Mélissa Le Nevé makes first female ascent of Action Directe, Wolfgang Güllich's Frankenjura masterpiece

Breaking news: 30-year-old French climber Melissa Le Nevé has repeated Action Directe, one of the most famous and coveted sport climbs in the world, freed in 1991 at Waldkopf in Frankenjura by Wolfgang Güllich. Graded 9a, the route is an absolute cornerstone of cutting-edge difficulties that attracts an irresistible draw for the vertical elite.

After claiming the first female ascent in 2014 of Wallstreet, the world’s first 8c put up by Güllich in 1987, it was inevitable that Le Nevé would concentrate her efforts on close by Action Directe. After a series of important attempts and specific training she is currently in the form of her life. The coveted first female ascent of the world’s most famous 9a is hers, confirming her status as one of the world’s greatest of this sport.

Action Directe (9a), Waldkopf, Frankenjura (GER)
1. Wolfgang Güllich, Germany (14/09/1991) - First ascent
2. Alexander Adler, Germany (1995)
3. Iker Pou, Spain (2000)
4. Dave Graham, USA (2001)
5. Christian Bindhammer, Germany (2003)
6. Richard Simpson, UK (2005) - contested
7. Dai Koyamada, Japan (2005)
8. Markus Bock, Germany (2005)
9. Kilian Fischhuber, Austria (2006)
10. Adam Ondra, Czech Republic (2008)
11. Patxi Usobiaga, Spain (2008)
12. Gabriele Moroni, Italy (2010)
13. Jan Hojer, Germany (2010)
14. Adam Pustelnik, Poland (2010) 
15. Felix Knaub, Germany (2011) 
16. Rustam Gelmanov, Russia (2012) 
17. Alexander Megos, Germany (2014) 
18. Felix Neumärker, Germany (2015)
19. Julius Westphal, Germany (2015)
20. Stefano Carnati, Italy (2015)
21. David Firnenburg, Germany (2016)
22. Stephan Vogt, Germany (2017)
23. Simon Lorenzi, Belgium (2017)
24. Said Belhaj, Sweden (2018) - contested
25. Stefan Scarperi, Italy (2018)
26. Adrian Chmiała, Poland (2019)
27. Melissa Le Nevé, France (2020)

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Action directe . Wolfgang Güllich. 9a. - The classic. The legend. The first. ... What a journey ... what an inspiring person... what a fight... but also “une histoire d’amour”... everything I searched in climbing. I was hoping this moment wiIl arrive for ages. Never I would have imagined how emotional it would be to clip the anchor. I totally fell in love with the process, to solve the puzzle and unlock this jump. So obsessed that it thought me patience. Years of commitment, ups and downs, hope and many doubts. It would never has been possible alone. The frankenjura community welcomed me with an open heart and I’m so thankful for it. The support I received from Fabian and my friends was the light on this journey Those magical moments in the forest that fulfilled my heart for 6 years. It was my dream and became @guillaumelevernier ‘s one. He gave me his full support with a genius training plan. Sharing this goal and seeing his motivation helped me to become self confident, to be persistent, and finally give it all in the moment. @fabi_buhl , the multiple talented amazing person I’m lucky to share my life with. Also thank you and Andy for the countless hours we spend in the wood ! Love #frankenjura and all the people who shared a part of this crazy journey @bock.markus who helped me to understand the jump, @dirk.uhlig @laylazz_ @matilda_soderlund @dorokara @f.sattelberger @frank_kretschmann @alexander.nehls @krauss1971 @christianbindhammer @gejostasa @ballisbrain @norbert__sandner @hanneshuch @sammydahlman @sarah.kampf @dbwho @white_van_media @chiara_hanke @christoph_hanke @moritz.perwitzschky @juliansoehnlein @eline_lemenestrel @ninacaprez @moritzwelt_climbing @lenaherrm @_felixfelicius_ @alexandermegos @jenya_kazbekova @dickikorb and everybody I forgot to mention.. Massive thanks to my sponsors who helped me so much on this journey @fiveten_official @adidasterrex @arkose.climbing @team_edelrid @deuter Believe in yourself, that’s what counts #bethbyarkose #arkose #edelrid #team_edelrid #climbgreen #livewithoutlimits #adidas #climbing

A post shared by Melissa Le Nevé (@melissaleneve) on May 21, 2020 at 7:21am PDT