Action Directe (climb)
Action Directe () is a short sport climb at the limestone Waldkopf crag in Frankenjura, Germany. When it was first climbed by German climber Wolfgang Güllich in 1991, it became the first climb in the world to have a consensus grade. It is considered an important and historic route in rock climbing, and one of the most attempted climbs at its grade, where it is considered the "benchmark" for 9a. The training techniques Güllich used to prepare for the unique physical demands of "Action Directe" also revolutionized climbing and what could be achieved. History. A close friend of  Güllich, German climber Milan Sykora introduced him to the route that he had been working on at a large limestone prow at the Waldkopf crag, which was akin to an enormous boulder. Sykora was one of the leading German climbers at the time and had created several new routes UIAA grade X. In the 1980s, Sykora had bolted a line coming from the right and had managed to climb the individual moves through the upper section, but believed the lower section feasible but too hard for himself – he generously offered the project to Güllich, who promptly bolted the direct start , and hence the name "Directe"; Güllich said that it also named after the French terror group Action directe as climbing it felt like an attack on the fingers. Güllich completed the first ascent on 14 September 1991, after 11 days of working the route – spread over a three week period – and using a 16-move sequence including a direct start with a dynamic jump into a two-finger pocket to redpoint it. Güllich was 30 at the time and had been married just 5 days previously to freeing the route. It took another four years until the route was repeated  when East German climber Alexander Adler fulfilled what he described as an "obsession" to repeat the climb. Subsequent climbers have used a slightly different circa 11 to 13-move sequence to Güllich's original very direct 16-move sequence. At the 25-year anniversary of its first ascent, ten climbers who had completed the route assembled to mark the occasion and estimated only Adler had repeated Güllich's exact 16-move sequence, and that all others had crossed slightly right to use a shorter sequence. Güllich conservatively assigned a UIAA grade of XI, which was between and . Subsequent ascents would  verify its grade, which has since described as the "gold standard" or "benchmark" for ; and the first ever 9a in history. It wasn't for almost another decade, until 2001 when Chris Sharma freed the 35-metre "Realization/Biographie" at Céüse in France, that a higher consensus grade would be assigned. In May 2020, French climber Mélissa Le Nevé became the first female climber to ascend the route, and almost three decades after Güllich's original ascent was still only the 27th person to have climbed it. Two of the 27 ascents, Richard Simpson (2005), and Said Belhaj (2018), are  disputed. Route. "Action Directe" is famous for its unique style, involving physically demanding dynamic moves (known as "dynos" in bouldering) off single-finger pockets in the limestone, and in particular, a powerful initial dynamic jump-start into a two-finger pocket while leaning back at an extreme angle of 45-degrees. The route is short at and only took Güllich 70-seconds to complete his very direct 16-move sequence; most ascents post the second ascent move rightwards to a more efficient 11 to 13 move sequence described as "slightly" easier than Güllich's original sequence (although still solidly 9a ). In his 2016 ascent of the route, German climber David Firnenburg described it as: "The initial dyno into the sharp two finger pocket is followed by a passage with extreme lock-offs on small finger pockets. Then there are technically complicated side holds and pinches with difficult foot changes before you run out with a tricky to hit crimp at the very end, where I still fell several times before sending". Legacy. "Action Directe" has been consistently described as famous, legendary, and iconic in the climbing media, and even in 2020, it was being described as "an absolute cornerstone of  cutting-edge difficulties that attracts an irresistible draw for the vertical elite", and "... milestone 9a is one of the most famous and coveted sport climbs in the world". It has also been described as Güllich's "masterpiece", and when he freed the route, he was at the height of his physical and technical powers. Güllich had used new intensive training techniques called plyometrics to prepare for the physical demands of the climb, and introduced the climbing world to the "campus board", which would become the new standard for future extreme climbers to build finger strength and develop more dynamic muscle  strength. Some climbers have speculated whether English climber Ben Moon's 1990 ascent of the even shorter "Hubble", with only 4 crux moves, was actually the world's first climb at . Repeat ascents of "Hubble" have verified it as being "at least" the world's first . German climber Alex Megos, is one of the few who have climbed both "Hubble" and "Action Directe", and felt "Hubble" was probably an 8c+ in the right conditions, although Megos caveated himself by noting that grading is not an exact science, and is subject to the climber's own style. The situation has been  compared to the "Realization/Biographie" versus Alexander Huber's "Open Air" debate on the world's first . In fact, Huber attributes the initial conservative grading of "Action Directe" that persisted for many years, despite it being eventually shown to be a "hard 9a", for artificially suppressing the grades of other extreme routes in the 1990s, such as Huber's "La Rambla", and "Weisse Rose". Ascents. "Action Directe" has been ascended by: