Hamish McArthur nails coveted second ascent of Megatron (Font 9A)

• Friday 25th April 2025

Hamish McArthur has made an eagerly awaited second ascent of Megatron (Font 9A), Shawn Raboutou’s test-piece boulder in Eldorado Canyon, US.

Stepping aside somewhat from competition climbing after finishing the Combined (Boulder and Lead) in Paris 2024 in fifth position, Hamish has been spending considerable energy pursuing outside objectives. In particular, Hamish had an extremely successful spell over winter in Canada and the US during which time he added several very noteworthy scalps to his CV. Kicking off his trip, he flashed Frontside (V12/Font 8A+) then sent Singularity (V15 /Font 8C) at Squamish. Highlights from the rest of Hamish’s trip were a flash of Fool me Once (V14/Font 8B+) and a send of Se7en (V14/15 – Font 8B+/8C), but his biggest tick by far was repeating Big Z (V16/Font 8C+) before heading back home to the UK.

Fast forward to the here and now, and Hamish has once again stepped into the limelight with the coveted second ascent of Megatron. Originally climbed by Shawn Raboutou in 2022, Megatron was graded V17/Font 9A. Rumours abounded that it was one of the hardest bloc around. Megatron has soaked up time and effort from a number of climbers; Drew Ruana, for example, has spent over 100 days trying Megatron but despite coming close has been unable to complete.

Opening his campaign on Megatron, Hamish spent his first two sessions figuring out the individual moves of the problem, before starting to make real attempts from the ground on his third day. After making it past the crux of the boulder and falling, around fifteen times, everything clicked into place and Hamish topped out on Megatron on Monday 21^st April. Remarkably, especially given its history and reputation, Hamish completed Megatron in a staggering fast time of just five session! 

Hamish said, “I came to Colorado for rest and freedom. What attracted me to Megatron was its unique style and the opportunity it offered for creative expression. I knew that the mental battle was going to be a big part of my success or failure here. The boulder offers consistent difficulty and is still so droppable on the last moves.  17 moves off the deck and I’m now trying to figure out how I got here. I’m really proud to have grabbed the second ascent of Megatron, V17.”  

Hamish’s ascent of Megatron puts him firmly amongst the best British boulders including Aidan Roberts and Will Bosi currently operating in this rarefied atmosphere of Font 9A.