Didier Berthod
Personal information
Born1981 (age 42–43)[1]
Bramois, Valais, Switzerland
Occupation(s)Rock climber and priest
Climbing career
Type of climber
Highest grade
Known for
First ascents
  • Greenspit (8b+, 2003)
  • Crack of Destiny (5.14b/c, 2023)
Updated on 16 September, 2023.

Didier Berthod (born 1981, in Bramois, Valais),[1] is a Swiss rock climber and priest. He specializes in traditional climbing, and crack climbing in particular.[2]

Climbing career

In 2003, Berthod came to international prominence when he pinkpointed the unfinished sport climbing route Greenspit 8b+ (5.14a) in the Orco Valley in Italy, as a traditional climbing route.[3] Converting a sport route to a traditional route is known as "greenpointing" (although the route's name came from its green colored sport bolts).[3] In 2005, Berthold returned to do the route without any pre-placed protection,[3] and Greenspit was recognized as one of the hardest traditional crack climbs in the world.[2][4][5]

Berthod then made trips to America where he put up new traditional climbing routes such as Learning to Fly and From Switzerland with Love, both at grade 5.13+ in Indian Creek in Utah.[6]

The 2006 cult climbing film First Ascent,[7] followed Berthod's unsuccessful efforts to make the first free ascent of Cobra Crack, a 5.14b (8c)-graded traditional climbing route in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada;[8] which was at the time considered the world's hardest traditional crack climb (it was later free climbed by Sonnie Trotter).[2][5] The film also documented Berthod’s other climbs in Europe (including Greenpoint) and also his frugal lifestyle such as working in a hostel between attempts.[5]

After quitting climbing for over a decade, Berthod returned to international climbing attention in June 2023, when he went back to Squamish where he completed the first pinkpoint of a long-standing open project called The Crack of Destiny that he graded as being harder than 5.14a (8b+).[9][10][11]

Religious life

After completing First Ascent, Berthod, then aged 25 and carrying a serious knee injury, decided to completely abandon rock climbing and joined Nicolas Buttet's Franciscan-community, the Eucharistein fraternity, in Saint-Maurice, Switzerland (close to where Berthod was born),[6] as a monk.[5][12][13] In 2016, Berthod was ordained as a priest, shortly afterward had started some climbing again.[2][5]

In a 2018 documentary on Berthod called Fissure, he explained his reasons for leaving climbing: "I felt like a junkie, someone who craved a daily dose of climbing. If I didn't get it, I got angry. I hated that feeling because it kept me from being truly free. I needed to be free, and that’s what my faith gave me – that and spiritual healing".[5] On his return to climbing, he told German TV: "In recent years I quit this [monastic] way of being Christian and I embraced a way more humanistic way of being Christian".[6] By 2020, Berthod had completed a new 8c (5.14b) bolted route on Petit Clocher du Portalet.[6]

Filmography

  • Documentary featuring Berthod on Cobra Crack in Squamish, British Columbia: Peter Mortimer (2006). First Ascent (Motion picture). Sender Films.
  • Documentary on Berthod: Christophe Margot (2018). Fissure (Motion picture). Cine Margot. Retrieved 4 January 2023.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Christie, Olivier (2016). "Didier Berthod: From the rock to the altar". LACrux. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Watch Didier Berthod is Back / Interview with Swiss crack climbing legend". PlanetMountain. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Greenspit, the dream of a generation climbed in Valle Orco by Matteo della Bordella, Francesco Deiana". PlanetMountain. May 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "Didier Berthod cleans Greenspit, Valle dell Orco". PlanetMountain. 3 October 2005. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gogorza, Oscar (15 November 2022). "Didier Berthod, from rock-climbing star to monk and back again". El Pais. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Smart, Dave (18 November 2020). "Swiss trad climbing ace Didier Berthod returns to climbing". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Moix, Fred (17 May 2021). "Listen to Crack-Climbing Legend Didier Berthod Give One of His First Interviews in 13 Years". Climbing. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  8. ↑ Berg, Emmet (4 October 2005). "DIDIER BERTHOD: True grit and grip". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "Didier Berthod Redpoints New 5.14 Trad in Squamish". Gripped Magazine. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  10. ↑ Bailey, Nat (10 July 2023). "Didier Berthod Returns to Climbing Limelight With FA of 5.14 Crack". Climbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  11. ↑ Zeidler, Maryse (18 July 2023). "Legendary free climber conquers the 'Crack of Destiny' in Squamish, B.C." CBC News. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "Une heure avec… Didier Berthod - Fribourg – Unités pastorales du Grand-Fribourg". Fribourg – Unités pastorales du Grand-Fribourg (in French). 14 July 2018.
  13. ↑ "Ten years ago, Didier Berthod left free climbing for religion. Today, he returns to the underlying reasons for his choice".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.