This summer, Benjamin Védrines climbed the 3131-meter Aiguille de la Dibona solo from Les Etages in just 1 hour 24 minutes. Here's a video review of the French mountaineer's performance.
With its ridge rising into the skies above the Ecrins National Park, the Aiguille de la Dibona does not go unnoticed among the countless mountains in this sublime corner of the Alps. Culminating at an altitude of 3131 metres, this 350-metre granite peak is a delight for mountaineers and climbers who come to tackle it in summer and winter alike. In the Soreiller massif (hence the mountain's nickname, Pain de Sucre du Soreiller), the Aiguille de la Dibona quickly became the envy of man, first climbed in 1913 via the north ridge by Angelo Dibona and Guido Mayer. Other routes followed, including those via the direct south face by Andéol Madier de Champvermeil and Maurice Fourastier.
It was on this very Madier route (350 m, 6a+ max) that Benjamin Védrines set out to achieve a record-breaking ascent, attempting to climb the mountain as quickly as possible from the bottom of the Etages parking lot. While most amateurs already take around 2h30 to complete the approach walk between Les Etages and the base of the Aiguille de la Dibona, Benjamin Védrines ended up taking just 1h24 to complete the same route (by running) and also the full solo ascent (without insurance) of the Aiguille he had spotted the day before. Find out more below
"When I climbed the Directe south face of the Dibona with Anne a few years ago, I fell under the spell of this line opened in 1937 by Andeol Madier and Maurice Fourastier," explains the French mountaineer. "Aesthetically pleasing, easy to climb and logical, it was enough for me to come up with the idea of one day climbing it as a full solo express. Regularly, images built up in my imagination and I saw myself, on this emblematic face of the Écrins, with nothing but my chalk bag, hanging on this orange rock, this perfect granite with a hint of lichen. On Thursday July 27, I was finally able to taste this total freedom, this transience of suffering, as I made the transition from path to rock. Because I didn't just want to climb, I also wanted to run. So I set off from Les Étages, the hamlet at the foot of the mountain. The day before, we scouted the line with my faithful friend Pierro. Memories came flooding back.
"Then we slept in the refuge, because I needed to experience these moments in the evening, in such endearing places. The fellow guides, the wardens, the discussions. I love this atmosphere. On Thursday morning, I paraglided down the mountain and, just before 9am, I set my watch! I was feeling good, but I had to manage my effort so as to keep my wits about me for the 350m of climbing in 6a+ max. After a short transition, I started the ascent, exhausted by the climb. But I was determined to remain as careful as possible. Every step was meticulous, every hold carefully chosen. After 25 minutes, I was at the summit. Alone, lightened by the weight of this kind of challenge where effort and death meet. But in those intense moments when I'm expressing myself in my element, in my own way, I feel a powerful sense of freedom, the force of a life exalted by emptiness, intoxicated by movement and the beauty of places."
