Hamish McArthur comments Megatron (9A) - UPDATED

Hamish McArthur, who was #5 in the Paris Olympics, reports on Instagram that he has done the second ascent of Shawn Raboutou’s Megatron (9A) in Eldorado Canyon. The 17-move test piece adds an 8C/+ low start to Tron (8B+). Hamish sent it after five sessions, having fallen seven times at the top on the day of the send. (c) Jess Glassberg - ”One of the most amazing moments I’ve filmed in climbing.

Hamish skipped the first World Cups in China but he will be back on the comp circuit starting with the World Cup in Salt Lake City, then Innsbruck and finally the World Champs in Korea.

How did you come up with the idea of trying Megatron, how was the first experience and the following process?
I was always planning on doing a big outdoor climbing trip in the states. I have a van here and it’s a shame not to use it. As for Colorado and Megatron, well that boulder seemed to have a slight mythical status. First of all it was unrepeated - and not for lack of trying to - so I wanted to see what that was all about. I love climbing that allows for creativity, and the 3D nature of the climbed seemed like it would allow me to climb with style.

The first time we went up to the boulder I got pretty shut down on the start. My tactic on session 1 is to be as creative as possible. I tried every kind of beta I could imagine. It was hot but I managed to fight my way up the v14 end section “Tron” towards the end of the session.

The process was spiritually intense. I figured out the moves on session 2 and started putting them together into promising attempts in session 3. Getting over the finishing line with this boulder was the crux. I knew I could do it, but actually doing it took a lot of energy. In session 4 I made it to the second last “hard” move and at the start of session 5 I dry fired after doing the last of these hard moves. It took 6 more attempts climbing almost to the lip before I managed to keep everything together. So, 5 sessions total - but I don’t want to see climbing as a purely efficiency problem. I want it to be about depth and appreciation instead of how quickly you can get into and out of.