Kurzinterview mit Dai Koyamada nach der Begehung von Action Directe

Hey Dai, first of all congratulations for your performance! How was it?!?
It was so hard. The line of the route is wonderful.

What did you think when you clipped the chain?
I was relieved and happy.

Why Action Directe?
Because it was the “destination” of my climbing life since I began to climb.

Did you do any particular training for Action Directe?
I
did quite a bit of campussing and I did exercises for monos. I began to
concentrate on bouldering after trying Action Directe in 2002: I
thought I needed more maximum power to succed in this route. In fact, I
have not climbed any route for 2 years.

Was it difficult for a short climber?
I'm
165cm tall,but I don't think it makes a big difference if you are tall
or short. But I think that it would have been easier if my fingers
would have been thinner, because I had to hold 2 pockets of Action
Direct only with one finger, where, usually, a climber with thin
fingers could have placed two.

Did you need a specific sequence?
I used a completely different sequence than Iker Pou or Richard Simpson. Maybe I used a mixture of all existing sequences.

Do you think this is the most significant hard route you have done?
Definitely!
It is the hardest route I've ever done. I have done three 9a's and 16
8c+'s and I think that Action Directe is the hardest one of all these.

Cheers Dai!
…and keep surprising us!