Janja Garnbret Becomes First Woman to Climb Bibliographie

Slovenia's most famous climber, Janja Garnbret, achieved another milestone recently by becoming the first woman to climb Bibliographie (9b+) in Céüse, France. This makes Janja among the few as the only second lady to achieve a confirmed climb of 9b+.

Every climb, victory, and training was part of Janja path in life; however, Bibliographie required more than mere skills and fitness levels. “This route required me to be a different climber,” Janja revealed.

After an effective winter training session, Janja headed to the world-famous Céüse limestone cliffs fully prepared physically for the Bibliographie. Nonetheless, the mythical route made it clear that power and conditioning alone were not enough to make it through the climb, but required a leaders’ perspective, patience and persistence.

Key Highlights:

• Janja Garnbret becomes the first woman to climb Bibliographie (9b+) in France
• Historic ascent makes Janja only the second woman to conquer a confirmed 9b+ climb
• Janja credits patience and resilience for mastering one of the world's hardest routes

Janja has been ruling the world of competitive climbing with a victorious mindset that has seen her win more than any other climber, making her the proud owner of an incomparable number of gold medals. But Bibliographie was not ready to be defeated using the same strategy, adding that the climb would be much easier if done in a gym.

"I'm a very impatient person. I want everything now. Probably because I’m a perfectionist, a high achiever – I want to achieve and achieve and achieve," she admits. "But this experience taught me that patience really is the most important thing. You can train hard all you want, you can do everything right, but it’s still not guaranteed that you will succeed.”

Perched at the top of the mythical Céüse limestone cliffs in France, Bibliographie has gained fame for being one of the most challenging and respected sport climbs in the world. The route was bolted by Ethan Pringle way back in 2009 but was a mystery for many years afterward. There are over 80 moves on 35 metres of Bibliographie, containing two extremely hard cruxes. In addition to the actual climb, Céüse offers an additional challenge to climbers, which is beyond their control.

Despite having two Olympic gold medals and 49 World Cup gold medals, Janja realized that previous accomplishments were not worth much on Bibliographie. Her ultimate success is an indication of both her technical skills and resilience.

"I was really struggling with the conditions, but that’s the game when you climb outside. It’s also challenging because Céüse is at around 2000m, where the conditions change all the time – sometimes it’s very windy, sometimes no wind at all – so it’s very unpredictable. That also made a huge difference.” Janja added.

Talking about her source of strength, she added, “It definitely helped me become a better athlete and a better climber – especially in terms of patience,” she admits. “And this route taught me that with a calm mind and with patience, anything can happen. Never count yourself out until the very last try, you need to fight hard. And this is something that will stay with me forever.”

She is now just a step away from setting a new record for herself by achieving her 50th gold medal at the World Cup after securing two silver medals in the Pro Climbing League in London and World Cup in China.