关于Fred Rouhling文章两则

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1、http://www.climbing.com/current/fredrouhling/
L’autre Côté de Fred Rouhling
Story by Pete Ward
Photos by Tim Kemple

Fred Rouhling moving through the chipped section of his route L’autre Côté du Ciel, Eaux Claires, France.
Cheat! Liar! Over the years, many climbers have become objects of derision because the claims they made did not pass muster. Once the negative publicity gets rolling, it seems there’s no stopping it. In the sport-climbing world, perhaps no man has received as much bad press as Fred Rouhling, a Frenchman who made the news in the mid-1990s. In 1995, his infamy hit international proportions when he claimed the 9b grade for one of his routes, Rouhling’s other hard routes were almost as controversial. More recently, he’s been climbing hard again, and last winter, we sent a pair of American climber/journalists to visit him and see if they could get the real scoop.


Fred Rouhling moving through the chipped section of his route L’autre Côté du Ciel, Eaux Claires, France.


I think I have finally caught Fred Rouhling in a lie. There appears to be a chipped hold on Akira, a route Fred says he did not manufacture. I call Rouhling over and point out the hold. I ask him to climb this section of the route.
Fred takes a moment to look over the section. He examines the tick marks left by whoever has been trying the route, pantomimes a few sequences, and sits down to put on his shoes. Tim loads some film while I move a few pads around, wondering how I should feel if I have indeed caught Fred in a lie. I decide that’s his problem, and wait to see if he needs the suspect hold — or if he can climb the thing at all. Rouhling stands up, chalks his hands, and begins climbing.

L’autre Côté du Ciel (The Other Side of the Sky).
Almost ten years ago, the French sport climber Fred Rouhling claimed to have climbed this unusual route, near the tiny town of Vilhonneur in western France, and gave it an unprecedented rating: 9b, or 5.15b. At that time, even the 9a grade was barely accepted, and Rouhling’s claim was met with scorn. The line — out a huge roof within bouldering distance of the ground, then up a short wall — might be described as a long, hard boulder problem linked to a very short 5.13b.
Most Americans immediately dismissed the route. In 1995, top-flight Americans were just inching into 5.14b, and while we knew that European climbers were stronger, we just couldn’t stomach the thought of an unknown Euro besting us by a whole number grade. Jibé Tribout and Ben Moon, the world’s best sport climbers, were not too enamored with the idea either — and said so. Rouhling found himself at odds with just about everyone.
Some skeptics said that Akira could not be the hardest route in the world; others said that didn’t matter because Rouhling hadn’t climbed it anyway. Akira was buried in the small print and Rouhling became climbing’s poster boy for ego-driven, sponsor-pleasing, dubious achievement.


L’autre Côté du Ciel (The Other Side of the Sky).


Some climbers, once called out for cheating, quickly fade from the scene. But eight years later, Rouhling is still climbing hard. In 2002 he climbed Fred Nicole’s super-slab Bain de Sang, confirmed at 9a (5.14d). For most of 2003 he was the world’s third-ranked boulderer on the website www.8a.nu, having climbed a V14 and eight V13s last spring. Most recently, he made the second ascent of a Swiss V14 called Eau Profond — in fifteen minutes. These ascents of well-known challenges were witnessed and seen as credible enough to be reported in the international media.

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2、http://www.8a.nu/eng/articles/akira.shtml
Akira, 9b - The World's Hardest Route!?

When Chris Sharma after years (well…) of work, sent "Realization", 9a+, this past summer, American media instantly said what we expected them to say; "Sharma climbs the hardest route in the world!", but even though it’s quite possible that this is the truth, they seem to have forgotten about "Akira". Many of you, especially if you’re living in the US, might never have heard of this route, or of the man who opened it back in 1995.



Akira, 9b: Source - www.chez.com/charentescalade/


Akira, 9b, opened by Fred Rouhling, a 31 year-old sports teacher, can be found in a cave at Le Périgord, France. The route really consists of two parts, the first being a horizontal roof and the second slightly less steep. You don’t tie (that’d be clip in) in until you’ve past the first part of the route. It has been described as "an 8b+ (.14a) to an OK rest, followed by two 8A/B (V12/13) boulder problems, without rest between them, directly followed by an 8a (.13b)", or as "an 8c+ followed by an 8c". Fred worked it for three months before he could finally link it.

Since it’s never been repeated, some of you might immediately dismiss it as over graded. In fact that’s exactly what happened as soon as Fred declared the 9b grade. People left and right said he was full of shit and semi-famous climbers from all over France tried the route, looking for a spectacular second ascent, trying to make a name for themselves. After the initial debate, things went quiet. Nobody was able to send, nobody was even remotely close…

Before you dismiss the 9b/5.15b grade, there are a few things to take into consideration:

There are at least two moves on this route that nobody has been able to repeat.
Fred has opened two 9a’s as well. The first one, "Hugh", opened in 1993, got it’s first repeat as late as in November this year (2001). Alessandro "Jolly" Lamberti confirmed the grade. The other one, "L'autre côté du ciel", opened in 1997, has yet to see a second ascent. Yuji Hirayama and Dai Koyamada tried it last year and they both confirmed the grade.
Akira is completely natural, a thing that’s hardly true for his other creations. This means he hasn’t created a route suiting his own specific strengths.

So, how come Rouhling hasn’t received the attention he deserves? Well, there are, of course, many reasons, the main ones being:

He’s French, but not from Paris or Provence, the two "climbing capitals" in France, playing a similar role to Sheffield in the UK. If you’re not part of the climbing in-crowd, you’re nothing and therefor not worth taking seriously. In fact Fred is something of a French equivalent to John Dunne, but then again, I guess he’s not that famous across the pond either…
He’s a discrete guy, someone doing his own thing and not interested in being famous. When he gave Akira "9b", he didn’t do that in order to become a star, but because he genuinely believed the route to warrant that grade. In retrospect, it seems he was right…



Fred Rouhling probably cruising Ebola 8A: Source


Next time, before you blow things out of proportion: check the facts. Sure, sending "Realization" was a great, even fantastic, achievement, but looks and charisma don’t change facts, remember that. Just cause Chris Sharma is a great climber, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other climbers, perhaps even greater than him…