Alex Megos frees Ratstaman Vibrations, cool Sharma project at Céüse (original) (raw)

At Céüse in France Alexander Megos has made the first ascent of Ratstaman Vibrations, a project bolted by Chris Sharma over a decade ago. The German climber believes the climb checks in the 9b grade range.

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Alex Megos at Céüse in France making the first ascent of Ratstaman Vibrations. The project was bolted ground-up by Chris Sharma over a decade ago, and the German climber now believes the route checks in the 9b grade range.

[Jan Virt](/en/photos?autore=Jan Virt)

Despite unusually warm conditions even for Céüse, Germany’s Alexander Megos has completed the long-awaited first ascent of Ratstaman Vibrations at the crag’s Face de Rat sector, believing the line warrants something along the lines of 9b.

The project was bolted by Chris Sharma over a decade ago, ground-up interestingly, and features a remarkable gymnastic crux start that then leads past, in Sharma’s words an "amazing path of pockets". The route laid dormant for a while but circa 2 years ago received attention by the likes of Charles Albert and Seb Bouin who worked the moves together.

Megos had noticed the route in 2014 but it wasn’t until after sending Bibliographie that he turned his attention to it. Last year he climbed it in three sections on his second day of effort and returned this summer; he spent 5 days after the Chamonix World Cup and got close to the send, and completed the redpoint after competing at Briançon.

The 28-year-old, who in 2014 made the first and so far only one-day ascent of Biographie, has described the line as "For sure one of the best routes I've ever done or tried in the 9b range." Check out the videos below to understand why.

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