Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4127 Climbers
7993 Climbs
21225 Ascents
Featured
Biographie | 9a+ Sport route at Céüse
Bolted and named by Céüse pioneer and Alpine legend Jean-Christophe Lafaille in 1988, Arnaud Petit climbed the pitch to a half-height anchor in 1996 at a grade of 8c+. Chris Sharma climbed the the full pitch in 2001, after working it on-and-off for a few years and taking over 30 falls from the crux. In keeping with his style at the time, he did not grade the route [4], but it became widely credited as the first 9a+ in the world for a period; Open Air from 1996 was later upgraded to 9a+ to take that title.
The full line was initially named Realization by Sharma, to differentiate it from the half-height version. However, in line with the French custom of routes being named by their equipper, it is now known as Biographie, and the half-height version's lower-offs have been removed.
The route became famous as one of Chris Sharma's first big new routes. His extended efforts were documented in the film Dosage Volume 1.
At one point Chris wanted to call it Get a Life, thankfully he changed his mind! [3]
The route is entirely natural and considered to be one of the best hard sport climbs in the world. [5]
References
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suVH2BuFEh0
[3] https://open.spotify.com/episode/14eXBiZUrV7LetCF132iNS?
[4] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/chris-sharma-climbs-biographie-at-ceuse.html
[5] https://www.camptocamp.org/routes/943937/fr/ceuse-biographie-biographie
Bolted and named by Céüse pioneer and Alpine legend Jean-Christophe Lafaille in 1988, Arnaud Petit climbed the pitch to a half-height anchor in 1996 at a grade of 8c+. Chris Sharma climbed the the full pitch in 2001, after working it on-and-off for a few years and taking over 30 falls from the crux. In keeping with his style at the time, he did not grade the route [4], but it became widely credited as the first 9a+ in the world for a period; Open Air from 1996 was later upgraded to 9a+ to take that title.
The full line was initially named Realization by Sharma, to differentiate it from the half-height version. However, in line with the French custom of routes being named by their equipper, it is now known as Biographie, and the half-height version's lower-offs have been removed.
The route became famous as one of Chris Sharma's first big new routes. His extended efforts were documented in the film Dosage Volume 1.
At one point Chris wanted to call it Get a Life, thankfully he changed his mind! [3]
The route is entirely natural and considered to be one of the best hard sport climbs in the world. [5]
References
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suVH2BuFEh0
[3] https://open.spotify.com/episode/14eXBiZUrV7LetCF132iNS?
[4] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/chris-sharma-climbs-biographie-at-ceuse.html
[5] https://www.camptocamp.org/routes/943937/fr/ceuse-biographie-biographie
Pics + Vids
Featuring 10301 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Rob Matheson on Holocaust E4
Simon Lorenzi on La Révolutionnaire 8C+
Richard Simpson on Perky Pinky 8B
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Podcasts
Featuring 4163 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Sean Bailey on CIA - Climbing Intelligence Agency (2022)
- Luke Mehall on Dirtbag State of Mind (2024)
- Steph Davis on Jam Crack Podcast (2025)
- Tyler Thompson on The Struggle Climbing Show (2026)
Library
Featuring 15202 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Off the Wagon Film
- Alpine Journal 1911 Vol 25 436-445 In Memoriam (1911) Journal
- Gogarth (1981) Guidebook