Alex Megos’ Second Ascent of Sharma’s Sleeping Lion
A great new send film of Megos' send of the 5.15 line was just released
In early January, Alex Megos made the second ascent of Chris Sharma’s Sleeping Lion in Siurana, Spain. Located at the famous El Pati crag, Sleeping Lion is a route characterized by stacked double-digit boulder problems separated by poor rest positions. Both tenuous and powerful, the route requires a wide range of skills through its 40 metres of climbing. Megos just released a send film of his Sleeping Lion ascent, which you can watch below.
Sharma made the first ascent of the route in March 2023, grading it 5.15c (9b+). The ascent came nearly 10 years after completing his first 5.15c, La Dura Dura in Oliana, Spain.
For him, Megos thought Sleeping Lion felt more like 5.15b. “The first few days I only checked out sections of the route, feeling confident that I’ll climb it in two weeks,” said Megos via Instagram. “After falling 4 times on the last move and actually being very surprised how pumpy the last few moves were coming from the ground I understood my first impression was a little deceiving. 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. Very happy to hear what other repeaters will say in the future!”
With a grade of 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. Megos himself was subject to a high-profile downgrade with Bibliographie. He originally graded the route 5.15d, but it was later downgraded to 5.15c by Stefano Ghisolfi, which Megos agreed with.
Alex Megos sends Sleeping Lion
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