20 Questions
Describe your climbing background:
I began climbing pretty much with my little brother Cyrille. I was 13 and he was 11. We both did a mountain week where guides where there to teach us the basics and mountaineering. After that we went climbing as much as we could and five minutes from our home there was a cool quarzite crag. Then I never stop climbing. I did my first 8a at 15, and a 8b+ at 16. I had only sport climbing in my mind but I have always been curious about trad and aid climbing, always dreamt about Yosemite, gritstone and all this kind of bold stuff. At 21 I did a 14c which is still my hardest sport route to date. I trained really hard for this and its still a nice memory. This same year I finished my electrician apprenticiep and I did my first trip to Yosemite. This trip definitely changed my view of what climbing is. I thought I was strong… For the last here years I have been working and traveling mostly in North America for climbing, my dreams are there.

Was there a big breakthrough or defining moment for you?
Like said before my first trip to Yosemite was a big revelation. I saw stuff and tried to climb things I would have never seen and never imagine climbable before. Its was a great time!

Describe a memorable climbing experience: 
So many…my trip to Norway last year was crazy. I was in squeamish in the spring and I met a Swedish guy who is doing school and a town called Tromso. He told me there is great climbs down there and show me pictures on the net. And there is this north face wall who get sun during the night in july august and where its seems to have some route to free. I was psyched.  I organised the trip the day after and when I went back from Canada, I worked for three weeks every day and then fly to Norway. We had a super cool base camp, unending sunsets, and the climbing was really good. I will never forget this trip.

What are you up to when you’re not climbing?
Kinda working…its part of the game I am playing. If I want my freedom to travel and climb, I have to have some money. Otherwise on my rest days I like to read, listening to music and never enough but I pray too. I also try to go to the mass on Sundays (I am a Christian).

Any training advice or suggestions?
There is no progression without goal, and nothing is worth it without love.

Who or what inspires you?
The unknow inspire me, I am very curious and I dare to take risks. I won’t wait to somebody to show me the way or to tell me some advices. Self experience is where I come from.

How do you see climbing evolving in the next five years?
I don’t really know…Bouldering is very trendy and will still continue to be. But I don’t think it will change much. Maybe some free-solo-with-base-jump-in-case will come and inove a little bit, but climbers are gonna be still climbers, and some will mostly boulder, some mostly aid-climb, some mostly compete, or some sportclimb. And few are gonna do everything. Just like it has been. Climbers just like climbing!

What do you think about the 5.15 grade?
That’s very impressive. But the only 5.15 in the world are bolts-protected. I place more importance to self protected route, its more what free climbing is about. But I am sure that some day a 5.15 will be climb placing pro.  And that’s goona be even more impressive.

Care to comment on: pre-clipping more than one draw on sport routes or pre-placed gear on trad routes, chipping/comfortizing holds, glue vs. no glue?
I dunno…the thing is that we should know more about how free climbing grew up. We kinda forgot that. For me fixing three hundred meter of ropes on el cap, come back the next week, jug them and finish the route is not really climbing el cap. And its exactly the same when preclipping draws on a sportroute. Is no more starting from the ground and climb. The sportclimbers leaders should show the good exemple or at least say that they preclipped draws. But I don’t really care that much. For trad routes its seem more clear, when people pre-place gear they said and that’s nice. Everybody knows that the purest style is placing pro and every trad climbers are kinda trying to reach this goal. Chipping holds is bad. And its become aid climbing. There nothing clearest than that for me. The Nose, for exemple, is not a free route. People should know that, and climbers should said that. But all this things are kinda idealist things. But we should never forget that free climbing is a rule activity, we accept the rules and we play the game or not. Free climbers did what they want and gonna still do what they want. And it will be people who care a lot and others who don’t. like it has always be.

Do you have any vices and what are they?
Oh you know I have a lot of sins. A lot, like everybody. But I don’t really feel like making a confession for all the internet surfers about my vices. Let just say that I have a bunch of them!

Any near death experiences?
Yes a few…the second week in Yosemite I climbed salathe with a german friend. I lead the hollow flake and, like I wanted to climb it free I didn’t clip the pendulum pin but traversed down where two bolt are and start the hollow flake for the bottom without any other pro to place on the crack, and without much of offwidth experience. If I would have fall up there I would have take at least 80 meter…I remember praying a lot up there… Otherwise I did a few free solo where I cannot really say that I was close to the death but you are kinda playing with it in a way. Otherwise I lost faire a bit of friends who died in the mountains. It makes us think deeply after that.

Are you a fan of climbing history? Explain?
Oh yeah I love climbing history. I really love it. When I first read “camp 4” the book of steve roper, I think I read it in one afternoon. So great! There is a sentence in French I really like: when you don’t know where you are going, look from where you come. And history can help us to understand where we are going. When you read all the stuff about fixed ropes, bolts and stuff in Yosemite for example, you understand that only the gear has really changed the climbing. The climbers are still exactly the same! I feel a value in the history. Like in every other humans who are old. I don’t know why. It seems that they know more and we have to show them the biggest respect.

What are your future plans or goals in climbing?
It would be great to get super strong and push the trad climbing to a new level. That’s definitly my dream. The first .14b, c, d without bolt and placing pro. But you never really know what will going on in our lifes, so if there will be opportunities I will take them otherwise I am sure my life will be great anyway!