Patrick Edlinger

Patrick Edlinger

Born: June 15, 1960
Died: November 10, 2012
in Dax, Landes, France
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.

Movies for Patrick Edlinger...

Edlinger, la liberté au bout des doigts
Title: Edlinger, la liberté au bout des doigts
Character: Self
Released: January 12, 2023
Type: Movie
In the 1980s, Patrick Edlinger, nicknamed "Le Blond", painted with the grace of a poet the first chapter in the world history of free climbing. In his hands, marginal exercise has become a real lifestyle, carrying a message of freedom. His famous solos, beyond the proven feat they represent, bear witness to this. Life at Your Fingertips, the first internationally known climbing film, touched and inspired by generations of climbers; Edlinger was one of the meteors that shone light on the cliffs of the world by following the trajectory of a single idea: to be free to live only by "climbing". Yet the man capable of concessions in the face of the necessities of life (competitions, advertisements) and pressure from the media, his public and the desires he aroused.
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Une Vie au dessus du vide
Title: Une Vie au dessus du vide
Character: Self
Released: January 3, 2023
Type: Movie
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En Solo : L'ivresse des sommets
Title: En Solo : L'ivresse des sommets
Character: Self (footage archive)
Released: November 27, 2022
Type: Movie
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Le Dernier Voyage de Patrick Edlinger
Title: Le Dernier Voyage de Patrick Edlinger
Character: Self
Released: February 18, 2017
Type: Movie
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Berhault
Title: Berhault
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 2008
Type: Movie
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La Cordée de Rêve
Title: La Cordée de Rêve
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 2001
Type: Movie
La Cordée de Rêve traces the great alpine journey made from August 2000 to February 2001 by Patrick Berhault. His great crossing of the Alps, here told to his daughter, will be done sometimes alone, sometimes surrounded by friends: Patrick Gabarrou, Patrick Edlinger, Ottavio Fassini, Gaël Bouquet des Chaux, Valérie Aumage, Philippe Magnin. During this alpine trip he will find his brother-in-arms Patrick Edlinger for the dolimitic part and will also see the genesis of the "Cordée Magique Berhault/Magnin". For 167 days, in sneakers in the fall, on touring skis in the winter, Patrick Berhault chained 2 to 3 stages of an average hiker daily, swallowing 1,500 to 2,000 meters of vertical drop and up to 45 kilometers per day. , and climbed 22 peaks. It's called that: "La Grande Cordée" but behind this title lies an exceptional human and sporting performance.
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Verdon forever
Title: Verdon forever
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1998
Type: Movie
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Roc'n Wall 97
Title: Roc'n Wall 97
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1997
Type: Movie
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Le Grec - Georges Livanos
Title: Le Grec - Georges Livanos
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1994
Type: Movie
Georges Livanos, nicknamed the Greek but pure child of Marseille, amateur mountaineer, opened more than 500 routes in the Calanques, 40 in the Dolomites, and repeated many of the greatest routes in the Alps in the company of the best climbers of his time, d friends, and especially his wife Sonia. He is also the author of the classic "Beyond the vertical". This report follows for a day the legend, still 71 years old, of his apartment in the Marseille city in the Calanques. As a true Provençal, he speaks without filter of the exploits that made him famous, gives his opinion on modern climbing and on life in general: the portrait of a great climber and above all of a fascinating character with a sense of humor sharp.
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The Beautiful Story
Title: The Beautiful Story
Character: Self
Released: March 18, 1992
Type: Movie
A film with emphasis on visuals and music, the plot concerns characters who meet in present time, mainly the male gypsy Jesus, and the female thief and con-artist Odona, who share parallel experiences from lives 2000 years in the past. These stories are juxtaposed.
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Plan-Séquence
Title: Plan-Séquence
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1992
Type: Movie
In a vertiginous sequence, Claude Lelouch's camera follows Patrick Edlinger climbing with his bare hands one of the routes of the spectacular Cimaï cliff. The action takes place in the Consensus voice (7c+/8a+) at the Cimaï quarry. In a place large enough where Claude Lelouch had been able to take out his crane to make a vertical trip. Later, in 2013, the foot of the Consensus route will experience landslides, the climbing sector has since been prohibited by municipal decree, huge blocks threatening to fall.
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Passion Extrême
Title: Passion Extrême
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1989
Type: Movie
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Arrowhead
Title: Arrowhead
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1989
Type: Movie
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Les Conquérants de l'Impossible: Portrait de Groupe
Title: Les Conquérants de l'Impossible: Portrait de Groupe
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1986
Type: Movie
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Among Wolves
Title: Among Wolves
Character: Patrick
Released: December 31, 1985
Type: Movie
An American general with highly confidential defence information has been kidnapped by terrorists and is being held in a cliff-top fortress in the Mediterranean.
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Profession grimpeur, Eric Escoffier
Title: Profession grimpeur, Eric Escoffier
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1985
Type: Movie
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The Fingertip Phenomenon
Title: The Fingertip Phenomenon
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1984
Type: Movie
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Life by the Fingertips
Title: Life by the Fingertips
Character: Self
Released: December 11, 1982
Type: Movie
"La Vie au Bout des Doigts" is a documentary film by Jean-Paul Janssen released in 1982, directing Patrick Edlinger totally living his passion, climbing, which he practices here solo ("with bare hands"), it that is, without a rope or any kind of insurance. The film begins with a session of solo sea crossings on the Piade site near Toulon. In the second part, Patrick Edlinger trains in Buoux before carving a solo route in this now famous climbing site. This mythical film in more than one way is considered the first climbing film, that is to say where climbing is an activity in itself and not a means of preparing for mountaineering. His media success was such that he propelled Patrick Edlinger to the rank of world star, and above all he made climbing known to the general public, and was even nominated for the César for best documentary short film.
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Title: Champs-Elysées
Character: Self
Released: January 16, 1982
Type: TV
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Opéra Vertical
Title: Opéra Vertical
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1982
Type: Movie
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Oversand
Title: Oversand
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1981
Type: Movie
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Over-Ice
Title: Over-Ice
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1981
Type: Movie
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Aventure à Bleau
Title: Aventure à Bleau
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1980
Type: Movie
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Overdon
Title: Overdon
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1980
Type: Movie
First film in a series of three with Over-Ice and Oversand and one of the first films on free climbing shot in the cliffs of the Gorges du Verdon in several parishes. We meet a certain Patrick Edlinger, Patrick Bérhault, but also Jean-Marc Troussier, Jacques Perrier, Stéphane Troussier, Hugues Jaillet, Gilbert Thomann, Odette Schoënleb, Bernard Gorgeon, Christian Guyomar. Thanks to the program Les Carnets de l'aventure, then broadcast on Antenne 2, and its producer Pierre-François Degeorges, this film was made. The chain gave its production agreement during the day, while the climbing was very confidential, no one knew Patrick Edlinger and the project itself contained only a few lines on a sheet
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Title: Le Grand Échiquier
Character: Self
Released: January 12, 1972
Type: TV