14 Oct Flex Luthor: world first 9b?

Matty Hong has repeated Flex Luthor, 9a/b.

Back in 2003 in The Fortress, Tommy Caldwell freed an amazing end extreme route. HE has called it Flex Luthor, proposing the 9a+ and it was the hardest route in the USA at the time. In october 2021, finally, Matty Hong has been able to climb it, after a lot of route untill 9b. Thanks to his experience, Matt is proposing to upgrade Flex to 9b; if this will be confirmed, flex would be one of the oldest 9b on the planet.

“Yesterday was special; I poured everything into this climb. ‘Flex Luthor,’ established by  in 2003, has been one of the best and most challenging climbs of my life. Tommy’s ascent, nearly 20 years ago is truly amazing and proves how far ahead he was as a climber and visionary. It’s undeniable some aspects of the route have changed over the years, however I believe the majority of the climb has stayed intact. With my best judgement, I’m proposing 5.15b.”

From Matty Hong’s IG page

AP