Seb Bouin makes first ascent of 'Wolf Kingdom' (9b+) at Pic Saint Loup

On Thursday 14 November 2024, French climber Seb Bouin completed the first ascent of Wolf Kingdom (9b+) at Pic Saint-Loup in France. The route is a combination of two existing lines Beyond and Les rois du lithium, and the connection bolted by Bouin one and a half years ago. The 31-year-old had been working it on and off since, with a longer break during the summer.

After his redpoint, Bouin stated "What a wave of emotions to complete this project. It’s one of the routes that has inspired me the most in my climbing career. I am proud and happy to add such a route to the global climbing scene and to place Pic Saint-Loup on the worldwide map of climbing.

That day, the wind was howling through the cliff at Pic Saint-Loup. It was cold, but I knew that very low temperatures were necessary to send the final section. When opening a route, you never really know what you're going to encounter. It takes a lot of luck for difficulty to align with beauty and fun in a single route. It's quite rare to have the chance to bring a route like this to life.

Wolf Kingdom is undoubtedly one of my best additions, one of the most fun, and one of the prettiest. I think it will be one of the most tried 9b+ routes in the future, considering its style of climbing. I’m almost a little sad that I no longer have this beautiful project right next to home. The process was fun and positive. It was a real pleasure.

I believe this route marks a major turning point in my climbing journey. Successfully completing such a big project while staying happy and positive the entire time — it’s an incredible feeling. I think this route is my second hardest achievement. It feels a bit easier than DNA, so the 9b+ grade seems appropriate.

Wolf Kingdom can be broken down into a 9a approach section which is the hard part of "Beyond", leading into a 9a+ which is the hard part of "Les rois du lithium" (9b). I’ve done the first 9a section more than 50 times... Thank you all for sharing this process and the energy at Pic Saint-Loup!"