Alex Megos interview after Siurana Sleeping Lion second ascent

Shortly after 15:30 on Thursday afternoon at Siurana in Spain Alexander Megos clipped the anchors of Sleeping Lion, the intense 40m outing in the El Pati sector freed by Chris Sharma on 28 March 2023. Last spring the 41-year-old American suggested the grade of 9b+ and described it as "one of the best routes I’ve ever put up", and while Megos has confirmed the beauty, the 30-year-old now believes the route warrants 9b. Here are the details.

Alex, wow, that surprised us! That was quick!
Thanks. Yeah it was quite quick. Eight sessions in total. I worked it for three days towards the end of 2023, then on my fourth day I started making redpoint attempts. I actually broke a hold halfway up the route on day 4, which Chris then put back together and glued back on, and after attempting it on days 5 & 6 and a rest day, I tried it again on day 7 but failed. On day 8 I got the redpoint.

In the afternoon
The face receives the sun until about 16:00 but it was overcast so I decided to try a bit earlier than usual. Conditions didn't feel great but I made no mistakes.

Tell us about the route
Sleeping Lion suits my style of climbing perfectly and is a hallmark Sharma testpiece: big moves, no really really tiny crimps, requiring lots of power and endurance. It starts with a really big dyno at the first bulge. This is reached after two bolts and 8a/a+ climbing that lead to a ledge and from here the route kicks off in earnest with this mega-long, Kilter Board style move. Luckily this was never a problem for me, but I know that Jorge Díaz-Rullo who's been trying the route and has done really well on all the upper section is struggling there. Thankfully for me it's not an issue and I never fell there. After this dyno a few moves lead to rest, then there's that cool dyno to a huge "potato" hold which you may have seen in Chris' video. Another 10 hard moves lead to a rest, then comes a hard shoulder move which is the redpoint crux; I fell here 4 times on my redpoints. From here there are another 3 bolts to the top. This finish is only about 8a+, but it certainly feels harder then you'd want at this point. I basically climbed the route exactly like Chris.

What about that hold you broke?
Unfortunately I snapped a hold at half height. I gathered the pieces and gave them to Chris, who glued them back together and stuck it back on in exactly the same place. It now feels slightly worse: before I could clip really easily, now I can't and so I just skipped the clip. But it doesn't change the overall grade.

Talking of which...
As I wrote on my Instagram account, I reckon it's more like 9b, not 9b+. I'd love to say that I'm in such good shape that I can climb 9b+ in 8 sessions, but I don't feel I am. And to be honest, with a bit more luck I might even have climbed it faster: I know I got close on day 6. So solid 9b sounds good to me, but of course it'll be interesting to hear what others think. What I do know for sure though is that it's an awesome climb and that I've got huge respect for Chris. I don't know many other 40-year-olds putting up routes of this calibre, with two young kids, running their own gyms... it's really, really impressive.

Days spent on a route is the main criteria you use to judge the difficulty?
Usually, yes. I did First round first minute at Margalef in 6 days, just like Fightclub in Canada. They're both 9b. Perfecto Mundo which is 9b+ required 16, Bibliographie as you know needed far, far more...

That's a great start to 2024! So what's next Alex?
Thanks. Actually I hoped to send it on the 31st of December and end 2023 with this route, but that shoulder move close to the top kept shaking me off. but yes, it's a great start to 2024. Now I need to fix my car and get home to Germany for the first team training camp. My main goal this season is to try and qualify for the Paris Olympics and preparing myself for the qualifications is going to take a lot of time and energy. If I qualify I'll go to Paris, if not I'll just hit the crags. Whatever happens, it'll be cool.