Seb Bouin


Sébastien Bouin is a French rock climber born in Draguignan. By 2022, Bouin is regarded as one of the strongest sport climbers in the world, being only the second-ever climber to establish a route graded, with in 2022, and one of only a handful of climbers to create a new route at the grade of. Bouin is also regarded for his documentary series on the history of extreme sport climbing in France.

Climbing career

Sport climbing

Seb Bouin started sport climbing at 11 with his mother Claire. He did his first 8a at 13, first 8b at 14, first 8c at 15, and his first at 17. Unlike other leading climbers, Bouin avoided the indoor climbing competition circuit, focusing solely on finding "mega lines" on outdoor crags, which he described as his sole motivation. By 2012–13, at age 20, Bouin was starting to climb routes at 5.15 , and over the next few years would repeat the major test pieces, including: La Rambla, Papichulo, and Realization/Biographie. During this period, Bouin came to international prominence with the third ascent of the controversial route ', considered at the time, but which Bouin downgraded.
Bouin climbed his first confirmed in 2019 with the first repeat of Adam Ondra's Mamichula, and in that same year climbed his first 9b/9b+ with the first repeat of Ondra's Move ; Ondra called Bouin "one of my favorite climbing partners". Bouin would continue in 2019 to – as UK Climbing noted – "tick more 9th Dimension climbs than any other climber on earth", including the first ascent of Albania's hardest sport climb, The Dream, and the first ascent of France's hardest sport climb, La Rage d'Adam at La Ramirole cave in the Verdon Gorge.
2022 would be another strong year for Bouin putting up three major new routes, starting off with ' in the Verdon Gorge, which Bouin proposed at, only the world's second-ever route at that grade after Ondra's Silence. Bouin followed with two other first ascents, the enormous 430-foot single-pitch Nordic Marathon in Flatanger Municipality, and the first in North America, Suprême Jumbo Love. Bouin also repeated some of the world's other hardest climbs including , and Jumbo Love.

Documentary series

Bouin is also regarded for his love of French extreme sport climbing history, and his The Vintage Rock Tour documentary series revisits some of the most important – and controversial – moments in French extreme sport climbing. French 1980s climbing legend features in the series, and said of Bouin: "Seb doesn't consume climbing, he is a part of its evolution. He respects history and is adding his signature as a climber." The series came to international prominence in episode 4, when Bouin repeated Fred Rouhling's controversial 1990s routes of Hugh, and L'autre côté du Ciel. In a follow-up series, Hidden Gems, Bouin travels to smaller French crags to meet with local climbers and put up new test-pieces.

Personal life

Bouin climbs regularly with his mother Claire Cerisier, including going on sponsored expeditions to Turkey, and belaying him during his development of DNA. In a 2020 interview with UK Climbing, Bouin said that his mother was a major influence on his climbing development and his overall approach to life and facing adversity and challenge.
In the same interview, Bouin said he completed his studies and become a fully qualified French state physical education teacher to have a fall-back saying: "There is less pressure knowing I have a career to fall back on in time which means I can enjoy my climbing 100%".

Notable ascents

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