Interview: Alex Megos On Making Quick Work of 5.15c After Disappointing Olympic Performance

Alex Megos recently added a third 5.15c to his resume by making the fourth ascent of Change in Flatanger, Norway. The 31-year-old spent five days trying the route and linked it all together on his first redpoint effort. Megos’s quick send came during a “desperately needed” vacation after his disappointing 13th place in the Combined event at the Paris Olympics. He climbed his first 5.15c, Perfecto Mundo, in 2018, and his second, Bibliography, in 2020.

Established in 2012 by a then-19-year-old Adam Ondra, Change is generally regarded as the world’s first 5.15c sport climb. Repeated twice in 10 years—first by Stefano Ghilsofi in 2020 and then by Séb Bouin in 2022—the route has become “a real piece of history,” Megos says, adding that he was proud of his achievement, both due to the short amount of work the climb required, and how quickly he turned his frustration around following Paris.

I got a hold of Megos after his send to hear his thoughts on the Olympics and about his process with Change. 

Climbing: Let’s talk about the Olympics. Obviously I want to hear about how the competition felt, and how you responded to the combined format, but also how you managed expectations and emotions throughout the event. What did Paris look like for you?

Megos: To be honest, the competition went alright until my foot slipped on the qualifying lead route. I knew that if I climbed well enough I’d make finals, but I went into the Olympics without much expectation to medal. I didn’t really anticipate much from the bouldering round. We’ve—Yannick Flohé and I—had already noticed from the OQS [Olympic Qualifying Series] and recent Boulder World Cups that the bouldering setting is not very consistent. Often the boulders are super hard, and almost nobody does them. We went into the competition with this expectation, and it was not much of a surprise when it was fulfilled. Both Yannick and I knew it would come down to the lead event, where we usually perform better. I felt absolutely amazing mentally and super good on the wall. When my foot slipped and I so unexpectedly fell, I couldn’t really react. I was just off.

Climbing: It seems you didn’t waste any time getting outside after the competition. What did those early days after your slip look like?

Megos: Immediately after the comp I felt completely horrible. During the days after, I didn’t want to talk to anybody, I just felt really unhappy. It was hard to even watch the competitions because of how frustrated I was, so I went to a few gyms to train for a couple of days then left Paris a little bit early. I couldn’t stand to be there, and I knew that I needed a vacation to get back on real rock. It didn’t matter to me how I performed outside, I just wanted to escape the scene. Heading to Norway was already a planned trip, but it was a welcomed break from all of the stress associated with the Olympics.

Climbing: What did you want to get out of this trip to Flatanger? Was trying Change something you had in mind or did it simply work out that way?

Megos: I went to Norway last year with my girlfriend, and it was a lot of fun. We wanted to come again but with more time, and focusing on the Hanshelleren cave seemed like the obvious thing to do. Change was not pre-planned at all. I was actually interested in checking out some hard routes to return for the following year. I saw that the line had quickdraws on it, so I decided to check it out. It felt pretty good on that first try, so I started working on the route.

Climbing: Change has a reputation. Did you feel that it was a climb you’d want to try someday for any particular reason?

Megos: Generally, the route was important to me because of the history, but also it represented overcoming the past. I had been to Flatanger nine years ago, after the route had already been climbed, and back then I didn’t dare to try it. It looked awkward—especially the hard, low crux—and I was occupied with easier lines, so I never had the courage to check it out. For some reason, I came this year and it felt like the right moment to attempt the line.

Climbing: Can you give me a quick overview of Change, including some of the newer beta alterations that have made the climb somewhat different from Ondra’s first ascent?

Megos: The route breaks down into two parts; with the first section being a bouldery 5.15a and the upper half an endurance-based 5.14d. The first part has that crazy boulder problem with gaston moves and a high drop-knee, which felt okay for me because of some new kneebar beta (which means it’s on the lower end of the 5.15c grade) and my flexibility. The 5.14d section proved more difficult, partially because my kneebar skills aren’t good enough for those kneebars to help at all. There is this crux leaving the first anchor that I didn’t struggle with, but the pumpy 5.14a finish after this section took me a long time to figure out. I had to really take a while to discover the best beta for the top, and with such cryptic climbing the moves felt really hard until I had them dialed. Still, I never linked this section prior to my send burn.

Climbing: What was your mindset like while attempting such a route? Was it fueled by frustration from Paris, or a thankful psyche to simply be back to outdoor rock?

Megos: There was no frustration at all. While I was thankful to be back on rock, I was mostly completely immersed in the demands of the climb. During my attempts, my mindset was literally just to pass the next hard section and make it to the rests. Being so focused on only climbing again felt super cool.

Climbing: And what did the redpoint burn itself entail?

Megos: The send go itself was definitely a surprise. Interestingly, that was the first day when I started making attempts from the ground. I wasn’t necessarily intent on trying to send, but I knew if everything ended up going well, I could maybe pass the first pitch’s crux. If I made it through that, I thought I could potentially send the whole route, even though I had never climbed the upper pitch in one link.

Redpointing was a proper battle! Both mentally and physically. I was basically fighting between every rest, just trying so hard to climb a little more to arrive at the next stance. The send took about 45 minutes from bottom to top, and throughout that entire time I was just thinking about whatever section came above me. Focusing on ignoring the thirst, the pain in my shoes, the pump in my arms and core… yeah it was a fight. At each rest, I forced myself not to give up, to keep moving to another rest, and to believe it was possible.

Climbing: Now that the Olympics are over do you intend to focus primarily on outdoor objectives, or do you still plan on competing often?

Megos: More outdoor climbing, definitely. I haven’t gotten anything planned in particular, but the focus will be rock for the next few years. That doesn’t mean I won’t be competing at all, but I’m certainly more interested in rock climbing. I’ll be here in Flatanger for a couple more weeks, then I’m not sure where the fall and winter season will take me. There’s always a lot to try in Spain, and I’m psyched on a couple routes in France as well, but we’ll see what happens. I assume there will be more projects than time.

Related: Alex Megos on the Second Ascent of Chris Sharma’s ‘Sleeping Lion’

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