BURSTIn August of 2025, Yannick Flohé made the second ascent of Alex Megos’ Ratstaman Vibrations 5.15b/c (9b/+) in Céüse, France. He sent the route over the course of five trips across two seasons, with 30 days of effort. Flohé has released new uncut footage of his send, which can be viewed below.
Ratstaman Vibrations was bolted in 2012 by Chris Sharma, but it remained a project for 10 years. Several other climbers tried the route, including Seb Bouin and Charles Albert, but it was not until July of 2022 that Megos made the first ascent. Three years later, Flohé made the second ascent and suggested an upgrade from 5.15b to 5.15b/c.
“Alex graded this route [5.15b] but sometimes he isn’t aware of his own strength so I decided that a little slash upgrade seems fair,” said Flohé of the grading. “I hope more strong climbers are trying this route in the future.” Despite being the first climber in history to flash V15, Flohé called his Ratstaman Vibrations ascent his “proudest moment in rockclimbing so far”.
Flohé made history this year in July when he became the first climber to flash V15. The problem was Foundation’s Edge V15 (8C) in Fionnay, Switzerland. Flohé has completed many hard classics in Switzerland and France over the past few years. In February, he made the third ascent of Story of 3 Worlds V16. In 2023, he sent Return of the Dreamtime V16, Ephyra V16, La Force Tranquille V15, and From Dirt Grows the Flowers V15. In 2022, he started the year with a repeat of the famous Off the Wagon Sit V16. In Spring 2024, he climbed his first 5.15a, Lazarus at the Schiefer Tod crag in Frankenjura.
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