Arnaud Petit Climbs Black Bean 8b with Natural Pro in Céüse

Eleven minutes about style, and one of the smartest short films on the site. Black Bean is a 65-meter 8b at Céüse, bolted by Bruno Clément and normally clipped. Arnaud Petit climbs it on natural gear instead, placing protection as he goes on a wall built for bolts, and Bertrand Delapierre shoots it clean and close.

This is for climbers who care how style changes a route that already has a number. Watching Petit find placements where most people see clips is a specific pleasure, and the film has no interviews or build-up to dilute it. Skip it if you want the argument spelled out. Petit said afterward that few routes at Céüse would protect this well on gear, but the film never puts that in his mouth on camera.

What works is Céüse itself. The blue and gold limestone does the scenery work, and Delapierre lets it. What it leaves out is context. Nothing here tells you why a trad ascent of a sport pitch matters, or where this sits in Petit's career. You need to bring that yourself.

Rotpunkt: Bibliographie is the other Céüse film on the site, seventeen minutes of Alex Megos and sixty days of effort on a 9c. That is the wall at its hardest. This is the wall climbed a different way, and I find it the more interesting question.