Magnus Midtbø Makes Fourth Ascent of Seleccion Anal (9a+/5.15a)
Magnus Midtbø broke a hold on Seleccion Anal (9a+/5.15a) in Santa Linya, Spain this weekend, but still walked away with the send. After a dozen attempts, Midtbø made the fourth known ascent of the route.
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Magnus Midtbø broke a hold on Seleccion Anal (9a+/5.15a) in Santa Linya, Spain this weekend, but still walked away with the send. After a dozen
attempts, Midtbø made the fourth known ascent of the route.
“Perfect timing only a couple days before leaving,” Midtbø told 8a.nu. “A crucial hold broke just a few
hours before I sent it. Makes it a little bit harder with a new sequence down low.”
Santa Linya is home to a collection of the world’s hardest climbs, such as Open your Mind Direct (5.14d/5.15a),
Ciudad de Dios (5.15a) and Chris Sharma’s Stokin’ the Fire (5.15b) and Neanderthal (5.15b). Seleccion Anal was added in December 2013 by Ramon Julian Puigblanque and has since been repeated by Sachi
Amma and Edu Marín.
Midtbø, Norway’s World Championship climber, has been firmly pushing the 5.15 grade over the past couple seasons. According to 8a.nu,
Seleccion Anal is his fourth 9a+/5.15a, including the iconic Papichulo in Oliana.
Last year Midtbøwent further when he sent Ali Hulk Extension in Rodellar, Spain, which clocks in at 9b/5.15b. His project of the past several
seasons has been Sharma’s Neanderthal, which,
if repeated, will be the second ascent of the route.
With Seleccion Anal behind him, Midtbø has his sights on other Spanish testpieces. He told 8a.nu,
“my plan now is to go through Stokin’ the Fire and see if that could be a project for next season.”
Until then, Midtbø will return to the competition scene. “I will focus more on the World Championship in Paris this year,” and just to stay fresh and fit,
“do one or two World Cups as training for it.”
Watch Magnus Midtbø vs. Neanderthal: