Less than two weeks after making the fourth ascent of Change (9b+), in Hanshelleren Cave, Flatanger, Norway, Alex Megos has made just the third ascent of another Adam Ondra Flatanger testpiece, Move (9b+).
With four ascents total at 9b/+ or harder to his name, Megos has made half of these ascents in the past two weeks.
The 55 metre route can be divided into three sections, 20 metres of 8b that leads to a kneebar rest, followed by 20 metres of 8c+/9a to an uncomfortable knee bar, before finishing with an intense, and very bouldery, 9a for the final 15 metres.
When Ondra established the route, over two and a half weeks of effort in the summer of 2013, he described the route as 'hard for me, one of my hardest', and gave it a grade of '9b/b+ or just HARD 9b'. He also said that the route likely 'easier to repeat' than Change, as Change fit his style 'way more'.
Seb Bouin came along in 2019 to make the second ascent, describing the route as 'the hardest I did at the moment. One of the coolest. It's an amazing line in an amazing crag'.
Having climbed Nordic Marathon (9b+) and Change (9b+) in a single season in 2022, Bouin suggested that Move was the hardest of the three, suggesting a grade of 9b+, where the others warranted, in his opinion, a slash-grade of 9b/+.
It is worth noting that both Ondra and Bouin climbed the route without kneepads, whereas Megos climbed the route with a kneepad on each leg.
Megos - who went on to climb The Illusionist (9a) on the very same day that he climbed Move - seems to agree with Ondra's original grade proposals, suggesting 9b/+ for Move, and 9b+ for Change.
Speaking on Instagram, he said:
'These are the days I'm working towards on a trip, when everything comes together and projects get ticked off!'
'Regarding the grades, I think Move was definitely upper end 9b (I'd give it 9b/+) and Illusionist rather soft for the grade (due to the new kneebar beta)'.
'I climbed both routes with two kneepads and at this point I'd like to give props to Adam Ondra for making the FA's of those routes without kneepads. The actual crux of Move doesn't change for me, but to get to the crux is definitely easier with kneepads. Absolutely inspiring that Adam did the FA more than 10 years ago. He could have given it 9b+ without kneepads in my opinion'.
Having arrived in Norway just over a month ago, and climbed two routes at 9b/+ or harder in that time, it will be intriguing to see which routes Megos chooses to focus on next. With Seb Bouin, Stefano Ghisolfi, and Jorge Díaz-Rullo all currently working on projects in Hanshelleren Cave, there will be no shortage of beta to discuss...
For a sense of the difficulty of the route, check out this video of Seb Bouin making the first repeat in 2019, featuring a crux sequence that requires three consecutive power-screams.
Comments
It’s interesting how people’s views can change, only last year in an interview on The Struggle podcast he said: “I feel like if the first ascent of a route has been done without a knee pad, then that’s the style we should try and repeat it in”.
I wonder how many people felt like their efforts were being looked down on by him only to now see him doing the exact same thing.
Is that a direct quote? I remember him commenting something like that, but he posted something on a similar topic where he says
So I always interpreted his view to be critical of people using new methods/tech to make things easier, but then still taking the original grade without comment.
Here, with regards to Move, he has acknowledged how the kneepad helped, and adjusted his grade opinion accordingly, while respecting Adam's original decision. His view may have changed, but I'm not sure it's changed much/he's not being particularly hypocritical.
Yes if you go on YouTube and search ‘Alex Megos knee pads’ you’ll find the clip from The Struggle podcast.
Why would anyone think their efforts were being looked down upon by him or anyone else? And who gives a sh1t anyway? He had an opinion. If his opinion has changed, then I'd say that was a good thing, given that only trying to attempt classic routes using the technology and the norms of the day is fundamentally pretty limiting. That's not to say that the style something was first done in shouldn't deserve respect, especially if it's harder than using more modern techniques, but living in and perpetuating the norms of the past is a road to nowhere.
Agreed.
And in the struggle podcast clip, he goes on to say about preserving style of FA: "Obviously most people don't want to do that, that's fine". Don't think he was really looking down on anyone!