Chris Sharma at Céüse

This summer Chris Sharma returned to “really the most perfect cliff I have ever been to”, namely Céüse in France. In 2001 the American made an important step in sport climbing history by freeing Biographie, the 9a+ which perhaps more than all others is considered the reference point for the hardest extremes. Enraptured by this marvellous overhang, in 2007 he added Three degrees of Separation, a 9a with an enormous dyno which up until now only he has managed to send.

The magic of Ceuse continues, anyone who has walked beneath its immense overhangs surely understands why, and this summer Sharma forged a new project in the nearby Face de Rat sector which looks promising to say the least. Following his instinct and “that amazing path of pockets” Sharma opened the route ground-up, with a gymnastic, boulder crux start that is difficult even to imagine!

Topo: climbing at Ceuse