Alex Megos Establishes Chile’s First 5.14d, Pasito a Pasito
Alex Megos makes the first ascent of Pasito a Pasito (9a/5.14d) in Valle de los Cóndores, Chile—the first 5.14d in Chile and possibly the second 5.14d in South America.
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In only two days of work, Alex Megos established Chile’s first 9a/5.14d route with Pasito a Pasito in Valle de los Condores. Megos put up the climb during a quick, 10-day trip to Chile, where he also took first place in The North Face Master de Boulder
competition in Santiago. Pasito a Pasito is likely South America’s second 5.14d, after Pirmin Bertle’s Azul es el Cielo de Los Ciego in Piedra Parada, Argentina.
“Woooop!!! What a cool rock trip here in Chile to Valle de los Cóndores the past two days!” he reported on Facebook. “After two days of work I managed
to do the FA of Pasito a Pasito … Super excited!
Megos named the route Pasito a Pastio, or “little step by little step”, in reference to a recent finger injury that put him on the bench for four
months, and the slow process of returning to full climbing strength.
“Finally after four months off because of my finger injury I felt like I was climbing again for the first time without constantly thinking about my finger!”
he posted. “It’s still not great yet but getting there!”
A post shared by Alexander Megos (@alexandermegos) on
Apparently, the recovery hasn’t slowed him down much.
Before leaving for Chile, Megos attended the 2017 Climbing Works International Festival (CWIF), presented by Rab, in Sheffield, England on March 18 and 19. A few days before the festival’s bouldering competition, Megos withdrew from the
field because of his finger injury, but the day before the competition, he changed his mind.
Despite his injury, Megos took
first place against a field of top international climbers, such as Jongwon Chon of South Korea (second place), Michael Piccolruaz of Italy (third place),
Matt Cousins of Great Britain (fourth place), Jernej Kruder of Slovenia (fifth place), and Jan Hojer of Germany (sixth place).
Other competitors this year included: Jimmy Webb, Sean McColl, David Lama, Melissa l le Nevé, Tyler Landman, Sol Sa, Jorg Verhoeven, Rustam Gelmanov, Julia
Kruder, Petra Klinger, Michele Caminati, Julia Wurm, Gabri Moroni, Will Bosi, Hannah Midtboe, Louis Parkinson, and Pete Whittaker, among others.
With his CWIF 2017 victory, Megos took home a prize of £2000.
A week later in Chile, on March 25, Megos won the Master de Boulder competition in Santiago, ahead of Killian Fischhuber in second and local climber Facundo
Langbehn in third.
“After a huge fight yesterday in the finals … I somehow won the event in front of the best crowd I’ve ever seen!” he posted after the competition.
He called his trip to Chile “one of the most memorable” that he’s ever been on. Now back in Europe, he posted: “Not much to say except that I miss Chile
already! It’s been great and I’m sure I will be back sometime. Thanks to everyone who made this trip special.”