François Legrand

François Legrand was born in Grenoble in 1970, into a family of mountaineers (mountain guides and alpine skiers). Present at the forefront of climbing competitions for 15 years, François Legrand is also renowned for his passion for cliffs. To his credit more than 10,000 routes, some of which are among the most difficult in Europe and the United States.

François grew up in Chamonix, where his parents are from, and took his first steps as a climber at the age of 2, to become the very first world champion in history at 21 years old. Very early François understands that he wants to become a professional climber. Yet fate fails to prevent him from achieving his dream. At the age of sixteen he fell 20 meters in which he broke his wrists and several vertebrae. The doctors then tell him that he will never be able to play sports again. However, after several operations and a year of rehabilitation, François is climbing again like never before.

The following year (in 1988), during the very first French championships, François, totally unknown and who arrived in the competition "by chance", challenged the tenors of the time (Edlinger, Raboutou, Jibé Tribout and Alex Duboc ...) and narrowly lost to the illustrious Jacky Godoffe, winning the title of vice-champion of France Senior. From then on, he never stopped becoming world number one, sacrificing everything for climbing, even living for several months in the "Grotte de La Plage" in Buoux where he also met Yuji Hirayama, a young Japanese climber . They then moved to Aix en Provence where they shared an apartment in which they tinkered with their own training area (one of the very first in history!). Less than two years later, François achieved his goal and won the World Cup ahead of his friend Yuji and the American Jim Karn. He thus settled at the top and would not leave it during the decade that followed.

This is how, at the age of 18, he left Buoux where he climbed for several months and lived in a cave. He visits many other schools. Life is not easy without money but he is proud and only returns to his parents after having triumphed in climbing. “I wanted to be independent but I had the same needs as everyone else. I must thank everyone who helped me during this time. I didn't want to but they helped me anyway." An outstanding rock climber, he is also one of the first French climbers to have reached the ninth degree with Robi In The Sky (9a) in the creeks of Marseille, named in tribute to his grandfather, a mountain guide and world champion. alpine ski veteran who died shortly before. In 2003, François Legrand decided to stop competition. He already knows that he will turn to teaching in order to pass on his experience to new generations. He then trained the Departmental Team of the Bouches du Rhône and became State Patent in 2004. After collaborating with several climbing clubs, in 2006 François decided, with other local climbers, to create a Climbing School in Aix-en-Provence: Urban Roc.