After five days of planning, Buster Martin had what is probably the most famous route in the Franconian Jura in his pocket. Besides Alexander Megos, he is only the second climber to have climbed both Wolfgang Güllich's Action Directe and Ben Moon's Hubble - two absolute classics, often accompanied by the question of which was the world's first 9a.
After his annular ligament rupture last year, years of dreaming and intensive training blocks during his travels in Indonesia Buster Martin recently with a personal experience of a special kind: the inspection of Action Directe (9a). The climber and climbing trainer enthuses that the line was really as fantastic as he had imagined.
«The line, the trains, the environment and above all the history. Wolfgang's legacy, dedication and vision to climb something like this has inspired so many."
Buster Martin
Buster Martin: No need to compare biceps
Both Ben Moon's Hubble as well as most Wolfgang Güllich's Action Directe were way ahead of their time - the former originally rated 8c+, the latter 8c+/9a. Both lines have been upgraded over time. At Action Directe, difficulty level 9a manifested itself quite early, around Hubble the situation was less clear. The youngest repeaters, including Buster Martin, rated the line 9a multiple times.
“I climbed Action because it's Action and Hubble because it's Hubble. Both are significant in their own way and have a similar place in history."
Buster Martin
Asked by 8a about the difficulties of both routes, Buster Martin replied that he hadn't given it much thought. There are two different routes that he climbed at different points in his climbing career and with different levels of fitness. “I climbed Action because it's Action and Hubble because it's Hubble. Both are significant in their own way and have a similar place in history."
"I love the story, but do we really need to compare Ben's biceps to the late Wolfgang Gullich's?"
Buster Martin
The consensus for Hubble seems to be 9a, and while that changed history, he doesn't think it takes away anything from the iconic Action Directe. «The monos, the line, the beautiful surroundings and most importantly the legacy of Wolfgang and the way he pushed things in sport climbing and training. A true legend and a legendary route, the best I've done."
That might interest you
- This is what Alex Megos says about the dispute over the title "First 9a in the world"
- Germany vs. Great Britain - Where was the first 9a climbed in the world?
- Action Directe controversy: That's what Said Belhaj and Hannes Huch say today | broadcast beta
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Credits: Cover picture Hannes Huch