summer expedition in Malawi !

"Sometimes when you predict for a long time that a big storm in your life is coming to you.. don't go to a shelter and wait that the storm will end. Just go outside and feel the rain on your skin and the wind blowing on your face.. feel the cold inside of your bones..."

That was my mentality this summer to have the chance to face a life experience and I think it gave me the opportunity to learn and grow up as a person.

My inspiration in life in general is based on this common sentence : "do and share what you love ; love and share what you do". My passion for climbing has given me a lot of opportunities to travel around the world, meet a lot of people who share the same passion as me but also be confronted to other ways of thinking and other civilizations. 

This Summer I went to a "new climbing destination" where nobody has ever really developed climbing over there : Malawi ! It was more than developing a new area with an incredible amount of rocks, it was an absolutely incredible life experience ! It's really exciting to go on a place where actually nobody were really for climbing ! Such an overflow of rocks and the recurrent questions : which area you will explore tomorrow and which nice lines you will brush and climb next. Add to the exciting part of discovering a new place for climbing, there is all the adventure : being in a total different country with totally an other way of living. TIA : This Is Africa !

About the climbing aspect and the different locations we went, I can't really reveal it because articles should go out in magazines and the movie beginning of next year. But I give you a clue : 3 locations in the south of the country ! ;)

Anyway it was the nicest and most crazy climbing trip i have made so far yet. A country where everything over there is a new thing to resolve and the communication with the local population is tricky.

But I understand now this expression : "the warm heart of Africa". When you see a smile shining, huge bright smile on children even if they conditions of life aren't easy at all. When they share everything they have even if it's almost nothing.. So many poor people.. so many disease..

So.. stay tuned !! you will here more about Malawi soon !
And for waiting, some general pictures about the trip.

Keep smiling and enjoy climbing !

How to start the 2 past weeks I have lived ?! Just maybe with this sentence which give a sens in what I live in this period of my life : "keep smiling and enjoy climbing".
So two weeks ago I had to come back in France, in aix en provence, to pass my exams. There I really realized how much I like my actual life and how I was just lucky to live all this.



Then I went to Fontainebleau for an event organize by the FFCAM and in partnership with Petzl : CAMP 4. About 60 teenagers from all the country came with their club to participate at this event. It was all about to discover more about the bouldering, the prevention, how to spot, the respect of the forest and of course meeting new passionate people and share our passion. I had an amazing day in the forest!
Sharing and enjoying climbing with this really motivated climber, was a great experience ! They have so much energy ! :) That was also really nice to meet again all the Petzl team : tony, Florence, Loic, Christophe and Alex !

So after that my batteries wer full recharged in Energy and i was really motivated to take part at the Boulder world cup in Slovenia. A mix between a lot of motivation, energy, challenge, fun and happy to express myself ! I have done there my first podium of the year : a lot of fun and a great fight !! 2nd place !! :)

I think I get a clue of the way I like to express myself in competition : just a conception of the competition more based on the pleasure, the fun and the show. Like that I just appreciate the comp so much whatever is the result and I allow me to only be focus on the action ! 

It was also a lot of fun this week end in front of an home/friend crew. And i enjoy a lot climbing in final in the innsbruck world cup with my friend jule and anna! big congrats for Jule for her first victory !! :)

A special thing with this move on the first boulder problem in the final. I lived this thing in slow motion ... it was unreal... I slided at the same time right hand and foot... i was thinking oh oh ... shit... and fighting so hard on my left hand to stay in the wall.... hearding the crowd screaming an low hooooooo... and i just stayed in the wall.... !!! WOW :)

The Tierra Boulder Battle 2013 : Stokholm, for ever !

Enjoy this nice video made by sandstone media, a good show, a nice week end... what else ?

Hueco that's rock

The first time I have heard about this place it was long time ago when I started climbing. At this time, It appeared being the best place in the world so far for bouldering. When I started to travel to discover some amazing place, this one was in my mind but for a couple of years I wasn't so motivated to go cause of the mountains of restrictions around climbing in the park which make you feel not so free...

This time was definitively perfect with a "gewaltig" team (left to right) : Hannes alias Spielberg, Elias, Kilian, Anna, me and Jacopo..

Three months before, Anna spent hours and hours in the phone to book and organize all our climbing days in the park. And without that it will have been really more complicated... We have been waiting only two times at the gate and that was way enough ! Elias was in the middle of the closed road, tried to film this epic moment and the ranger just came and said "get out of the road, it's dangerous ! If you don't move I call the police ! !" Achtung, you go to jail ! ;) So just a really big thanks to Anna !


El Paso is one of the biggest pass to go to the US from Mexico. Juarez for one part and El Paso for the American part. It really appears like this city has been built by all the Mexican who got into the US. It's a huge city but just build with the closest services as it's possible : mexican or american fast food each hundred meter, Walmart and Compagnie ! A gold medal to Karl's Jr with the best guacamole burger ever ! ;)

So there was not so much to do for the rest days but way enough to climb! 3 mountains of high concentration of boulder problem : "free" entrance for north mountain and guided tour for east and east spur




2 and half week of bouldering in the middle of the desert with a high motivation of our team, going everywhere and trying to climb everything! Our rhythm was an intensive concentration of burrito : for breakfirst, to take away and at el pasito (mythic Mexican restaurant).

I really enjoyed to climb with Anna, the way how we were supporting each other, the motivation we created and how we shared and expressed it. It's definitely hard to express it in English for me but there is just a simple word : friendship. For one point, it's for this kind of moment I love climbing. Sharing that with people you care.

Unfortunately, Jacopo injured once again his finger... I hope he will recover it pretty soon...

After a really stressed flight back to France, I stayed one week in Paris to compet for the French selection and the french championship. "Chose faite !" I'm really happy to come back at innsbruck and start the international competition !

Couple of picture to show you a bit the ambiance in the desert !