When the sun is already high, Elie leaves his house in Geneva, heads to his factory, a warehouse full of dust and resin where even the cockroaches dream of climbing, puts on some New York music and in an instant has the whole situation of the day under control: if an acquaintance appears, he plays chess; if someone goes to the wall, he joins in...
Then friends, snowboarding or music (jazz, rap, reggae, hip-hop...) come to his mind. But above all he likes to go from bar to bar, from city to city or from continent to continent in search of universal communication.
I've been trying everything onsight for years. But the key to successfully sending a route is to believe in it.
How do you onsight 8b+?I have been climbing for a long time. I started when I was eight, from the age of fifteen I devoted myself to rock and at 17 I did my first eight onsight. I am now 23 and have been climbing for many years.
Do you visualise the routes a lot before trying them?I usually spend a lot of time observing from the ground, but above all I try to remember the movements I can make while climbing.
What is most important before tackling a route?Each route has a tactic, and our goal should be to ascend in the most comfortable and least difficult way possible. To this we must add good physical training and be mentally convinced of what we are going to do.
You talk to me about different concepts: tactical, physical and mental, does each way have different percentages?In practice, each route is a different world. For example, in competition you know that all the routes are endurance routes, there are no steps that are much harder than others, but you don't find any rest either. Physically you know that it is going to be hard, and yet the tactical or technical part, visualizing movements, will be much easier.
Now that you mention the competition, there are fewer and fewer World Cup events, what do you think is happening, do you think that there is no future or is it just a bump?It is not always an upward trend, I think that competitions could be much more popular if a good sponsor is found and if the competition is included.
It pours into a big wall, big drops, and a good performance for television. This way, it would attract the interest of many more people. Although this can have a negative side: by becoming a television show for the masses, the climbers would be harmed for the benefit of the spectator.
Is this a step backwards?Yes, because we are not soft on a sport like football. Climbing, to be more popular, only needs the [original text unclear]
Proof of this is France, where it is a grassroots sport from the age of 10, where all young people have climbed at some point and where many competition circuits are organised to help spread the word.
What does this mean, that competition is necessary for all professional climbers?Yes of course, it's like a dog chasing its tail: a new climber needs a sponsor who, most of the time, only looks at competition results. There are really few people who manage to make a living from climbing.
Elie starts his training with a couple of circuits of 20 or 30 movements to warm up. He then quickly attacks 2 or 3 hard blocks. After a few minutes of rest, he concentrates on a long section of 30 or 40 movements where, although he seems to be strolling, I can't do more than three movements in a row. These are resistance circuits in which two-handed rests are hard to find. He climbs to a fast pace, with lots of "foot-hand", it relaxes the arms little and only falls in the last circuits. In total about 6, if he is really motivated. Two or three hours at most is already too much for a man who is in a pinch.
There are many details in climbing that the community of sport climbers does not agree on regarding onsight, climbing down, "pink point", chalk marks... With the following questions we do not intend to create an immovable "dogma", we simply think that it is more than interesting that the climber who has achieved the highest grade in this style gives us his personal opinion.
A climber wants to onsight a route. He places the first sling on the bolt and climbs down to the ground. He rests there for a few minutes and then climbs up to the chain. Can we consider this an onsight climb?Yes, even if you put more than one tape and then go down. But, if the beginning is not too hard, I prefer not to go down and thus keep my concentration.
What if, after going down to the ground, he picks up the rope, goes home to rest, and then comes back?This is a good way to try onsighting and is valid as long as you do not get any additional information about the route afterwards. However, I think you have to have faith in what you are doing; changing your mind and saying no on a section of the route is not an advantage.
Someone wants to go onsight and asks another climber to mark the edges with chalk.It cannot be denied that this is valid, as there are many routes marked with chalk and black rubber treads. However, I disagree with this practice. I think that the route should be attempted as you find it, except in case of danger. I have never asked anyone to mark the edges for me.
Could we call these assumptions "flash"?No, I don't think so. Flash means you have information about the route or you've seen someone climbing it.
If, on sight, a climber goes to a natural rest but it is a little separated from the rest of the route, can it also be considered on sight?Of course. But if the rest is not included in the grade of the route, the grade of the chain must be changed.
In this case it is better to get information because there are routes that lower a mark if you take a rest that is a little bit off the route. I don't care so much about the grade as about the route, the line or the beauty of the movements. I prefer to do a route using a natural rest that is not included in the grade than to lose the link; the point is to have fun.
What do you think about the "pink dot" [pinkpoint] (having the tapes on) in onsight climbing?Putting slings on a high intensity route means breaking the rhythm of the climb, and I don't like that. Of course it's harder to make a route and have to put slings on, but I prefer to try hard routes with the slings in place. I'm interested in the movements, in linking, not in putting carabiners on. I've done 8b onsight with slings on, but for me, as I said, it's better to have them in advance.
What is the onsight grade for a climber: the one who manages to send it once, or the one who does it regularly?A climber's level is the level he enjoys. I don't give much importance to this.
Yes, there are some who also climb rock, but I think fewer, like J.B. Tribout or Lombard, who did Sortilege (8b) onsight this year.
The thing is that the evolution of climbing is now going in very different directions, there are many people who climb and in very different ways. 20 years ago people trained for the mountains, then there were those who trained to climb walls and now they climb on small stones... I find it difficult to understand that.
There are people motivated only by plastic. I like it, but I'm more attracted to walls, nature, breathing fresh air.
Manufactured holds, are they really an evolution?If the rock is ugly, like in Orgon (France), I don't care. When the rock is good, compact and allows the imagination to work in search of the right way to resolve a move, then I care more about the chipping. If I were equal, I would never carve a hold.
So why don't you equip? Let me ask you another way: are you one of those who think that some people were born to climb and others to equip?No, I prefer that everyone should equip themselves. In my case, the problem of whether to equip or not is a question of motivation. I have been a rock climber for ten years, for my part.
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I have had countless holds, and now I try to do other things that take my mind off climbing for a while. I need to keep it at a distance so I can come back with more desire. I work on my motivation to do hard things, think less but with more intensity and thus manage to go "all out." This system works for me. Since 1993 I have progressed a lot, maybe it's because I never think about the same thing for more than a month at a time.
Are you climbing and working now?Yes, my work is also very close to climbing, but it is part of my own evolution; I make resin holds. The ones I make are my favourites for training, well...for continuity and never harmful even if you are exhausted.
What are they called?Blate, its translation is something like cockroach.
Does your evolution as a climber start from...?At 8 years old I remember I would sneak out every afternoon on my bike and ride 13km uphill to the climbing sector. By the time I was 13 I was fed up with cycling that hour uphill and decided to hitchhike. When I left school I would get day jobs and then spend two weeks climbing. At 14 I tried my hand at competition but did very poorly for the first two or three years.
The first World Cup I went to, in the open, the pressure got to me. In the second one I passed the open and everything went better.
Where do you find good feelings?I like rock, it's something innate that comes from deep inside, like a greater force. In competition, this feeling becomes an obligation.
Can you give me an example?In competition I have never found a move that I didn't think I was going to do and managed to do it, but on rock I have.
When will 8c be onsighted?I already dream about it, but establishing the level requires more time.
What is your style?Onsight. I find fast routes easier, the very hard and intense sections suit me better than a boulder step.
Do you do a lot of bouldering? In training (indoor)Yes. I try to spend at least one month a year on rock, I like to practice it for a while, first 2 weeks and then have the right progression.
Are you planning for the year?No, but I do plan the periods when I am not going to climb. Most of the time I am preparing for competitions. If I am not motivated, I do not climb.
And then?Climbing is a hobby that I do very intensively, but it is not the most important thing for me. I am interested in developing and feeling the improvement in all aspects. I also believe that we should all think about the problems of the world. In the future I would like to work for a humanitarian organisation.
Aren't you thinking about 9a?Of course, like you! In Switzerland there is a wall that I like, 30m very steep, Le temps dificile (in Soyhère). I don't think too much about the grade, but I do think about having the feeling of being 100% effective.