Climb	Type	Suggested Grade	Date of Ascent	Notes
DNA	Sport Route	9c	29th Apr 2022	FA. Second confirmed 9c route. Video and Instagram Post
Bibliographie	Sport Route	9b+	4th June 2023	4th ascent. Instagram Post
Supreme Jumbo Love	Sport Route	9b+	1st Nov 2022	FA of the extension to Jumbo Love. Video
Change	Sport Route	9b+	5th Aug 2022	8a Article
Beyond Integral	Sport Route	9b+	22nd Oct 2020	FA. Video
La Rage d’Adam	Sport Route	9b+	4th Sep 2019	One of Seb’s hardest routes at the time. Video
Move	Sport Route	9b+	17th Jun 2019	Video
Jumbo Love	Sport Route	9b	19th Oct 2022	Instagram Post
Iron Curtain	Sport Route	9b	July 2022	Instagram Post
The Dream	Sport Route	9b	16th Dec 2019	FA. Instagram Post
Mamichula	Sport Route	9b	15th Apr 2019	Instagram Post
Les Yeux Plus Gros Que L’antre	Sport Route	9b	11th May 2018	Also known as the French Chilam Balam.
Myr	Sport Route	9a+	7th Mar 2022	FA. Instagram Post
La Moustache Qui Fâche	Sport Route	9a+	28th Aug 2020	Video and Instagram Post
Biographie	Sport Route	9a+	13th Jun 2020	Video
Catxasa	Sport Route	9a+	9th Feb 2020	He sent this two days after Joe Mama. Instagram Post
Joe Mama	Sport Route	9a+	7th Feb 2020	Gripped Magazine
Patanics	Sport Route	9a+	29th Oct 2019	Video
Papichulo	Sport Route	9a+	18th Apr 2019	Instagram Post
Pachamama	Sport Route	9a+	6th Mar 2019	Instagram Post
La Côte D’usure	Sport Route	9a+	15th Sep 2018	He made the first ascent after bolting it 9 years prior. Rock & Ice Magazine
La Rambla	Sport Route	9a+	6th Dec 2017	Instagram Post
L’homme Demain	Sport Route	9a+	27th Aug 2016	FA. UKC Article
Mangarbo	Sport Route	9a+	24th May 2016	FA. Gripped Magazine
Chilam Balam	Sport Route	9a+	21st May 2015	Video
Le Playboy Rôde Sans Complexe	Sport Route	9a+	25th Apr 2015	FA
Tierra Negra	Sport Route	9a+	18th May 2013	UKC Article
La Madone	Sport Route	9a+	20th May 2012	Gripped Magazine
Gold Thaurac	Sport Route	9a	24th Mar 2022	Facebook Post
Guère De Bruit	Sport Route	9a	24th Jan 2022	FA.
Comité D’accueil	Sport Route	9a	19th Jan 2022	Instagram Post
Axe D’aile Integral	Sport Route	9a	11th Nov 2021	FA.
De L’autre Côté Du Ciel	Sport Route	9a	23rd Nov 2020	Video
Akira	Sport Route	9a	21st Nov 2020	The first world 9b route from proposed by Fred Rouhling.
Hugh	Sport Route	9a	30th Oct 2020	This was the first French 9a. FA’d by Fred Rouhling in 1995
Le Goût Du Sang	Sport Route	9a	1st Sep 2020	FA.
Bulle D’air	Sport Route	9a	8th Mar 2020	FA.
No Pain No Gain	Sport Route	9a	5th Nov 2019
De Battre Mon Coeur S’est Arrêté	Sport Route	9a	3rd Nov 2019
Detectives	Sport Route	9a	18th Oct 2019	FA.
Beyond	Sport Route	9a	26th May 2019	FA.
Super Finale	Sport Route	9a	25th Apr 2019	Facebook Post
La Terza Eta	Sport Route	9a	28th Oct 2017	UKC Article
Definición De Resistencia Demócrata	Sport Route	9a	16th Mar 2017	Desnivel Article
Ciudad De Dios	Sport Route	9a	2nd Mar 2017	8a Article
Novena Enmienda	Sport Route	9a	21st Jan 2017	Instagram Post
Thor’s Hammer	Sport Route	9a	22nd Jul 2016	He proposed a downgrade to 9a. UKC Article
La Mandanga Total	Sport Route	9a	22nd Apr 2016
A Muerte Bilou	Sport Route	9a	29th Aug 2015	FA
Moutchiki Extension	Sport Route	9a	18th Sep 2014	FA
Pajarito	Sport Route	9a	30th Jul 2014	FA
Staphylocoque	Sport Route	9a	11th Jul 2014	Bouin downgraded this from a 9a+. Rock & Ice Magazine
Mollans Culé	Sport Route	9a	13th Feb 2014	FA.
Punt’X	Sport Route	9a	18th Oct 2013
Little Badder	Sport Route	9a	20th Aug 2013	FA.
Trip Tik Tonik	Sport Route	9a	10th Oct 2012
La Prophétie Des Grenouilles	Sport Route	9a	19th Jul 2012
Casi Mono	Sport Route	9a	5th May 2012	FA.
Le Complexe Du Playboy	Sport Route	9a	18th Dec 2011
Promotion Canne À Pêche	Sport Route	9a	30th Aug 2011	FA.
PPP	Sport Route	9a	5th May 2011

Learning the Ropes

Seb Bouin was born and raised in the southeastern French town of Draguignan and comes from a family of climbers. He completed his first route when he was around 11 years old, belayed by his mother Claire. Unlike most of the world’s top climbers, this veritable dragon slayer avoided the indoor competition circuit, instead focusing on the roots of climbing and keeping it as close to nature as possible.

What makes Sebastien such an intriguing character is that he is also a qualified PE teacher; as he stated in an interview with UKC, his qualification makes him enjoy climbing more knowing he has some kind of safety net in case things don’t go as planned.

“ Education is a chance to have something other than climbing because you know that hard climbing has a finite physical limit. There is less pressure knowing I have a career to fall back on in time which means I can enjoy my climbing 100%.”

Seb, also known as The Undercover Crusher, began claiming titles when he was around 20 years old (2012-2013), having completed his first 9a/a+ routes (Tierra Negra 9a/9a+, La Modone 9a+). Around this time, Bouin began to emerge as one of our generation’s most notable climbers.

In his pursuit of the ultimate challenge, Seb sent his hardest grade, DNA 9c, on April 29th, 2022, after spending more than a half-year projecting on it. This feat of strength propelled him to the top of the sport climbing world, joining Adam Ondra as the only two people in the world to redpoint such a difficult route.

Seb’s summer of 2022 was quite productive, with him sending more than a couple of 9b routes. Together with DNA, he successfully climbed Nordic Marathon (9b+), the longest single pitch ever recorded, a stunning 131-meter cave route connecting some of the world’s most difficult climbs.

I guess that being one of Ondra’s favorite climbing partners must have some great benefits in terms of motivation and personal development.

Notable Ascents

With over 60 climbs ranging from 9a to 9c, Seb most definitely has quite a few notable climbs, crushing each and every hard route in his home country and then some.

DNA

After making the first ascent of La Rage d’Adam (9b/+) in 2019, Seb bolted his next big challenge, DNA, in the cage of La Ramirole, France. He needed a new motivating route, and the proximity to his home would be a great plus.

As Bouin describes the route, it consists of several boulder problems ranging from 8a+ to 9a+ with specific limestone moves including tufas and kneebars. 

“DNA starts with an 8c (5.14b) intro of five quickdraws to reach a rest. Then there are some moderate moves to reach the first boulder crux at 8A+ (V12). It is a rather special bouldering move. You have to throw a right foot like in the modern bouldering competitions. Then you must propel yourself [onto] a very, very far tufa. The physicality of the move makes it low percentage. It’s really random.”

Seb spent more than 150 days slaying this 50-meter dragon, with the first attempts feeling nearly impossible. Finding the right beta was difficult, he told Climbing Magazine in an interview shortly after redpointing.

In preparation for solving the series of boulder problems, Seb started by doing two types of training: lots of easy routes and boulders followed by harder climbs, as well as fingerboard and suspension training.

It seems that his former PE training came in handy, and by doing so after long and frustrating fails even above the crux, in April 2022, Sebastien made history by joining his climbing partner Adam Ondra in the 9c Hall of Fame.

Nordic Marathon

In his search for the ultimate challenge, shortly after finishing DNA, Seb turned to another titan’s crag in Flatanger, Norway, to establish a new premiere. On the 25th of July 2022, the Undercover Crusher FA’d Nordic Marathon, a behemoth of a route measuring 131 meters in one single pitch.

The climb consists of the linking of a long route called Nordic Plumber (8c+) with Magnus Midtbø’s route Thor’s Hammer (9a+). Considered the easiest link possible at Flatanger, Nordic Marathon was first envisioned by Adam Ondra and made possible by Seb Bouin.

When confronted with the actual climb, Seb told Fanatic Climbing in an interview about what this kind of challenge looks and feels like.

“The sheer size of the route makes it hard mentally. You can have one go every two days. It’s so much climbing, in one intense burst that you simply can’t give two goes in a day.

“The rope drag was also insane. Even if I had already switched ropes once during the route – I had to untie my knot and free-solo the last 5-10 meters. “Nordic Marathon” is my pure climbing style. Endurance, big moves,…”

Bibliographie

After conquering the world’s most impressive lines, Seb decided to visit Alex Megos’ Bibliographie (9b+) and give it another go. Even though it’s a difficult route that “does not particularly suit his strengths,” Seb achieved his big goal for 2023 on June 3rd despite having to wait for perfect weather conditions.

Even if this isn’t his natural climbing style, with small crimps, Seb managed to complete the route in 11 attempts, despite falling a couple of times right after the main crux. This wasn’t his first shot at Bibliographie; originally, Bouin tried redpointing it in the summer of 2021.

When asked in an interview if he would start crushing crimpy bouldery lines from now on, the fourth climber of Bibliographie said that it was a great challenge but he will return to something more appropriate to his style.

With this climb completed, we can only wait to see when the battle for the world’s 10a begins.