One of the greatest rock climbers alive is Alex Megos. Although that statement seems simple, it requires some analysis to fully grasp its practical implications. He finished the first free ascent of Bibliographie in the Céüse region of France in 2020. The route is graded 9c, which puts it at the very edge of what is possible for humans to climb. There are very few persons who have accomplished anything similar. In the climbing world, those phrases are used while discussing Megos.
People are drawn to his girlfriend’s story for reasons other than the climbing records. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Jenya Kazbekova, a professional climber from Ukraine and Megos’s partner, departed her nation with her mother and sister that morning. They crossed borders with whatever they could carry, leaving behind an apartment, a life, and in Jenya’s case, her father, just like millions of Ukrainian civilians who fled during those initial days. Legally, Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 had to remain. Her dad stayed.
In response to the crisis, Megos and his family opened their properties in Erlangen, Bavaria. Jenya, her mother, and her sister were among the fifteen Ukrainian refugees they took in. Something about the Megos family that exists completely apart from the athletic accomplishments is reflected in the practical generosity of that—fifteen people, multiple properties, and the logistics of abruptly growing a household by that number.
Megos didn’t try to find a positive frame where none existed; instead, he was straightforward when discussing what the situation meant for Jenya. Her career as a professional climber requires concentration, practice, travel, and competition. Her home was vacant, her father was in a war-torn nation, and the city where she had lived for half of her life was completely different from what it had been the week before. “Just to have this worry of loved ones still being in the war area makes it very hard for Jenya to focus on her training and competitions,” he said. He gave no indication that she was doing well. He gave a precise description of it.
Before the invasion altered the situation, Jenya Kazbekova was developing her career on the international competition circuit. Elite professional climbing is a difficult world in and of itself, with a schedule of contests spanning continents, training blocks in certain places, and the particular mental and physical preparation needed to compete at the highest level. There is no clear answer or timescale when you add the burden of a family living in a conflict area.
Megos and Kazbekova, two professional climbers whose careers brought them to the same crags, competitions, and training environments, grew close in their shared professional world. Understanding that background is important because it influences the foundation of the connection, which was more than just closeness. The understanding that results from that shared experience doesn’t need to be explained because both were working at the very edge of what the sport requires.
