Ascent Log
| Climber | Suggested Grade | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Albert | V17/9A | Jan 2019 | Charles climbed the route barefoot and suggested a V17 grade. Video |
| Ryohei Kameyama | V16/V17 – 8C+/9A | 9th Mar 2019 | Gripped Magazine |
| Nico Pelorson | V15/8C | 7th Oct 2020 | Nico found it was more of a V15 with shoes and easier beta. Video |
| Illya Bakhmet-Smolenskyi | – | May 2022 | Illya refrained from grading the route as he wants more climbers to try it first and suggest a grade. 8a Article |
Climb Profile
The Route
The forest of Fontainebleau sparks up the imagination of most of the rock climbers out there. Whether it’s beginners, travelers, or experts, from the US, Australia, or Europe, the impact is the same. It’s the birthplace of bouldering (AKA font grading), but it’s also much more than that.
Fontainebleau is where climbing stories are created. All those who have visited can identify themselves with the magical spirits and vibes walking around the forest and its boulders. The boulders are world famous for their difficulty, slippery, and sloppy unique style and scary top-outs.
In climbing, as always, the birthplace of a special place is a solid ground for legends to be born. Meet (briefly) Charles Albert, known as Barefoot Charles. Charles is a local phenomenon. A climber and a minimalist who grew up around these boulders. Living in a cave, climbing barefoot, and climbing… HARD. Albert has quite a record for sending hard boulders, first ascents, in and out of France. All, with no exception, done barefoot. With his special character and simple-life approach, thanks to Reel Rock 16, the world got exposed to another modern climbing legend.
The boulder is located on the back side of the graffiti-covered Rocher Brûlé boulder, it’s steep, reachy, and technical. As always with hard boulders, it doesn’t look climbable. Almost no holds and even those are extremely small.
Wall of Glory
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First Ascent: Charles Albert
Jan 2019
In January 2019, Albert sent the boulder after trying it for around 20 days, with some of the world’s strongest boulderers. He started working at the end of 2018, but conditions and weather were making the process a bit longer than he’d expected, as well as some heartbreaking falls. After the send, Albert proposed 9a (V17) for the boulder, which would’ve made it the second one for the grade in the world, naming it “No Shoes Only”.
Second Ascent: Ryohei Kameyama
9th Mar 2019
Not too long after that, Ryohei Kameyama managed to repeat the problem and suggested a downgrade to V16/V17. The Japanese climber was trying at the time “Burden of Dreams” (The only V17 at the time) and said it felt easier, as it didn’t take him too long. At the same time, he was hesitant about grading it – with not enough experience with hard boulders, he chose to go for the slash grade.
Third Ascent: Nico Pelorson
7th Oct 2020
The downgrading didn’t stop. In October 2020, Nico Pelorson completed the third ascent and gave it a solid V15/8C. With climbing shoes and a better beta, he chose to take it down as a solid hard boulder, but not a second hardest one, “It took me about eight sessions, seven last year and one this year. I did a lot of bicep and tricep training with Lucien Martinez. I saw Ryohei send it with a heel instead of a toe like Charles, so I tested this beta and it was much easier. In fact, I only did one move similar to Charles”.
Other Ascents & Disputed Grade
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In May 2022, 17-year-old Ukrainian climbing prodigy, Illya Bakhmet-Smolenskyi, made the fourth ascent of No Kpote only. He declined to give it a grade, stating,
‘’I Can’t say anything about the grade cause never tried a proper 8C before, so I’ll just wait till the grade settles. I also had my own beta cause couldn’t reach the gaston from the heel, so I went down to it with my hands and stood up from the undercling crimp next to it. Would be sick if someone strong could check it out and give it a grade.”
Climbing grade disputes is not a new thing. Many boulder problems have seen downgrades and upgrades. But the question here is, should a climb be graded higher just because it’s been climbed barefoot? Many of you will argue not.
This boulder is another great example of downgrading and the courage required to be a world-class climbing legend. Having the vision, and the ability to step into the unknown is a skill in itself. While the beta has changed, the problem remained a legendary story and a hard bouldering benchmark in the magical Fontainebleau.
Video Library
