Climb Action Directe

When it was first climbed by German climber Wolfgang Güllich in 1991, it became the first climb in the world to have a consensus 9a (5.14d) grade. Action Directe is considered an important route in rock climbing history, and is one of the most attempted climbs at its grade, where it is considered the "benchmark" for the level of 9a. The plyometric training techniques and customized equipment that Güllich used to prepare for the unique physical demands of Action Directe also revolutionized climbing and what could be achieved.

Action Directe
The route follows five bolts that are visible on the photo (quickdraws are clipped to the fourth and fifth bolt) and ends with the belay anchor (not visible).
Map showing the approximate location of Action Directe
Location	Frankenjura, Germany
Coordinates	49°38′04″N 11°36′09″E / 49.63444°N 11.60250°E / 49.63444; 11.60250
Climbing Area	Waldkopf crag, Krottenseer Forst [de]
Route Type	Sport Climb
Vertical Gain	15-metre (49 ft)
Pitches	1
Rating	9a (French), XI (UIAA), or 5.14d (YDS)
Bolted by	Milan Sykora
First free ascent	Wolfgang Güllich, 14 September 1991.

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 free ascent on 14 September 1991, after 11 days of working the route – spread over three weeks – 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. Four years later the route was repeated when East German climber Alexander Adler fulfilled what he called 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 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 8c+ (5.14c) and 9a (5.14d). Subsequent ascents would verify its grade, which has since described as the "gold standard" or "benchmark" for 9a (5.14d); 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 9a+ (5.15a) grade would be assigned.

On 22 May 2020, French climber Mélissa Le Nevé made the first female free ascent 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.

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 15-metre (49 ft) and took Güllich only 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).

After his 2016 ascent, 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 must-hit crimp at the very end, where I still fell several times before sending".

 

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". Action Directe has also been described as "Güllich's masterpiece" – the testpiece for 9a (5.14d) – 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 have speculated whether English climber Ben Moon's 1990 ascent of the very short Hubble, with only 4 crux moves, was actually the world's first 9a (5.14d) route. Repeat ascents of Hubble have verified it as being at least the world's first 8c+ (5.14c). 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. In 2022, British climber Buster Martin became only the second climber to have climbed both routes and felt that they were both 9a; he did note that being sponsored by Ben Moon might make people skeptical of his view.

The situation has been compared to the Realization versus Alexander Huber's Open Air [de] debate on the world's first 9a+ (5.15a). In fact, Huber attributes the initial conservative 8c+ (5.14c) 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 routes in the 1990s, such as Huber's La Rambla, and Weisse Rose.

Action Directe has been ascended by:

First female free ascents (FFFA):

• 1st. Mélissa Le Nevé, May 2020

• Dai Koyamada's 2005 ascent: Action Directe (Motion picture). Frontier Spirits Productions. 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
• Jan Hojer's 2014 (second) ascent: Falquet, Nicolas (director) (May 2014). Rock Climbing Classics: Episode 2 – Action Directe 9a (Motion picture). Mammut. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
• Stephan Vogt's 2017 ascent: Funke, Alexej (director) (October 2017). The Fire Within (Motion picture). Mad Rock Climbing. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
• Mélissa Le Nevé's 2020 ascent: Lowell, Josh (director), Mortimer, Peter (director) (2020). ReelRock 15 (Motion picture). Sender Films. Retrieved 27 December 2021.

• History of rock climbing
• List of grade milestones in rock climbing
• Silence, first climb in the world with a potential grade of 9c (5.15d)
• La Dura Dura, second climb in the world with a consensus grade of 9b+ (5.15c)
• Jumbo Love, first climb in the world with a potential grade of 9b (5.15b)
• Realization/Biographie, first climb in the world with a consensus grade of 9a+ (5.15a)
• Hubble, first climb in the world with a consensus grade of 8c+ (5.14c)