Megos Crushes Canada: Seven 5.14b’s in Four Days
Within four days of stepping off the plane, Alex Megos sent at least seven routes 5.14b and higher, bagging two first ascents.
Within 48 hours of stepping off the plane, Alex Megos launched into a Canadian climbing spree. Since arriving in Canmore
four days ago, the 22-year-old German climbing legend has sent at least seven routes 5.14b and higher, including two first ascents.
“Huge Congratulations to [Megos] for what is unquestionably the most OUTRAGEOUS day of sport climbing in Canadian history,” Sonnie Trotter, Canadian rockstar native, wrote on Instagram after Megos’ sent three 5.14 classics back-to-back: Bunda de Fora (5.14d
9a) in three tries, Kinder Surprise (5.14c 8c+) in two tries, and the first ascent of Full Nelson (5.14d 9a) on his third try.
Trotter added, “Alex is in town for a few weeks, but I’d say this was a pretty decent start.”
Megos journeyed to Canada, his first time in the country, for the annual Canmore Climbing Festival,
where he’ll be presenting a slide show. However, he isn’t letting the festival obscure his climbing objectives; he’s wasted no time in ticking off
other Rockies’ test-pieces. Megos redpointed Existence Mundane (5.14b 8c), Prime Time (5.14c 8c+), Shine 5.14b (8c)—all
in two tries—and flashed Endless Summer 5.13d.
“Canmore is the hot spot of this northern sector, and it is an absolute paradise for a typical cragging climber, someone who wants the amenities of a cush
mountain town with a variety of five-star climbing options nearby.” Trotter wrote for Rock and Ice in “Talk is Cheap,” a profile about the Canadian Rockies. “Canmore sits just outside of Banff National Park on its east side in a region of Alberta known as the Bow Valley.
This alpine setting is about 200 miles north of the junction of northwest Idaho and northeast Montana-, and it is as rich with climbs as Alberta is
with oil.”
The 20-to-25-meter power and endurance climbs that are common throughout the area, “really cater to [Megos’] strength, which is both power and endurance
… He put his mutant finger strength to good use,” Trotter commented on Instagram after made quick work—“a few burns”—of the last
remaining bolt project, Iron Butterfly (5.14c/d 8c+/9a) at the crag Planet-X.
“[It’s] got crazy moves on underclings and side pulls!” Megos wrote on Instagram after finishing the route. “Psyched for a few more weeks here in Canmore!”
Watch Alex Megos crush in the video below:
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