BURSTThree French climbers have made the first full free ascent of the Directe de l’Amitié on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses, one of the Alps’ most epic lines. Esteban Daligault, 24, Virgile Devin, 25, and Simon Martinet, 34, left Chamonix on foot and committed to a route that has repelled elite alpinists. They called it “the rock ’n’ roll legacy of the early climbers,” a statement that proved accurate as soon as the angle steepened and the mixed ground turned technical.
The Directe de l’Amitié climbs 1,100 metres of complex terrain to Point Whymper. First opened in 1974 by Seigneur, Audoubert, Feuillarade, and Galy in a 20-day winter siege, the line is a mix of vertical rock, thin mixed corners, and aid sections including an A3 roof. In modern conditions, it carries grades of VII, M7, A2, and the notorious A3 crux, an overhanging pitch that has long blocked aspirants from a full free ascent. Sparse repeats and persistent failures built the route’s reputation as perhaps the hardest line on the Grandes Jorasses, itself among the Alps’ most uncompromising faces.
Recent heavyweights couldn’t crack it either. In 2022, Benjamin Vedrines, Léo Billon, and Seb Ratel freed every pitch except the A3 roof, which Vedrines described as “extremely overhanging” and at least “8th grade in free climbing with shoes.” They dispatched the rest in three days but still needed aid on the crux. The young Chamonix trio arrived on Nov. 16 with that history in the background, and an additional motivator that became their private joke: the promise of pizza if they topped out.
Their first day on the wall delivered sustained M-terrain and early doubts. Progress slowed, forcing a bivy on inflatable portaledges so steep that Martinet needed a crash course in how to handle basic functions while hanging in his harness. Day two brought rotten “Sahara-dune” rock and rising tension as they reached the upper cruxes. Devin onsighted the first M8 pitch to the final difficulties, then faced the decision: climb in shoes or dry-tool? On his third try, wearing rock shoes, he stuck the improbable sequences and freed the A3 roof, now assessed by the team as M9+, letting out a yell that cut across the north face as darkness fell.
A second frigid bivy led to a final push through overhangs, dihedrals, and frozen rubble toward the summit ridge, which they reached in full darkness. The team called the ascent “a stroke of luck,” but their preparation told a different story. Devin, a member of the French Ice Climbing Team, had been deep in specialized training for the upcoming Ice Climbing World Cup, and the trio credits that precision work for giving them the edge when the route demanded absolute control.
News of the ascent spread quickly through the alpine community, with Vedrines among the first to congratulate them. For the Directe de l’Amitié, a line that has served as a measuring stick for generations, the first free ascent represents a long-awaited breakthrough. For Daligault, Devin, and Martinet, it’s proof that serious training—and the lure of a simple post-climb reward—can finally unlock one of the Jorasses’ last great problems.
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