At the age of just 11, Frenchwoman Alizee Blass climbed her first 8c at the beginning of the year – now she has already climbed her second route at this grade: Like her brother Théo, she also climbed Super Samson (8c) in Claret.
Alizee Blass belongs to the representatives of a new generation of high performers on the rock, who are worth watching: In February, at the age of eleven, she climbed Guère d'Usure in Claret her first 8c. Now 12-year-old Blass, whose 2013 birth year sounds as impressive as it is surreal in this context, achieved another 8c right next to it: Great Samson.
The young Frenchwoman had started working on her new project directly after Guère d'Usure, which, with a short and powerful boulder crux of about 7C+, is considered somewhat more difficult and - perhaps for this reason - is repeated less often than Guère d'Usure, which is also rated 8c.
Alizee was able to climb the crux after a few sessions, but the ascent took a little longer than she expected.
Father Vladimir Arnaoudov told 8a.nu
The main difficulty for Alizee, according to father Vladimir Arnaoudov to 8a.nu, was to manage the boulder crux even after the first part of the route, which is about 7c/+. Claret, where summer temperatures often already prevail in May, the 12-year-old was only able to make a few attempts per session on the route.
At the beginning of her project, Alizee Blass also received special support from Caroline Sinno, who had previously succeeded in the first female ascent of Super Samson (8c).
Alizee & Théo Blass: Representatives of a new generation
With two 8c routes in a very short time, Alizee Blass follows in the footsteps of her older brother Theo pale, who also climbed Super Samson (2021c) in 11 at the age of 8. Shortly afterwards, Théo became the youngest climber at grade 12a at the age of 9 – a record that has stood since the end of 2024 Leo Cea The 11-year-old from Chile climbed his first three (!) 9a routes last year.
Alizee and Théo Blass belong to a new generation of climbers who regularly break records on the rock that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago: in 2021, Gianluca Vighetti shortly before his 13th birthday, his first 9a, in the same year another 12-year-old Italian, Andrea Chelleris, a 9a route.
Even strong sibling pairs like Jernej and Julia Kruder, Max and Oriane Bertone or Alizee and Théo Blass are – albeit rare – in the climbing world: Above all Brooke and Shawn Raboutou set new records in the 2010s: Brooke was also the youngest climber in grades 8a, 8b and 8c as a child, Shawn climbed Welcome to Tijuana (13c) at the age of 8.
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Credits cover photo: Alizee Blass