Action Directe (climb)

Action Directe is a famously difficult sport climb in the Frankenjura, Germany, first ascended by Wolfgang Güllich in 1991.

Action Directe
The route follows five bolts which are visible on the photo (quickdraws are clipped to the fourth and fifth bolt) and ends with the belay anchor (not visible). The next bolted route to the right, Feiste Fäuste, follows the overhanging crack and is much easier (grade IX).
LocationFrankenjura, Germany
Coordinates49°38′04″N 11°36′09″E
Climbing AreaKrottenseer Forst (crag Waldkopf)
Route TypeSport Climb
Vertical Gain15m
Rating9a (French), XI (UIAA), or 5.14d (YDS)
Bolted byMilan Sykora
First free ascentWolfgang Güllich, 1991.

It is generally recognized as the world's first 9a (5.14d) route, and it is currently still considered by many to be something of a benchmark for that grade, even though Güllich actually gave it a UIAA grade of XI, which converts to a French grade between 8c+ and 9a. It is also famous for its style, involving long dynamic moves off single-finger pockets, and a dynamic start into a two finger pocket.[1][2] Wolfgang Güllich invented the campus board to train the very specific strength and power needed for the Frankenjura area.[3]

History

Milan Sykora bolted this line in the 80's with a start from the neighboring line to the right. It is named after the French terror group Action directe.[4] The name of the route is French and pronounced [aksjɔ͂ diʀɛkt]. The first ascent (FA) was by Wolfgang Güllich in 1991, who climbed the route using a 16 move sequence and a more direct start with a dynamic jump into a two-finger pocket. It took him 11 days of working the problem to redpoint it. Dai Koyamada used a different sequence with only 11 moves.

Mélissa Le Nevé topped the first female ascent in May, 2020[5]

Ascents

The repeat ascents were by:

  • Alexander Adler on 9 September 1995.
  • Iker Pou on 7 June 2000.
  • Dave Graham on 21 May 2001.
  • Christian Bindhammer on 14 May 2003.
  • Rich Simpson on 13 October 2005 (his ascent has been questioned by UKC, and many other climbing sites).[6]
  • Dai Koyamada on 15 October 2005.
  • Markus Bock on 22 October 2005.[7]
  • Kilian Fischhuber on 25 September 2006.
  • Adam Ondra on 19 May 2008. (then aged 15) [8]
  • Patxi Usobiaga on 24 October 2008.
  • Gabriele Moroni on 17 April 2010.
  • Jan Hojer on 22 May 2010.[9]
  • Adam Pustelnik on 10 October 2010.[10]
  • Felix Knaub on 22 October 2011.[11]
  • Rustam Gelmanov on 26 March 2012.
  • Alexander Megos on 3 May 2014, after trying it for just two hours.[12]
  • Felix Neumärker on 16 May 2015.[13]
  • Julius Westphal on 25 June 2015.[14]
  • Stefano Carnati, 2016.[15]
  • David Firnenburg, 2016.[16]
  • Stephan Vogt, 2017.[17]
  • Simon Lorenzi, 2017.[18]
  • Said Belhaj (SWE), 2018[19] (his ascent has been questioned by the documentary filmmaker Hannes Huch).[20]
  • Stefan Scarperi on 2 November 2018.[21]
  • Adrian Chmiała on 5 May 2019.[22]
  • Mélissa Le Nevé, May 2020 [First Female Ascent][5]
  • Alex Megos on Action Directe (9a)

See also

Notable first free ascents

References
  1. "Action Directe". The Crag. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  2. David Firnenburg. "Ascending "Action Directe" in the past and today". The Circuit Climbing. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  3. Nicholas Hobley. "Action Directe, Wolfgang Güllich's 25-year-old Frankenjura masterpiece". Planet Mountain. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  4. Tilman Hepp: Wolfgang Güllich. Leben in der Senkrechten. Eine Biographie. 1. Auflage. Rosenheimer Verlagshaus Alfred Förg, Rosenheim 1993, ISBN 3-475-52747-2, S. 125.
  5. "Mélissa Le Nevé Climbs Action Directe 9a - First Woman To Climb Historic Route". Climber News. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  6. UKClimbing Editorial Team (Dec 16, 2010). "Rich Simpson - UKC's Position". Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  7. Dougald MacDonald. "Action Directe: It's a Trade Route". Climbing.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  8. "Adam Ondra repeats Action Directe, Frankenjura". Planet Mountain. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  9. "Rock Climbing Classics: Episode 2 – Jan Hojer Climbs Action Directe (5.14d)". Rock and Ice. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  10. Wojciech Słowakiewicz (10 October 2010). "Action Directe by Adam Pustelnik!". Serwis Wspinaczkowy wspinanie.pl. Archived from the original on 15 October 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  11. "Felix Knaub hat "Action directe" (11) im Frankenjura geklettert". Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  12. PlanetMountain (May 6, 2014). "Alexander Megos, the Action Directe Frankenjura interview". Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  13. ClimbingNews (May 26, 2015). "Felix Neumärker Repeats Two 9a's in Three Days". Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  14. Toni Lonobile for Wildclimb (June 27, 2015). "Interview of Julius Westphal!". Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  15. Artikel bei Rock and Ice, abgerufen am 15. Juni 2016
  16. David Firnenburg wiederholt „Action Directe“ (9a), retrieved 6th November 2016
  17. Stephan Vogt bezwingt »Action Directe«, retrieved 6th April 2017
  18. Quentin Coster. "Simon Lorenzi enchaîne "Action Directe", son premier 9a !" (in French). Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  19. "Action directe 9a pour Said Belhaj – Action directe 9a by Said Belhaj" (in French and English). Archived from the original on 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  20. Hannes Huch (Dec 6, 2019). "Fame is a bitch". Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  21. https://rockandice.com/videos/climbing/action-directe-5-14d-by-stefan-scarperi/
  22. https://wspinanie.pl/2019/05/legendarne-action-directe-dla-adrian-chmiala/
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