"No Figure 4": the hardest dry-tooling pitch ever?

Filip Babicz tried the pitch by Gaëtan Raymond at L'Usine (F)

No Figure 4: the hardest dry-tooling pitch ever?

L'Usine crag, near Voreppe (Isère, France) is a very popular destination for dry-tooling. In 2013 Gaëtan Raymond set up a pitch that he sent only six years later - last Feb 17th. Its name is No Figure 4, and it is... a real carnage! It features a 20 (and counting) mt long roof, with overhanging sections requiring extreme down-climb movements. Raymond is still recovering from the first ascent, yet he doesn't dare to judge his own feat: the climbers who'll repeat it will assess its difficulty.

A few days later Filip Babicz, member of SMAM (Sezione Militare Alta Montagna, that is Mountaineering Army Team) visited L'Usine during a tour of several top-notch climbing spots. Babicz is very well versed in several disciplines: sport climbing, mountaineering, speed ascents... and dry-tooling. He spent a few sessions on No Figure 4 and sorted out his verdict: it's certainly an extreme pitch; he set its difficulty at an historic D16 or even more! Further assessments will come hopefully in the very next months.

Source: www.montagnes-magazine.com

Pictures: Facebook Page of L'Usine