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�Josune Bereciartu redpoints the 9 a (5.14D)!

�Bain de sang� was redpointed by Josune Bereciartu, in 2002. This high-spirited basque made history in the world of climbing by becoming the first female to ascend a grade 5.14d (9a).

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�two years, two years training; no one else but me and Ricardo knows how much I have trained, and what it has meant in terms of effort, self-sacrifice, and the total concentration on my main objective.�

The Basque climber Josune Bereciartu was already among the best (men included) climbers in the world, but she still continued to persue her highest goal, an even harder one: she wanted to break a myth and show how a woman is capable of redpointing a 5.14d (9). As she told us some minutes ago, the impulse needed came through the support of Kirolgi, a Basque sponser program for sportsmen and women. She was awarded a grant which, at last, enabled her to take a year off work (in spite of her extreme level she does not �live off� climbing) and go to Switzerland. Always with Rikerdo Otegi at her side, they rented an apartment and set their eyes on two routes graded with the legendary 5.14d. One of these was �Elfe� and the other was the one they finally managed to conquer.

At that time Josune had neither studied nor previously tried climbing Bain de Sang. Her greatest stength was the uncountable hours of training and gym work-outs, which had sacrificed just about everything for 2 years, even climbing on natural rock, so that she could focus on the most intense training programme imaginable by any climber.

When they arrived at the foot of the wall, they allowed themselves one month to scrutinize the movements of the route and to hold onto the belief that maybe, it really would be possible to climb. They set to work on the exasperating Bain de Sang, which to most of us looked like a totally smooth, unclimbable slab. That week, however had a promising start for Josune in that she was both physically and mentally psyched up, which allowed her to complete a 7c boulder (Fontainebleau grade). On the Tuesday, she completed a fourth repetition of a cave traverse graded as an 8b boulder, which was a nameless route on the Falaise de Saint George. This was the starting signal. The next day she took on the Bain de Sang. And she did it! She was already the first to complete a 5.14c. (8c+) and now she�s the first to climb a 5.14d (9a), the most difficult achieved so far. If we take a look at the world of female climbers, objectively, she has no rival.

Now, she says, the years of effort she has put into all this is starting to sink in and pay off and she is beginning to think about giving herself a rest and just enjoying climbing for a while.

AN E-MAIL BY THE AUTHOR

the following comments reflect Josunne�s first impressions about �Bain de Sang�. They are spontaneous messages, written at the time, which take us a step nearer to this spectacular achievement.

�We left home about a month ago, with the intention of beginning to TRY OUT a 15.14d (9a), since KIROLGI had given me a grant for this project with a 2 year time limit. Well, anyway things couldn�t have started off better, because, (as you know), almost at once I climbed the �Specialistes Direct�. (But) Suddenly, the weather got really bad in France and we had to emigrate to Switzerland.�

�There, the weather was ok, so I immediately tried out BAIN DE SANG, on three alternate days. And on the third day I fell at the very top, on the hardest move on the route. Was I surprised! And I had come with the idea to just rehearse the moves so that I could plan my training programme for the following year. That was a really nice day, because their were five people in the area who had climbed a 15.14d and three of them had repeated BAIN DE SANG and they were there watching me. Well, I don�t think they were disappointed and they congratulated my attempt.

Then the weather got worse. It rained hard and we were unable to climb for several days in St Loup. So we decided to go backhome to sort out some stuff at work, and then go back again four days later. We decided to set a time limit for the 27th November (when I would have to travel to California for a climbing meeting).On Monday we were in Switzerland for our second week, and the bad weather didn�t relent. I wasn�t able to get another go at the route until Thursday. And to my great surprise on each of the three attempts I fell at the crux, but on the second attempt I came pretty near to seeing the light and was really close to completing it. Anyway; I then knew that it was possible, and that sooner or later I would redpoint it. Then the weather got worse again until the following Monday.

I was really worked up (I�m not joking, I couldn�t get anything right I was so nervous) I fell in places I would normally never have fallen, so I decided to give up for the day. The next morning the day was perfect, fresh and dry. My nerves had calmed down. I started to climb. I didn�t make a single mistake. And suddenly I had reached the chain. I couldn�t believe it, but it really was true.

Today we have taken the day off. We�ll go back home next Tuesday, because we�ve got a press conference in San Sebastian on Wednesday. On Saturday I�ll come back to Switzerland, which, by the way� is wonderful.

Ah, I almost forgot: yesterday I did an 5.13d (8b) boulder traverse on St George, which was the fourth ascent and also a 5.13a/b (7c+/8a) boulder. So I can�t complain.

Josune Bereciartu
Laussane (Suiza)