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Alex Megos repeats Becoming, 9a+

© Christoph Hanke

Alex Megos on Becoming, 9a+, Rotenstein, Frankenjura  © Christoph Hanke
Alex Megos on Becoming, 9a+, Rotenstein, Frankenjura
© Christoph Hanke
Alex Megos has repeated Markus Bock's The Becoming, 9a+, at Rotenstein in Frankenjura, Germany. 

For Alex, it was of course nice to be able to repeat one of the, for him, last remaining hard routes in the Frankenjura, but at the same time he says that he was appalled by the amount of chipping and glueing in the route.

Is chipping still an issue or is it widely accepted now? Is it ok to chip? Did I miss something??
Maybe. Looks like everybody is doing it and nobody seems to say anything...​

That thing [The Becoming] is absolutely glued. 
And the one to the right of that one as well...
And the one to the right of that is even worse!

Markus made the first ascent in 2014 and described the rock as "bulletproof" at the time.

In an upcoming interview, I and Alex will discuss this issue a lot more.

What do you think about it? Is it still a big problem?

 

 

 


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Alex has risen quickly through the ranks of German climbers to become a globetrotting superstar of the modern climbing scene. His phenomenal sport climbing achievements place him as one of the most important climbers of...

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24 Oct, 2016
"...he was appalled by the amount of chipping and glueing in the route." Nice one Alex, for both the ascent and the principled stand!
24 Oct, 2016
"For Alex, it was of course nice to be able to repeat one of the, for him, last remaining hard routes in the Frankenjura" !
24 Oct, 2016
Isn't the route called "Becoming" (without The)? Since it's Marcus Bock's route it probably refers to this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ht3XGhlfYs
24 Oct, 2016
And a year ago, Megos commented on another Bock route: "Sad to see that there is some Sika in the route to create unnecessary holds..." Seems that both Megos and Bock are consistent in their views on climbing ethics.
24 Oct, 2016
Interesting and I wonder if there will be a reply from Markus Bock. If he doesn't make some kind of statement he will just appear guilty. If the route can be climbed without the chipped holds then perhaps they should be filled in. The first person to reclimb the route should rename it and be credited with the first ascent. The Frankenjura rock is very different to the limestone here which is continually breaking off and often needs some glue to hold it together. Any details on how long it took Alex to do?
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