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.
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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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