Alex Megos Had a Very Sendy Siurana Trip
Chris Sharma's Sleeping Lion wasn't the only hard climb Megos ticked on his short visit
Photo by: Marco Zanone
Alex Megos just finished up a two-week trip to Siurana, Spain. As you likely already know, while on the trip, he made the second ascent of Chris Sharma’s Sleeping Lion. Sharma made the first ascent of the route in March 2023, grading it 5.15c (9b+). His ascent came nearly 10 years after completing his first 5.15c, La Dura Dura in Oliana, Spain.
Megos thought Sleeping Lion was a touch easier than 5.15c, saying on Instagram, “In the end it took me 8 days and I would suggest [5.15b], as both the [5.15c’s] I did took me at least twice as long.” At 5.15b, Sleeping Lion joins a long list of routes of the grade that Megos has completed over the years, including first ascents of The Full Journey and Rastaman Vibrations in 2022 and Fight Club in 2016. He’s also made first ascents of two 5.15c routes: Perfecto Mundo in 2018 and Bibliographie in 2020.
Sleeping Lion wasn’t the only hard route Megos completed while in Siurana. He also sent Sin Acido Clorhidrico 5.14c, but suggested that it might be 5.14c/d now that a hold has broke. He sent two other 5.14c routes – ICA and Ursus – and also repeated Monsterhouse 5.14a and Monsterhouse Variation 5.14b. That’s a lot of climbing in just two weeks!
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