Laura Pineau with first female ascent of Wet Lycra Nightmare (F8b/5.13d)
- Thursday 11th December 2025
𝘞𝘦𝘵 𝘓𝘺𝘤𝘳𝘢 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 “𝘠𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳.”
French woman, Laura Pineau has achieved another remarkable performance in Yosemite: the first female ascent of Wet Lycra Nightmare (F8b/5.13d) on the Leaning Tower Big Wall (270 metres) in Yosemite National Park, California, USA.
The route was first freed by big wall pioneer, Todd Skinner, in 2004 and had seen previous repeats by Alex Honnold, who made the second ascent in 2022, Nik Berry, William Moss and Jordan Cannon.
Over two days and 15 attempts on the F8b crux, Pineau had to dig deeper mentally than ever before to keep the dream alive. Commenting via Instagram, she said, “I still can’t believe it: just did the first female ascent of Wet Lycra Nightmare 5.13d (F8b). After doing the Triple Crown this past June, where everything was about speed, I wanted a different experience.
On my push during Thanksgiving week, pitch 4 (the F8b crux) took me 5 tries on day one, 10 on day two, where I had the biggest mental fight of my life. It took me 3 days total to top out with the amazing support of my friend John Kasaian.
Clipping that last anchor filled me with immense pride and deep relief. Wet Lycra Nightmare is not only the first big wall sent on my own, but also the defining achievement of what I now call my “Yosemite year.” After seven months in the Valley, I’m leaving with memories, connections, and the feeling of having added my own small stone to this legendary place.”
