Alexander Megos


Alexander "Alex" Megos is a German rock climber specializing in sport climbing, bouldering and competition climbing. In 2013, he became the first-ever climber to onsight a graded route. He has made the first free ascent of some of the hardest sport climbing routes in the world, including three routes, eight routes, and several boulders with a boulder rating.

Early life

Alexander Megos was born in 12 August 1993 in Erlangen, Germany. His family is partly of Greek descent. Megos speaks rudimentary Greek and often visits Greece.
Megos started climbing at the age of six. With his father, he climbed multi-pitch routes up to 300 m at the age of ten. In 2006, Megos began training in the mountainous region of his native Bavaria, known as Franconian Switzerland, and later at the German Alpine Club's national climbing center in Erlangen-Nuremberg. There, he was mentored by Patrick Matros and Ludwig Korb, who continue to train and coach Megos to this day. In 2007, Megos completed his first. Two years later, in 2009, he climbed his first by completing Drive-by Shooting, and, in 2011, his first by ascending San Ku Kai.

Climbing career

Competition climbing

Megos started competition climbing in 2006. He won two youth European Championship titles and was the runner-up in the youth World Champion in 2011. In 2009, he won every single competition in the EYC series. In 2017, he was the runner-up in bouldering at the European Championship and won his first World Cup in the lead climbing discipline in Briançon, France, on 21 July 2018.
In 2017, he won the silver medal for bouldering at both the European Championships in Munich and the IFSC Lead World Cup in Kranj, Slovenia. In 2018, he won a bronze medal in the lead climbing discipline at the IFSC World Cup in Chamonix, France, and, one week later, won the gold medal at the Briancon World Cup. Later in that year, he took the bronze medal at the World Championships in the lead competition. He followed this up with a silver in lead at the 2019 World Championships. By reaching the finals of the combined event at the World Championships, he secured a qualifying spot for Tokyo's 2020 Summer Olympics.
Megos has also climbed in the La Sportiva Legends competitions, where he has placed second and third on numerous occasions, celebrating in a win in 2018. He currently holds the high point of Black Diamond's The Project, which is widely considered one of the world's hardest indoor routes.

Sport climbing

On 24 March 2013, Megos ascended Estado Critico in Siurana, Spain, completing the world's first 9a onsight. In August 2013, Megos climbed The Red Project 9a, Australia's first 9a, and Wheelchair. Due to the boulder's uncommonly long length, Megos assigned the Wheelchair a sport grading.
Alexander Megos is known for speedily ascending difficult climbing routes. From mid-April to mid-June 2014, he completed nine routes, ranging from to, in Franconian Switzerland, including Modified, one of the most challenging routes in the region. He also managed a redpoint attempt of the famous Action Directe within two hours, setting a record time. In addition, he is the only person to complete an asccent of Biography also known as Realization in Ceüse, France in a single day of effort.
In June 2014, Alexander Megos, together with Roger Schäli, completed the first ascent of the 20-pitch route Fly in Staldeflue, Switzerland, one of the most difficult big-wall climbing routes in the world.
In April 2015, Megos returned to Australia, completing the first ascent of SchweinebaumeIn 9a. On 1 October 2015, he climbed the route Supernova in Franconian Switzerland and, by doing so, likely established the first route of grade 11+ in German-speaking countries.
Megos' ascent of First Round First Minute in December 2015 marked the completion of his first.
On 9 May 2018, he secured the first ascent of the route Perfecto Mundo in Margalef, Spain, a line bolted by Chris Sharma. Megos and Sharma had tried it together several times in the days before his ascent and graded it.
In August 2020, Megos completed his long-term project Bibliographie in Céüse, grading it, after working on it for 60 days. However, in August 2021, after Stefano Ghisolfi had matched this feat, the route was downgraded to, which Megos agreed was more fitting.
Same 2020 Megos established Pornographie, a new route between Bibliographie and L’Étrange Ivress. He graded it without using knee-pads.

Bouldering

In May 2020, Megos ascended Upgrade U, one of the most challenging bouldering problems in his native northern Bavaria.

Notable ascents

Redpointed">Redpoint (climbing)">Redpointed routes

9a+/b
Other notable ascents

[Onsight]ed routes

Boulder problems">Bouldering">Boulder problems

Rankings

Climbing World Cup

Climbing World Championships

Youth
Discipline2009
Youth A		2010
Youth A
Lead82

Adult
Discipline201820192023
Lead323
Bouldering252517
Speed10975-
Combined1113

Climbing European Championships

Number of medals in the Climbing World Cup

Lead

Personal life

Megos has been vegan since the beginning of 2021.
Megos and his family have provided housing, via their properties in Erlangen, to Ukrainian refugees, saying the refugees are "friends and family". He said that athletes feel too far from the Ukrainian War to believe they can be of any help, and wishes that they would use their platform to help people.