Was ‘Hubble’ or ‘Action Directe’ the First 9a? Buster Martin Weighs In 'Action Directe' was established in September 1991 by Wolfgang Güllich. The 14-meter line punches through a series of pockets, with the crux serving up a feet-cutting deadpoint from a mono to a two-finger pocket. The route doesn’t let up for 15 subsequent moves, making it a power-endurance test piece. Güllich originally called the line 8c+/9a but it quickly was upgraded and widely considered the world’s first 9a. In 1990, however, one year before 'Action Direct' went down, British climber Ben Moon established 'Hubble.' The line is short and bouldery, with just four hard moves rather than 16. Instead of pockets, the climber faces bad underlings and scrunchy feet. Because no 8c+ (5.14c) routes existed at the time, Moon settled comfortably there with the grade—but it too has been upgraded to 9a. So which came first? At the link in bio, Delaney Miller (@millerd13) caught up with Martin (@bustermartin) for his thoughts. Photos by Hannes Huch (@hanneshuch).