8b+ crack repeated

Sylvain ?Sly? Masse has redpointed La Zébrée, an 8b+ crack climb at Mont King in Québec, Canada. Masse had been working on the 80-foot, severely overhanging finger and hand crack for two years. He placed all of his gear on the lead, during his second attempt on Sunday 5th August.Masse is the second climber to redpoint the route placing all of the gear. In May, Jean-Pierre Ouellet made the first redpoint ascent; Jeff Beaulieu made the route?s first free ascent, with most of the gear preplaced, in the fall of 2004. Masse is described as a low profile climber, but has an impressive pedigree of hard crack ascents in North America.  ?What I can tell you is that he?s f***ing fit. One-arm pull-ups are not a problem, and one-arm front levers are not a problem either,? said an enthusiastic Ouellet. Ouellet belayed both the first and third free ascents of La Zébrée, as well as putting in countless hours on his own free effort. ?Maybe I should get a life,? he said. Sources: www.climbing.com, www.gripped.com, www.escaladequebec.com

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