Alex Megos has been posted up in the Red River Gorge, throwing himself at a spicy new take on a local legend: the direct start to Pure Imagination. The OG line,Jonathan Siegrist’s 2010 testpiece, goes at 5.14d, but Megos’ variation kicks off with a razor-sharp, V12-ish boulder crux before it even joins the party.

If anyone’s got history with this wall, it’s Alex. He flashed Pure Imagination back in 2012 and has racked up a pile of the Gorge’s hardest sends since. For perspective, America’s current top dog is still the direct start to Jumbo Love, 5.15c, out in California’s high desert, but the Red’s sandstone keeps calling.

And on this trip, Alex got close. Like, fingertip-brush close. “This could have been it,” he said. “Closest I’ve ever come. Sticking that move would’ve set me up for a real shot—after that it's just ‘only’ 8b+ to the chains. I’m more fired up than ever to come back and finish it next year. This route—and this whole trip—taught me a ton.”

The send will come. For now, the process is pure imagination in motion.

2025 Attempt

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