Alex Megos flashes 8c and 8b+ in Buoux and tries Le Bombé Bleu

Alex Megos has flashed Ben Moon’s Agincourt (8c) and La chiquette du graal (8b+) during a six days climbing trip to Buoux, where he also tried a famous 9? project.

Can you tell us more about the preperation and the running beta for the flashes?
I just got a tiny bit of beta while I was climbing. I mostly watched my friend Felix [Neumärker] on it twice and had him explain the holds to me. We also watched the video from Seb Bouin.

What is the story of the picture?
It's some street art on a ruin (destroyed house) just before the parking of the area. Someone thought it would be cool to have some climbing graffiti. It's Patrick Edlinger*.

What about the Bombé Bleu famous project?
After a couple of days on the route it didn't feel possible yet. You need a very strong big toe 😂. Bombe Bleau is really hard and very very specific. The first jump is very very hard, but for sure possible. It will be very tricky to actually stick the move from the ground. And then you still have the rest of the route after that.

Did you manage to do all other hard moves?
Not even close actually. After the first jump there are still a lot of hard moves. Nico Pelorson does the sequences without shoes to be able to use his big toe in the pockets. I also tried that but I had absolutely no chance without shoes. The problem is, also with shoes I had no chances of doing the moves. It felt hard, awkward and one pocket is quite small.

* Patrick Edlinger (1960–2012) was a French rock climber and one of the pioneers of free solo climbing. He gained fame in the 1980s for his bold ascents without ropes, and sending several 8c’s during the 80’ies, including the second ascent of Agincourt. Known for his grace, strength, and mental focus, Edlinger helped popularize sport climbing through films like La Vie au Bout des Doigts (1982) and Opéra Vertical (1983). His influence on modern climbing was immense, inspiring generations of climbers with his philosophy of movement and dedication to the sport.