Gripped Magazine
Historic First Female Solo of 30-Pitch American Direct
French climber Annabelle Bouchardon, 24, has become the first woman to complete a rope-solo of the 30-pitch American Direct on the west face of Petit Dru above Chamonix. The 1,100-metre route, first climbed in 1962 by Americans Gary Hemming and Royal Robbins, is one of the world’s most famous alpine rock lines.
Bouchardon spent a night at the base of the wall and then started early in the morning on June 23. She spent two more nights on the face, including one sheltered in the Trou du Canon during a thunderstorm, before reaching the summit at 8:10 a.m. She then traversed to Grand Dru, descended, and reached the Charpoua Glacier on Thursday. Bouchardon worked for France’s Groupe d’Escalade Alpine Nationale for several years.
In 1971, Jean-Claude Droyer made the first rope-solo of American Direct, and it was first free-soloed in 1982 by Christophe Profit in 3 hours and 10 minutes. Several others have also rope-soloed and free-soloed American Direct, including Alex Honnold.
After the first ascent, Robbins wrote in the American Alpine Journal, “The weather favored us with two perfectly cloudless warm days. It broke on the third day with strong winds and snow showers, but nothing of real consequence. We reached the Bloc Coincé, a large detached block at the base of the 90-meter dihedral, in the early afternoon of the second day, then proceeded up the west-face route to where it meets the north-face route. We climbed the north face to the Bonatti Pillar and followed the Pillar route to the Voie Normale, whereby we reached the summit.”
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