003. Helen, Le Diéséliste

Video footage courtesy of Helen Dudley via Jason Kester on YouTube 

After a little bit of a gap in posts, we figured an extra-awesome send would be needed; step in Helen Dudley's ascent of Le Diéséliste, a strenuous 7a traverse at Beauvais Nainville in Fontainebleau, France. The traverse itself is delicate and demands precise, solid footwork, in particular for the key match on a demon crimp, then burls out at the end via a slopey compression, also demanding cunning footwork. In short, it puts you a good way through the A-Z of technique...especially 'F', for footwork. 

Le Diéséliste was the first 7a boulder that Helen tried in Font, and to her own admission, didn't really like it... Despite saying that each revisit to the problem felt like the first time, she looked immediately confident and fluid working through the moves, a testament to her strength and skill as a climber. She had been slightly resentfully nurturing this project for about three years but had only made it up to Beauvais to session it once every six months or so. Sadly, we only saw her working it - after we had all moved on, she snuck back for the successful top out. 

Helen lives and hangs out in the forest with Jason and their two young kids, Seb and Theo, stealing moments to add to their pretty impressive tick lists, or just to climb for fun. Check in next week for Jason in action, or head to their YouTube channel for more Fontainebleau bouldering.

Theo providing a competent spot as Helen prepares to match on Le Diéséliste