The German professional climber Alex Megos has succeeded in repeating the Sleeping Lion route for the first time. In contrast to the first climber Chris Sharma, he suggests 9b as the grade.
They have a lot in common, Chris Sharma and Alexander Megos.. Both belong to the world's top climbing sport, both are climbing hall owners, and both are sponsored by Tenaya and Petzl. But more importantly: both have the route sleeping lion dotted. Chris Sharma climbed the line freely for the first time, and at the beginning of the year Megos also managed to climb the impressive line freely.
Thanks, Chris, for another brilliant line!
Alexander Megos.
Chris Sharma designing the Sleeping Lion route
Sleeping Lion is in the sector The pati consider siurana, not far from other high-end routes like La Rambla or La Reina Mora. The route is 54 moves long, sustained and spectacular. Sharma planned the route intensively for around a year and a half until he managed to climb it on March 28th. Sharma gave his rating as 9b+.
Yesterday Megos announced his commitment, but held back on details. Whether it confirms grade 9b+ remains unclear.
UPDATE, January 6, 2024, 18.15:XNUMX p.m
About an hour ago, Alex Megos commented on the route as follows:
«The first few days I only tried out sections of the route and was confident that I would top it in two weeks. After falling four times on the last pull, I was quite surprised at how tiring the last pulls are when coming from below. Then I realized that my first impression was probably not entirely correct. Ultimately, I invested eight days in the red point ascent, which is why I suggest grade 9b. Both 9b+ that I have climbed so far took me at least twice as much time. I look forward to hearing what future repeaters will do!”
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Credits: Cover picture Chris Hanke