Adam Ondra repeats Bon Voyage, confirms E12 trad

Adam Ondra has made the first repeat of Bon Voyage, James Pearson's masterpiece at Annot in France. The route follows the start of his Le Voyage, then breaks off left following a diagonal layer of bullet hard sandstone dotted with tiny pockets. After his first ascent in February 2023 Pearson initially did not put forward a grade, opting instead to specify that it "felt like quite a step up from other hard trad routes" he had climbed in the past. After watching the likes of Jacopo Larcher, Sébastien Berthe and Ignacio Mulero attempt the line, in December 2023 Pearson finally came to the conclusion that the route warranted E12, making it the first of this grade. Put in other words: the equivalent of 9a climbing not on bolts but on gear, at times runout, slotting into the "hard but safe" category of trad climbs.

Ondra travelled to France specifically with this route in mind and he was joined by Pearson himself on his initial attempts. Pearson explained "We spent the morning trying the crux section… Adam climbed with fluidity and grace, making light work of most moves, but what impressed me most is that he didn’t find all of them easy (some didn’t suit him) yet he was quickly able to find alternative methods, either through creativity, or just digging really deep! In the afternoon he switched to ‘lead working sessions’ (basically like red-pointing, except there are no bolts here to help you), and was completely at ease running it out, jumping off, taking big test falls, pulling back up, and trying again."

Pearson had to leave and in the end Ondra required three days of effort for the second ascent. After the climb he stated "I am very happy and proud to make the 2nd ascent of this James Pearson's masterpiece. Not that I am an expert in trad climbing, but it could be (physically) the hardest route on trad gear in the world. It took me 3 days of work, and I had to really put up a fight. The route felt challenging in many different ways, and apart from being very runout (but probably safe), it has some very hard (and odd!) moves where you really need to be a very complex climber."

The 31-year-old added: "It is hands down one of the best routes I have ever climbed, and it is a true miracle that there are just enough holds to make it climbable and enough gear to make it runout, but safe. Gradewise, I think if it was bolted, it would be very solid and specific 9a. Placing the gear makes it a little more physically difficult and adds some extra spice"

There are many take away points from Ondra's repeat but two things stand out more than most. Firstly, Ondra has previously onsighted 9a (and flashed 9a+, redpointed 9c, climbed extremely scary runout 9a on Czech sandstone, etc) and the fact that he needed three days for the repeat really does underscore the route's difficulty and complexity. Secondly, Ondra stated in no uncertain terms that Bon Voyage is without a shadow of doubt one of the best routes he has ever climbed; coming from the best climber of his generation, who has climbed more hard routes that anyone else in the world, this is a huge statement. Pearson can justifiably be both relieved and proud.

Ondra's ascent was filmed and no doubt the footage will provide exceptional insight into this beautiful journey.

Info: www.adamondra.com, IG Adam Ondra, La Sportiva, Mammut