UKC

In June, Alex Megos came over to the UK for some unfinished business. He had very briefly tried Hubble back in 2013 and was attracted by it's history, aura and difficulty. In this latest video about 'The Alex Megos Formula,' we get to see his ascent, as well as hear Jerry Moffatt describe Isaac Newton's law of Universal Gravitation - thanks Jerry.

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In reply to UKC News:

I love that this kid has such a respect for history, and the stories that surround climbing. It's one of the reasons I love this sport so much - the stories, the people who went before, did crazy things - the myths. Well said Alex!

For someone who can send so much harder than 8c+, for an 8c+ to mean so much to him is really cool. He cares more about the history than the number.

In reply to shouldbebetter:

Maybe I'm wrong but I got the impression he was rather underwhelmed by the whole experience. Call me cynical, seemed more like he was just for-filling his obligations to his sponsor and their UK market. Which, to be fair, is his job I suppose.

In reply to JLS:

I agree, and I thought the same about Honnold and the slate. Something like:
Yeah, great, unique... Well, I wouldn't travel around the world for it... but if you find yourself in Llanberis , it's OK.
As I said, something like that.

In reply to jon:

I've never been to Yosmite but my guess is once you have Llanberis ceases to impress.

In reply to JLS:


I've been to Yosemite twice and it'll always be a special place for me, but Llanberis still impresses. I'm probably more keen to get to Gogarth than anywhere at the moment.

In reply to jon:

Agree with you on Honnold - he was totally underwhelmed. Disagree with you on Megos. I genuinely thought he was participating and enjoying a bit of history - too cynical to think he was saying this for his sponsors. I thought this was a breath of fresh air when you read some of the comments on here by our younger climbers.

Wally

In reply to Bogwalloper:

I can't tell if he is underwhelmed or overwhelmed...and I'm amazed if others can

In reply to UKC News:

I know Alex (Megos) loves the British climbing scene and the climbing here (except the Trad) :P Like a lot of us, I think he really likes the history of climbing.

And i've been to Yosemite and right now I'm in Llanberis parked at Bus Stop Quarry in my van and loving the slate :P I think they are two different experiences and you can't compare, they are special in their own way - but slate is harder than Yosemite granite!

In reply to Bogwalloper:

Alex Honnold seems underwhelmed by most things when I see him in videos.

In reply to JLS:

Well apparently Megos was pretty underwhelmed when he onsighted 9a so I wouldn't take this too much into account. ☺
What a truly impressive climber though...

In reply to Bulls Crack:


Maybe he's just whelmed.

In reply to shouldbebetter: > For someone who can send so much harder than 8c+, for an 8c+ to mean so much to him is really cool. He cares more about the history than the number.

If my understanding is correct Hubble is basically a roped extended boulder problem. Therefore it's got much harder moves than your typical 8c+ so your average 8c+ climber won't be able to climb it. You probably need to be a 9a+ climber (whatever that might mean) to get up it. Hence the very few ascents and why Hubble is still a coveted tick.

Having said all that surely it should be graded harder than 8c+, but there was nothing harder than 8c to compare it to at the time (doesn't Rockfax now give it 9a).

In reply to Michael Hood:

Megos on the grade of Hubble;
http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=70492

In reply to douwe:

Megos gave it 9a+:

In reply to humptydumpty:

Megos declined to give it a grade.

In reply to UKC News:

Slate is an acquired taste, I think that is the issue... I don't know many people who loved slate the first time they climbed it. I've climbed there loads of times and I'm yet to fall in love with it as a climbing medium, despite having some great trips... interesting what he said about kalymnos though - I personally find those grey forbidding quarries in the lee of the mountains much more evocative and inspiring than generic bolted european lime cliffs, even if I am partial to a bit of sunny holiday clipping.

In reply to GrahamD:

He declined to answer the question "what grade is it?" directly, but he indirectly said it was 9a+ (or harder).

In reply to humptydumpty:


He declined to answer the question "what grade is it?" directly, but he indirectly said it was 9a+ (or harder).

He also indirectly said it was 8c+/9a or easier...

In reply to humptydumpty:

What he said is that some 9a+ climbers wouldn't be able to do it because its a very specific kind of climbing, whereas there would be 8c+ climbers that could do it.

Or to put it into a different level, there are plenty of folk who climb E2 at Pembroke but get spanked on a grit HVS jamming crack. Doesn't mean the grades are wrong, just that different climbs suite different people.

In reply to GrahamD:


Called sidestepping, Graham.

In reply to Michael Hood:


Is this not just a round about way of saying it is 9a+?

In reply to jon:

It would be sidestepping if it were his job to give it a grade.

I fee Megos was pretty clear it was 8c+

"routes that were orginally graded 8c+'s at that crag [Raven Tor] now, Hubble, Kabaah and Evolution.

I definitely struggled the most with Kabaah, although I still think its 8c+."

Kabaah was the hardest of the three, but it's still 8c+.

In reply to Bogwalloper:


Yeah I agree with you. Megos has been to Britain several times before so he knows what it's like and yet he comes back. That's not for sponsors. He could go anywhere in the world and make climbing headlines. I also think the style of climbing here suits him well - powerful boulder problems on small edges.

In reply to UKC News:

What did he send? And where did he send it to?

In reply to Morgan Woods:


Ya, aber: unter-whelmed oder Über-whemed?

I said "What did he send? And where did he send it to?"

And it's had two dislikes!!! Ha.
I'm fed up with people crushing and sending. What's wrong with "climbing" routes?
And highball? Whats wrong with high? Where did the ball bit come from?