For once, Charles Albert does not announce a barefoot ascent from his bouldering home Fontainebleau, but from Spain. He succeeds in climbing an 8b classic near Madrid: El monstruo de las regletas (8b).
You have read correctly. Barefoot. Charles Albert, often called Mowgli, is known for his barefoot walks. In December 2016 he committed La Révolutionnaire (8c) without climbing shoes, in summer 2017 Monkey Wedding (8c) in South Africa (Here the report) and at the end of last year he took the Extension of La Révolutionnairemaking Boulder 8c +.
If one looks at the sheer difficulty, then his commission of El monstruo de las regletas no big surprise with 8b. But a boulder with this level of difficulty and which is called “The Monster of the Last” in German wants to be climbed without rubber on the toes. We can hardly imagine that.
Video of the boulder El monstruo de las regletas
Unfortunately, the video does not show Charles on the ascent, but is worth seeing in any case due to the beauty of the line.
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Credits: picture Charles Albert