UKC

In contrast to the other thread about self-publicist, marketing, climber-models etc...

A gem of an interview with Alex Megos and how he didn't even bother to tell anyone after doing the world's first onsight of a 9a.

http://bit.ly/1zI6Nms

Personally I always admire top climbers as much, if not more, for their laid back, and humble approach to the sport as their climbing ability.

In reply to stp:

I'd gladly settle for being able to on-sight 7a!

In reply to stp:

I didn't know it was an "accidental" onsight....I wonder who put the clips in?

In reply to Morgan Woods:


Always wondered this, at what grade dos it become OK to not place your own quickdraws?

In reply to Steve nevers:

Any grade. Placing draws is simply not considered to be integral to a successful sport ascent. It just happens that people don't tend to spend weeks working easier routes, and they are usually much easier to clean, so if there are quick-draws left in place at a crag they're usually on the harder routes.

In reply to john arran:


That's fair, although isn't there some kind of 'grey ethical cut off point' or does that come down to individual climbers personal viewpoints?

As example, if someone claimed 'onsight' for a trad ascent of say E1 on pre-placed gear most would say that's not in a vaild style for the claim. But in sport if you 'onsight' say a 6c on pre-placed draws, would that be considered ok? Or would it be considered a potentially 'cleaner' lead if you placed the QDs yourself?

I guess it is just a grey area, but just wondered if there was any 'ethical cutoff' when its considered better style.

As you can tell i'm not much of a sport climber! Understand the in-situ draws for harder/overhanging/project routes, common sense really.

Sorry for thread hijack btw. RE: Megos, have mixed opinions of him from the media on him, sometimes seems humble, sometimes comes across cocky as hell. But to be fair to him he is a bit good ain't he?

In reply to Steve nevers:

Trad is a different game with different norms, where placing gear is an integral part of the game. In sport the gear is already in place and adding quick-draws isn't considered part of the game.

Back on topic, yes it's great to see a truly cutting edge climber just going climbing like the rest of us. But actually a lot of top climbers are pretty humble (e.g. Ondra, McClure , wideboyz, etc.) so not really unusual. It can get complicated by the understandable desire of sponsors to shout achievements from the rooftops. On a more personal level it's also very easy to read cockiness into someone who's just extremely good and being honest.

In reply to john arran:

As an armchair punter who knows nothing of the reality of operating at the top end I think there is a word missing for an ascent in better style than pre-placed draws on sport and chalked up holds on trad. I get it that these things are both called onsight (even where hard to find holds are heavily chalked).

But that being the case there's surely a word missing for ascent in better style.

In reply to Mutl3y:

no, onsight fits both categories. all you can do is walk up to and climb a route in the condition you found it.

In reply to Mutl3y:

Perhaps an advantage when there's only one set of holds/sequence but quite often you get to a crux and every hold is chalked so you have to work it out yourself anyway.

In reply to stp:


Totally agree. It's interesting that, for some, the harder they climb the more humble they become.

Mick

In reply to Mutl3y:

You are certainly right that onsighting a route that is not chalked up can be a lot harder on certain kinds of rock ( some Peak Limestone can be really hard unchalked). But these days its probably unusual to find a good hard route that doesn't have at least some chalk on it. Most hard routes are overhanging, at least in places, so they may never be completely chalk free. Even routes that haven't been climbed for years often retain traces of chalk here and there and those can really help.

Also it would be impossible to verify that fact after someone had just 'onsighted' it as it would then have the climbers chalk all over it anyway. So I think for purely practical reasons there's not much point in defining that as a style of ascent, though we can certainly appreciate the fact that's harder that way.

In reply to stp:

Just wondering if anyone knows if the footage in this video actually is Estado Critico or even Megos climbing it? There seem to be two routes/crags in there, one shot from a drone and one shot from the ground.

In reply to stp:

My gut tells me the route with the horizontal breaks isn't it. Reminds me of Orpierre more than anything, those bands, although I don't think it actually is.

A lot of the scenery shots and those of distant climbers, especially the ones shot in a gorge, are all Chulilla, of that I'm sure.

In reply to Steve nevers:

Be fair. He's a twenty one year old lad who's top three in the world at his chosen sport - what's not to be cocky about? I've seen him traning and competing at bouldering walls a few times and - like a lot of top climbers in my experience - he comes across as a generally friendly chap and seems to spend much of his time and energy encouraging his mates.

That's funny. I like the way it is set up in a slightly uncomfortable way, Megos almost being a bit behind the interviewer.