Fred Rouhling

Fred Rouhling born in 1970 in Valençay is a French climber known in particular for his highlevel achievements in sport climbing cliff climbing and bouldering Rouhling grew up in a rural environment near Angoulême near renowned limestone cliffs He began climbing at school and reached grade 8b at 19 when the worlds highest climb was 8c After studying in the south of France he opened major routes such as UFO the first 8c in the Calanques and Les Spécialistes Direct the first 8c in the Verdon Gorges He opened several routes with holds carved at the best grade of his time the first 9a grade in France and the fourth in the world at this level This route equipped and carved by Rouhling marked a turning point in French sport climbing The grade has been confirmed by repeaters such as Dai Koyamada and Sébastien Bouin and Salamandre 2007 9a These natural routes without carved holds confirm his exceptional level and his ability to open at the highest level In addition to his exploits on the cliff Rouhling also excelled in bouldering repeating several extreme routes in Switzerland and elsewhere up to grade 8C V15 such as E la nave va He has long been among the worlds top climbers ranking third in the combined ranking of the 8anu website in 2003 After family difficulties his wifes serious illness he stepped away from highlevel competition to devote himself to his family before occasionally returning to extreme climbing Today Fred Rouhling has turned to sculpture a passion that extends the artistic dimension of his approach to climbing Fred Rouhling remains a major figure in French climbing both admired for his innovations and controversial for his methods but undeniably a pioneer in the history of the discipline