Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4735 Climbers
8418 Climbs
22573 Ascents
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Le Bombé Bleu | 9b Sport route at Buoux
Le Bombé Bleu was a legendary project bolted by Marc Le Menestrel in 1991. In an era when chipping was prolific Marc wanted to keep the route unchipped, as a challenge for future generatons, and in return opened the project up for all to try. In 2026 Erwan Legrand, son of François Legrand, made the first ascent in a relatively quick 15 sessions.
The route consists of an easy intro section to a big ledge where you can rest completely. There is then a very hard boulder problem, originally tried as a morpho span from the right, but finally solved with a dyno from the left. This leads into a hard upper section of around 8c+/9a depending on whether you climb it with or without shoes!
Many big names dabbled on the route over the years, including Ben Moon, Fred Rouhling, Stefan Glowacz, Iker Pou, Chris Sharma, Nico Januel, Charles Albert, Nico Pelorson and Lucien Martinez. All made relatively modest progress, the hard dyno at the start of the route proving the major obstacle.
References
[2] Interview with Marc Le Menestrel (2026) https://www.grimper.com/news-la-contre-interview-marc-menestrel-equipeur-bombe-bleu
Le Bombé Bleu was a legendary project bolted by Marc Le Menestrel in 1991. In an era when chipping was prolific Marc wanted to keep the route unchipped, as a challenge for future generatons, and in return opened the project up for all to try. In 2026 Erwan Legrand, son of François Legrand, made the first ascent in a relatively quick 15 sessions.
The route consists of an easy intro section to a big ledge where you can rest completely. There is then a very hard boulder problem, originally tried as a morpho span from the right, but finally solved with a dyno from the left. This leads into a hard upper section of around 8c+/9a depending on whether you climb it with or without shoes!
Many big names dabbled on the route over the years, including Ben Moon, Fred Rouhling, Stefan Glowacz, Iker Pou, Chris Sharma, Nico Januel, Charles Albert, Nico Pelorson and Lucien Martinez. All made relatively modest progress, the hard dyno at the start of the route proving the major obstacle.
References
[2] Interview with Marc Le Menestrel (2026) https://www.grimper.com/news-la-contre-interview-marc-menestrel-equipeur-bombe-bleu
On this day 3rd November
- 2000 Pietro Dal Prà made the first ascent of Hotel Supramonte 8b at Gola Di Gorroppu Area
- 2001 Christoph Schweiger was born 25 years
- 2005 Adam Shahar was born
- 2009 James Kassay climbed Sleepy Rave 8B+ at Hollow Mountain Area
- 2013 Tyler Landman made the first ascent of Smiling Buttress 8B+ at Curbar Edge
- 2021 Simon Lorenzi climbed Jungle Speed 9a at Siurana
- 2025 Spencer Schmick made the first ascent of Delusion of Grandeur 8B
Pics + Vids
Featuring 11045 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
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You may also be interested in the Mountain Heritage Trust, a charity dedicated to preserving the rich history of climbing and mountaineering. Their collection includes many unique and valuable items, from rare guidebooks through to the boots worn by Doug Scott on the 1977 Ogre expedition.
Explore
Fancy a look around? You can browse by climber or by climbs, or you can check out some lists. For example
- All sport ascents of 9b or above
- British women who have climbed 7C or above
- British men who have climbed 8c or above
Podcasts
Featuring 4392 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Dayan Akhtar on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2025)
- Zofia Reych on Jam Crack Podcast (2022)
- Neely Quinn on The Struggle Climbing Show (2025)
- Hayden Jamieson on The Hangout Climbing (2026)
Library
Featuring 16238 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Masters of Stone VI (2009) Film
- Cerro Chueco, First Ascent (2018) Journal
- Snowdon South (1966) Guidebook