Alex Megos repeats the endurance challenge Change (9b+) in the Hanshelleren Cave in Flatanger. He is only the fourth climber to do this after first ascent Adam Ondra, Stefano Ghisolfi and Seb Bouin – and this after just four days of planning.
From Olympic low to climbing high: The German professional climber Alex Megos secures itself in Flatanger one of the rare ascents of the 9b+ route ChangeAfter only four days of checking out he was able to connect the two pitches. On his fifth day in Hanshelleren Cave he scored Ondra's legendary line.
Words cannot describe what I am feeling right now.
Alex Megos
Video: Alex Megos climbs Change (9b+) in Flatanger
Change (9b+): rollercoaster of emotions
The 31-year-old arrived in Flatanger in a very bad mood. Intensive Olympic preparations and a disappointing performance at the decisive moment leave their mark even on a seasoned professional climber.
The disappointment of Paris was still very present when they arrived in Flatanger, says Alex Megos. "I was in desperate need of a holiday, but I also wanted to check out some routes."
Given the immense potential of climbing routes at the highest level, he couldn't really stay still for long. After just four days on Adam Ondra's Testpiece Change (9b+) he was able to connect the two pitches.
He hasn't solved individual pieces of the puzzle yet, but he felt that a climb through was possible with a really good attempt, said Megos.
Fortunately, this was a really good attempt even when I first got into it with the intention of scoring change.
Alex Megos
Megos climbs Change (9b+) with kneepad
For the Change, Megos wore a knee pad on his right. A rather unusual measure for the strong Swiss franc. We remember his outburst of anger when he messed up an 8c+ flash because of a kneepadBut with such gigantic endurance lines as those found in Flatanger, even Alex Megos cannot avoid using knee pads.
"The kneepad makes the crux of the first pitch a little easier than Adam Ondra's original beta." Further up, a kneepad doesn't really have much effect if the kneebar skills are at his level, Megos says with a wink.
However, the strong Franconian seems to have revised his radical views on the use of knee pads: "I am still far from the kneebar magic of other climbers, but I am ready to learn."
Change: First 9b+ route
The monstrous line, which was first climbed by Adam Ondra in 2012, is the first 9b+ route in the world. And Change is a real endurance hammer: 185 moves and 55 meters of climbing await potential repeaters. Stefano Ghisolfi spent first repetition of Change in 2020 more than an hour in line.
The third visit to Change Seb Bouin secured the route in August 2022 - like Stefano Ghisolfi before him, also with a knee pad. While the strong Frenchman climbed the route as the crowning conclusion of his Norway trip, it was the other way around for Alex Megos. He had barely arrived in the Hanshelleren Cave when he already had one of the really big lines in his pocket.
This naturally raises the question of what Megos will tackle next during his "holidays". Will he join Stefano Ghisolfi to attempt Silence, the world's first 9c? Or will he be more interested in attempting Seb Bouin's potential 9c Move Integral or Schubert's BIG (9c)? We are curious.
That might interest you
- The crowning glory: Seb Bouin climbs Change (9b +)
- This is how Alex Megos climbs the mega line Sleeping Lion | Video
- Alex Megos and Yannick Flohé are planning a potential 9c route in the Franconian Jura
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Credits: Cover picture Leo Ketil Bøe