Tour de Bloc Helvetique avec Fred Nicole, 1996

Tour de Bloc Helvetique avec Fred Nicole, 1996 drops you into the heart of Switzerland’s bouldering revolution with one of its defining figures: Fred Nicole. Shot as a firsthand time capsule, it follows the era’s raw energy and experimentation, building toward a landmark moment as Nicole takes on RADJA—widely considered a strong contender for the world’s first 8b+ boulder problem. What makes this short film special is its unmistakable “you had to be there” authenticity: grainy S‑VHS texture, a glimpse of early DV, and the unpolished immediacy of real sessions where standards were being rewritten in real time. If you love the roots of modern hard bouldering—powerful movement, problem-solving under pressure, and the quiet intensity of a master at work—this is a charming, historic watch that still hits with inspiration.

udini · 16:05

Another strong contender for the world's first 8b+ boulder problem is Fred Nicole's RADJA. Fred climbs RADJA at the end of this clip about the Swiss bouldering revolution I shot in 1996. Tour de Bloc Helvetique is part of "boulder!", my first self edited film. Video quality is rather poor since "boulder!" was mostly shot on S-VHS, a format that lost lots of quality every time you did anything to it! Only the last part was shot on than brand new DV format. Still a charming "historique" clip about Fred Nicole!