in the crag that was described by Adam Ondra as "the best Tufa climbing I have ever seen".^[1][24]
• Mamichula – Oliana (ESP) – 31 July 2019. First repeat of Adam Ondra's 2017 route.^[1][27]

9a+/9b  (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 70-metre (230 ft) 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".^[28]
• Chilam Balam [fr] – Villanueva del Rosario (ESP) – May 2015. Third ascent. A controversial route that in 2003 was proposed as the world's first-ever 9b+ (5.15c) by Bernabé Fernández after his first ascent, only to be downgraded in 2011 by Adam Ondra to 9b (5.15b) on the first repeat, and further downgraded by subsequent repeats.^[4][29]

Selected 9a+ (5.15a):

• Realization/Biographie – Céüse (FRA) – 13 June 2020. Bouin completed the 19th ascent of the famous 9a+ (5.15a) test piece.^[1][30]
• Papichulo – Oliana (ESP) – April 2019. Repeat ascent of Chris Sharma's 2008 test piece.^[2]
• Pachamama – Oliana (ESP) – March 2019. 8th ascent of Chris Sharma's 2009 test piece.^[2]
• La Côte d’Usure – La Ramirole, Verdon Gorge (FRA) – 1 October 2018. First Ascent. Bolted by Bouin when he was 16 years old, he regards it as one of his "Mega Lines".^[31]
• La Rambla – Siurana (ESP) – 6 December 2017. Bouin completed the 20th ascent of the famous 9a+ (5.15a) test piece.^[1][32]
• La Modone – Luberon (FRA) – May 2012. First repeat of Gérôme Pouvreau's 2011 route; Bouin's first-ever 9a+ (5.15a) route.^[33][34]

• List of grade milestones in rock climbing
• History of rock climbing

• Seb Bouin at 8a.nu
• Seb Bouin at thecrag
• Seb Bouin at Instagram
• Interview: Seb Bouin, his secret?, Outside (March 2022)
• VIDEO: Séb Bouin – First ascent of "La Côte d’Usure" (9a+/5.15a), Rock & Ice (1 October 2018)