A Closer Look at Megatron V17

In 2022, fresh off his first ascent of Alphane V17, Shawn Raboutou established Megatron V17 in Colorado’s Eldorado Canyon. The climb had been a long-standing open project, with some of the best boulderers in the country trying their hand at the line, including Daniel Woods and Drew Ruana.

In 2017, Woods established the stand-start version of the problem, Tron V14. According to Woods, the full Megatron links seven moves of solid V15 into the ten moves of Tron V14 without any rest in between. With his first ascent, Raboutou became the first climber in the world to send (and FA) two V17 boulders. The climb is the second of the grade in the United States, the first being Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker in Red Rock, Nevada.

Megatron continues to be a long-term project for Ruana. He’s spent over 100 sessions trying to unlock the line. In a newly released video by Tension Climbing (embedded below), Ruana outlines Megatron’s holds and beta, as well as his struggles completing the problem. The video is particularly interesting because Megatron is one of the least filmed V17s. We’ve seen lots of action on Burden of Dreams, Return of the Sleepwalker, Alphane, and even Soudain Seul – but not so much for Megatron.

If there’s someone to unlock Megatron again, it’s Ruana. He has one of the most impressive bouldering resumes in the world. He’s climbed a mind-blowing 10 V16s, including first ascents of Bloody Sunday Sit, Insomniac, Distortion, Bookkeeping, and Maxwell’s Demon Sit.

Drew Ruana projects Megatron V17