Climbing History

Fred Rouhling was a controversial figure during the late 90s and early 2000s. With a string of hard ascents in a relatively off the beaten track location there were many people who doubted his ascents, not helped by the fact that many of his routes were unashamedly chipped (for example De L'Autre Côté du Ciel).

His route Akira was particularly contentious. When he made the first ascent he gave it the then unheard of grade of 9b at a time when 9a+ didn't exist.

A 2005 profile by Pete Ward [2] helped to dispel some of the more outlandish myths, and many of his routes have now received repeats which confirm their quality and difficulty. However, his route Akira did receive a notable downgrade to 9a after being repeated by Sébastien Bouin and Lucien Martinez.

References

[1] Interview with Relais Vertical Part 1 https://youtu.be/xqk0nQCNtpY

[2] Interview with Relais Vertical Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enFSnkF25eI

[3] The Other Side of Fred Rouhling by Pete Ward, 15th June 2012 https://www.climbing.com/people/fred-rouhling/

[4] Interview with camptocamp.org, October 2008 https://www.camptocamp.org/articles/143240/fr/interview-de-fred-rouhling-21-10-2008-

[5] https://open.spotify.com/episode/4T8j5taHKyu11HnWMKvxWT?

[6] Interview for On The Edge Issue 102, page 40