Patrick Edlinger

Patrick Edlinger, born June 15, 1960 in Dax and died November 16, 2012 in La Palud-sur-Verdon, was a French climber and mountaineer. Renowned for his full solo ascents, he is one of the pioneers of high-level free climbing and was, in the 1980s, one of the first media figures in the discipline. Introduced to climbing at the age of nine, Patrick Edlinger practiced regularly at fourteen to devote himself fully to it at eighteen. Spending his days on the cliff, it happens to him, for lack of finding partners to belay him, to climb solo. With his friend Patrick Berhault, he distinguished himself by difficult achievements for the time, prefiguring another way of climbing, where the physical dimension takes precedence as much as the state of mind.

In 1982, Patrick Edlinger introduced rock climbing to the general public thanks to documentaries by Jean-Paul Janssen broadcast around the world: “Life At Your Fingertips” and “”Opéra Vertical”. There is free climbing and, partly, full solo, routes from the famous sites of Buoux (Luberon) and the Gorges du Verdon. Edlinger exposes a philosophy of climbing where hedonism, respect and love of nature, self-transcendence and a taste for risk are combined. This way of life combined with his youthful physique will mark the public in a profound way. At the origin of the climbing craze, Patrick Edlinger, “Le Blond”, is not just a media figure, he is a high-level climber, who performs solos in routes rated 7a and also opens routes of extreme difficulty for the time up to 8b+/8c.

A true international star, Patrick Edlinger was, in the 1980s, the favorite personality of the French according to a survey by Paris Match magazine, which relayed his exploits. When the Manifesto of the 19 decrying the competition was written in 1985, he did not sign it. In 1986, he won the first international climbing competitions in Bardonechia, then in 1988 in Snowbird in Utah. At that time, he launched his own line of clothing which he held with a few friends. In 1988, an advertisement was broadcast featuring him to promote Grany cereal bars; it was resumed in 1998 and then in 2004. In July 1994, he took part in two official UIAA competitions: the L’Argentière master’s where he finished 34th and the Serre Chevalier master’s where he placed 17th. In 1995, Patrick Edlinger suffered a serious accident while climbing a cliff. While training in the creeks of Marseille on a 7b route and he jumped several insurance points, a hold breaks and he falls eighteen meters. In cardiac arrest, he was resuscitated by a doctor present on the spot and finally got away with only a few muscle tears. He then retired from high level climbing, but continued to climb in the 8th degree for fun.

From 1997 to 2000, he was editor-in-chief of the rock climbing magazine Roc’n Wall, which was eventually absorbed by the magazine Vertical. He stopped practicing solo when his daughter was born in 2002 and from 2009, he ran a gîte with his wife in the Verdon. In 2011, he began writing his biography with the collaboration of his friend for 25 years, Jean-Michel Asselin. He died accidentally on November 16, 2012 at his home in La Palud-sur-Verdon, at the age of 52.