Jean Sylvain

Jean Sylvain started climbing in Quebec after reading a book on climbing in the mountains that his mom gave him. At first, he used hemp ropes and wooden blocks for pro. He spent time exploring remote areas in Quebec, some of which were the Palisades, Jacques-Cartier, Gros Bonnet, GrandsJardines and Malbaie River. In the Palisades, he established and became president of the Laurentian Climbing Club, which was the first climbing club in eastern Quebec.

He was known as one of the most charismatic and adventurous climbers. He went out of his way to help others and introduced many young people to the sport. He would spend his time off the rock building trails and the first hut in Quebec. In the 1960s, Sylvain climbed the first big-wall style routes up Cap Trinity with Andre Robert and Pierre Vezina. They established the Directissme up the 300- metre wall over 12 days, including two nights on the wall. It was the first of its kind in eastern Canada and it put Quebec on the map for hard multi-pitch climbs.

In the 1970s, Sylvain and friends explored the Malbaie River walls and he was the first to climb up the Cran des Erables. Sylvain and his partners used pitons, old climbing techniques and they made big pushes on steep climbs for up to 24 hours. Then in 1972, Sylvain and Pierre Vezina made the first ascent of Montmorency Falls and opened the province to ice climbing. A few years later, Sylvain and Eugene Levesque published

the first comprehensive climbing guidebook for Quebec. It has been over 40 years since the book was released and it continues to be an important publication providing detailed drawings and route info. Sylvain moved away from climbing in the 1980s, but continued his adventures with paragliding and skiing.–