Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4023 Climbers
7797 Climbs
20568 Ascents
Featured
Alex Megos
Alex Megos is a German sport climber known for his cutting-edge first ascents, historic onsights, and astonishingly rapid repeats of some of the world’s hardest routes. Hailing from the Frankenjura, he has climbed virtually every hard route in the area. Unsurprisingly, he is exceptionally strong on pockets, though he also has notoriously poor skin.
Alex was the first person in the world to onsight 9a with his ascent of Estado Crítico in Siurana. He has also onsighted TCT (9a), Underground (9a), Intermezzo XY Gelöst (9a) and Mr. Big (9a) making him one of the best first-go climbers in the world alongside Adam Ondra. Other notably quick ascents include La Rambla (9a+) second go, Biographie (9a+) in a session, Demencia Senil (9a+) third go and Red Ram (9a+) third go.
In 2018 Alex established Perfecto Mundo (9b+) in Margalef to become only the third person in the world to have climbed 9b+. In 2020 Alex established Bibliographie (9b+) in Céüse after 60 sessions of work over multiple years. Initially he suggested 9c, though after some repeats it has since settled at 9b+.
Alex is also an experienced competitor with 45 world cup appearances and 10 podium finishes as of the start of 2026.
References
[1] Interview with RockClimbingUK
[2] Interview with Magnus Midtbø, 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMoBcKnJ_h4
[3] Interview with grimper.com (2026) https://www.grimper.com/news-alex-megos-veux-etre-moyen-veux-etre-vraiment-bon
Alex Megos is a German sport climber known for his cutting-edge first ascents, historic onsights, and astonishingly rapid repeats of some of the world’s hardest routes. Hailing from the Frankenjura, he has climbed virtually every hard route in the area. Unsurprisingly, he is exceptionally strong on pockets, though he also has notoriously poor skin.
Alex was the first person in the world to onsight 9a with his ascent of Estado Crítico in Siurana. He has also onsighted TCT (9a), Underground (9a), Intermezzo XY Gelöst (9a) and Mr. Big (9a) making him one of the best first-go climbers in the world alongside Adam Ondra. Other notably quick ascents include La Rambla (9a+) second go, Biographie (9a+) in a session, Demencia Senil (9a+) third go and Red Ram (9a+) third go.
In 2018 Alex established Perfecto Mundo (9b+) in Margalef to become only the third person in the world to have climbed 9b+. In 2020 Alex established Bibliographie (9b+) in Céüse after 60 sessions of work over multiple years. Initially he suggested 9c, though after some repeats it has since settled at 9b+.
Alex is also an experienced competitor with 45 world cup appearances and 10 podium finishes as of the start of 2026.
References
[1] Interview with RockClimbingUK
[2] Interview with Magnus Midtbø, 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMoBcKnJ_h4
[3] Interview with grimper.com (2026) https://www.grimper.com/news-alex-megos-veux-etre-moyen-veux-etre-vraiment-bon
Pics + Vids
Featuring 9978 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Cooper Doe on We Can Build You 8B
Florian Wientjes on Bügeleisen 8B+
Bernabé Fernández on Chilam Balam 9a+
Vadim Timonov on Guest List 8B
Kokoro Fujii on Somewhere in Time 8A+
Support
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You may also be interested in the Mountain Heritage Trust, a charity dedicated to preserving the rich history of climbing and mountaineering. Their collection includes many unique and valuable items, from rare guidebooks through to the boots worn by Doug Scott on the 1977 Ogre expedition.
Explore
Fancy a look around? You can browse by climber or by climbs, or you can check out some lists. For example
- All sport ascents of 9b or above
- British women who have climbed 7C or above
- British men who have climbed 8c or above
Podcasts
Featuring 3900 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Jake Mason on The Careless Talk Climbing Podcast (2023)
- Katie Lambert on The Nugget (2021)
- Alex Megos on The Struggle Climbing Show (2023)
- Zoe Wood on Jam Crack Podcast (2023)
Library
Featuring 14934 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- L'Etranger (2007) Film
- Preface (1997) Journal
- Cwm Glas (1970) Guidebook