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French 10-Year-Old Theo Blass Becomes Youngest To Climb 5.14b
French grom Theo Blass made climbing history just a few days ago when he completed a redpoint ascent of the 5.14b (8c) route Souvenirs du Pic in Saint Guilhem le Desertin, France. To put some context to the numbers for anyone unfamiliar with climbing, 5.14b is hard AF, and Blass is 10 years old, making him the youngest ever climber to send a route that hard. The previous record was held by Ashima Shiraishi, Brooke Raboutou, Adam Ondra and Illya Bakhmet-Smolensky, who made 8c ascents at age 11.
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Blass has only been climbing for three years, according to an interview with Rock and Ice, but has progressed astronomically in recent months. Souvenirs du Pic is a steeply overhung limestone route that follows a series of tufas (large pinch holds) and is considered so difficult due to the large reaches between holds – especially difficult for a 10-year-old. We’re stoked to see what else young Theo has in store.
