Josune Bereziartu

Josune Bereziartu was born on January 19, 1972, in Lazkao, a Basque town of the province of Gipuzkoa, northern Spain. Josune was first inspired to climb after watching a Spanish TV show documenting two girls climbing in the Verdon Gorge, and started climbing at 17.[2][3]

In 1998, Bereziartu came to international attention with her repeat of Honky Tonky at Oñate, which made her the first-ever female in history to climb an 8c (5.14b) route.[2][4] In 1999, she consolidated this achievement by repeating 8c routes White Zombie and Ras at Baltzola.[2] In 2000, Bereziartu set a new record by becoming the first-ever female in history to climb 8c+ (5.14c) when she redpointed Honky Tonk Mix at Oñate.[2][4] In October 2002, she set another record by becoming the world's first-ever female climber to climb a 9a (5.14d) route, when she redpointed Fred Nicole's Bain de Sang in St Loup, Switzerland.[2][4] In 2004, she climbed Logical Progression in Japan, another 9a (5.14d) route that was only freed a few years earlier by Dai Koyamada.[2] In May 2005, she set a further record, becoming the first-ever female to climb 9a/9a+  when she redpointed Bimbaluna in St Loup, in Switzerland;[2][4] at that time, no male climber had broken the 9b (5.15b) grade barrier, and it would be another three years until Chris Sharma would climb Jumbo Love, the world's first consenus 9b route.[2][4]

Bereziartu also set new records for onsight ascents. In 2000, she made the first-ever female onsight of an 8a+ (5.13c) route in history when she climbed Bon Vintage at Terradets in Spain.[2][4] In 2002 she made the first-ever female onsight of an 8b (5.13d) route in history when she climbed Steroid Performance at Horai in Japan.[2][4] Finally, in 2006, she made the first-ever female onsight of an 8b+ (5.14a) route in history when she climbed Hidrofobia in Montsant, Spain.[2][4]

Bereziartu was a keen bouldering climber, in which she also set several records. In 2001, she became the second-ever female to solve an 8A (V11) problem, with Berezi, and in 2002, became the second-ever female to solve an 8A+ (V12) problem with Solaris. In 2002, she became the first-ever female to complete an 8B+ (V14) boulder traverse, when she solved La traversia De Balzola, at Balzola in Spain.[4] In 2004, she pushed the female record further by completing the 8C (V15) boulder traverse, E la nave va, Lindental, at Lindental in Switzerland.[4]

Bereziartu has also followed the path of earlier female sport climbers like Lynn Hill and Catherine Destivelle, freeing old aid climbing routes into major new multi-pitch traditional climbing routes in the mountains, such as Yeah Man (8b+, 300m, 9 pitches, with Rikar Otegui) in 2002, and El Pilar del Cantabrico (8a+, 500m, 13 pitches, with Iker Pou) in 2004, and Super Weissmuller (8a+, 300m, 8 pitches, with Rikar Otegui) in 2007.[5] In March 2008, Bereziartu and Otegui created a new seven-pitch alpine route on the north face of Peña Telera, called Frenesi (ED+ M7 R, 450m, 7 pitches),[6][7] while in late 2008 they were climbing hard mixed ice routes in Banff, such as Nemesis (VI WI6), and Phyllis Diller (M11).[8]

Bereziartu participated in few climbing competitions which reduced her sponsorship profile, preferring instead the feel of real rock, and the challenge of bringing female sport climbing to the highest grades.[3] In 2001, she told PlanetMountain when asked about the state of female sport climbing: "What can I say about that? It looks as if women are only present in competitions. It's obvious that this isn't the case but there are so few women climbing hard outside".[9] Talking about her choices in a 2021 Climbing interview, she said: "Looking at my career with the perspective of age, I’ve learned that it’s important to maintain your freedom and to follow the things that excite you—not what others expect you to do".[3]

In 2003, Climbing awarded her the Golden Piton Award for the sport climbing category (and an honorable mention in the 2004 bouldering category), calling her "hands down, the world’s top female redpoint climber, with numerous extreme bouldering endurance tests to her credit".[10] In 2005, she was named one of National Geographic's Adventurers of the Year, for her ascent of Bimbaluna.[11] In 2006, she was awarded one of the very first Arco Rock Legends awards (known as the Oscars of climbing), the Salewa Rock Award, for her contribution to sport climbing.[12] In 2007, reporting on her freeing of multi-pitch alpine routes, Alpinist said: "This climb serves as yet another testament to Bereziartu's prowess; since the late 90s, Bereziartu has worked to push the limits of female climbing in various disciplines".[5]

In 2008, Climbing called her "the strongest female rock climber in the world".[13] National Geographic noted that at the height of her career in the early to mid-2000s, "She was also climbing two or three grades harder than any other woman".[14] A 2017 Climbing magazine review of the history of women's climbing noted that "In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Basque Josune Bereziartu became the world’s best female sport climber", and that she had "dramatically narrowed the gap between men and women".[15] In 2021, PlanetMountain, ranked Bereziartu as one of the most important female climbers in history, saying: "In short, from 1998 to 2005 Bereziartu's hegemony on rock was absolute. With these redpoints, and with her first female 8b+ onsight completed in 2006, Bereziartu reduced the gender gap on multiple occasions, inspiring thousands of other climbers. In addition to these physical achievements, it is worth dwelling on how they were carried achieved: always with absolute modesty, always with a smile".[2]

In 1999, Bereziartu wedded her long-term climbing partner, Rikar Otegui, who himself climbs to 8b+ (5.14a).[1][2][3] Bereziartu was not always a full-time professional climber, and during the week, Bereziartu sold insurance and investments for a Spanish insurance company, Mapfre in the early 2000s.[1] In addition, Bereziartu designed resin holds to sell for indoor climbing walls.[1][9][3]

• Arco Rock Legends, Salewa Rock Award, 2006.[12]
• National Geographic, Adventurers of the Year, 2005.[11]
• Climbing Magazine, Golden Piton Award (Sport Climbing), March 2003.[10]

• Documentary on Bereziartu: Manuel Rojo, Carmen Portilla (director) (2012). Viviendo al filo con Josune Bereziartu (Motion picture). RTVE. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
• Documentary on climbing in Naranjo de Bulnes: Sebastián Álvaro, Manuel Rojo (director) (2002). La ola perfecta (Motion picture). RTVE. Retrieved 20 January 2022.

• List of grade milestones in rock climbing
• History of rock climbing
• Catherine Destivelle, one of the greatest female sport climbers of the 1980s
• Lynn Hill, one of the greatest female sport climbers of the 1980s and early 1990s

• Josune BERECIARTU URRUZOLA at the International Federation of Sport Climbing

• INTERVIEW: In your face: Josune Bereziartu Climbing Magazine (1 May 2000, Issue 194, page 54)