Alex Megos Flashes Historic 5.14 in Old-School Area
The German climber made the first-ever flash of Agincourt 5.14b, France's first route of the grade
Alex Megos recently wrapped up his first-ever climbing trip to Buoux, France. If you’ve never heard of Buoux, it’s an incredible limestone climbing area that was one of the most popular hard climbing destinations in the 1980s. Megos came away from his trip with a bunch of hard redpoints and a stunning pair of first-go ascents. He managed to flash La Chiquette du Graal 5.14a (8b+) and impressively, Agincourt 5.14b (8c).
First climbed by Ben Moon way back in 1989, Agincourt was France’s first 5.14b route. Although it has a modest grade for today’s climbing elite, the line has been rarely repeated over the years. Most would have thought a flash of the route to be impossible, or at least extremely difficult. Characterized by small edges, mono pockets, and tenuous footholds, the route is sequencey and beta-specific with little margin for error, making a first-go ascent highly improbable.
Megos watched a video of Seb Bouin climbing the route before his flash attempt, gathering all the beta he could. You can view Bouin’s uncut send footage below. “What a great week with great company in one of the most classic and old-school areas I know,” said Megos. “A trip to Buoux has been long overdue. Glad I could make it over last week.”
Megos ticked many other hard routes while in Buoux, including:
- Miss Catastrophe 5.14b
- Le Spectre du Sur-Mutant 5.14a
- End of Weakness 5.13d/14a
- La Mission 5.13d
- La Rose et le Vampire 5.13d
- CTN 5.13d
- Tabou 5.13c
Seb Bouin climbs Agincourt 5.14b
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