Alex Megos repeats Becoming, 9a+

24th October, 2016

This has been read 9,630 times

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?

This post has been read 9,630 times

Return to Latest News

UKC Advertising

Athlete

Search all athletes

Alex Megos

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...

Alex's Athlete Page 92 posts 12 videos

Sponsored by: Tenaya, Cafe Kraft, Entre-Prises, Faza brushes, GORE-TEX, Multicamper Adventure, Patagonia, Petzl, Red Bull, Sterling Rope & Vertical Life Climbing

More Posts for this Athlete

Athlete:

Alex Megos

Alex Megos makes second ascent of Sharma's Sleeping Lion

Alex Megos has made the second ascent of Sleeping Lion, 9b+, in Siurana, Spain.

8 Jan

New 9b by Alex Megos, one of his 'most successful trips so far'

After three weeks in Margalef, Alex Megos has shared the news of what he described as 'one of my best and most successful trips so far', and it's impressive reading.

3 27 Oct, 2022

The Ticklist Britain's Hardest Problem, Devon 9a, and Megos On Form

In this week's episode of The Ticklist, Rob Greenwood runs us through Aidan Roberts' new mega-problem: the sit start to Pete Robins' Isle of Wonder, a new 9a in Devon, and Alex Megos crushing in Ceüse.

3 5 Aug, 2022

New Ceüse 9b for Alex Megos

German climber Alex Megos has completed the well-known project on Face de Rat at Ceüse, naming it 'Ratstaman...

1 Aug, 2022

Rab CWIF 2022 Final Results

The Rab Climbing Works International Festival (CWIF) returned over the weekend after a year's hiatus and there was a...

2 21 Mar, 2022

Video Rab CWIF Semi-Finals and Finals Live Stream Today

After a year's hiatus due to you-know-what, the Climbing Works International Festival (CWIF) returned...

20 Mar, 2022

2021 - A Year of Climbing News

The second year of the pandemic was another strange one. The year began with another lockdown in the UK; climbing walls...

30 Dec, 2021

Comments

Shani

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!

winhill

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" !

douwe

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

Knut R.

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.

stp

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?

Add Comment