She is not the “best female climber in the world”, but French climber Soline Kentzel, who has only been climbing for 6 years, succeeded this spring in free climbing the Golden Gate route (1000 m, 5.13a/b), on El Capitan in California. She thus becomes, at 21, the second youngest woman to free climb a major route on El Capitan, 22 years after Beth Rodden. Here is her passionate story of her 9 days ascent, shared with Belgian climber Seb Berthe.
Have you already achieved your dream? I did, on Sunday 17 April, when I reached the summit of El Capitan (2,307 m, Yosemite, California) by free climbing each of the 41 pitches of the Golden Gate route (1,000 m, 5.13a/b). The ascent lasted 9 days, shared with the best companion, supporter and coach, the Belgian climber Seb Berthe (remember, the one from Alpine Trilogy Doggystyle with Nico Favresse). So,