Nicolas Favresse and the magic world of night climbing

Climbing at night. Often used as a last resort when the last rays of sun disappear behind the horizon and the climb is far from over, climbing in the dark seems to be all the rage. This growth in popularity is certainly due in part to the advent of new generation headtorches, and nowadays it is by no means uncommon to go bouldering specifically at night in search of the best friction, or to go climbing at the crags after work to make the most of a busy working day. To find out more about we decided to ask someone who knows a thing or two about this magical dark dimension: Nicolas Favresse.

About 15 years ago I discovered night climbing. I had no choice… It was dark and we needed to keep climbing to exit a long route. Right away I found the experience to be completely different than when climbing with daylight. The fact that you don’t see as much takes your mind to a very different place compared to when you can actually see more. Everything you don’t see, everything you feel, hear and smell becomes more than normal. I find this experience particularly fascinating: if you are willing to open yourself to this, all your senses somehow become more alert.

I have climbed some of my hardest routes in low light, without headlamps or with headlamp. This too is interesting in a slightly different way. On long routes, where you know you will spend at least 24 hours climbing, in particular in cold places, I far prefer to climb through the night and therefore save the weight of carrying bivy gear. If I need to sleep I tend to wait for the sun to reach me, and then have a warm and restful sleep instead of shivering the sleepless night away.

I personally always find it hard to get a good night's sleep before setting out early for a long climb. Most of the time it’s only a little before the alarm actually goes off that I finally fall asleep, so even before the climb has started I feel really shitty and tired! So for me the advantage of knowing I can climb through the night is that I can sleep until late in the morning and start with no rush. Until now this has always perfectly fit with my personal approach to climbing.

What I enjoy most is being way high on a long route and climbing into a 3 meter square bubble of light. Maybe you don’t see where your last protection is, maybe you forget about your belayer and all you hear is your heart beat thumping. It’s like climbing into another dimension. It’s a trip! Magical!

by Nicolas Favresse