Northern Lights 9a by Josh Ibbertson (17)

Joshua Ibbertson, who did his first 8b+ at age 12, has done his second 9a, Northern Lights at Kilnsey, after some 20 sessions. The historical route was bolted by Ben Moon some 25 years ago and then Steve McClure got the FA in 2000. Previously, it has only been repeated by Adam Ondra, Alex Megos and William Bosi.

"I first got on it in June, right after I did progress (8c+). It’s the line directly to the right so was the obvious next choice. The route is super sustained, so I saw it as a great opportunity to work on my power endurance (which was definitely one of my weaknesses). Obviously with it having so much history added to the motivation! Especially belaying Ben (Moon) and watching him get so close.

I didn’t do any specific training for the route apart from training on the route itself. Some days I would be too tired, or conditions wouldn’t be good enough to redpoint, so I’d just focus on doing links and laps on sections, for training. I fell agonisingly close a few weeks ago, after my foot got stuck round the rope! To add to the frustration the route got soaked a couple of days later. I had to leave it for a while to let it dry. Yesterday, it finally dried enough to redpoint from the ground. I was really happy with how the send go went I felt in control and relaxed meaning I could enjoy the climbing. I even surprised myself by shaking out on what was previously one of the crux moves for me!"

What is your next plan?
Go surfing for a few days. Then I need to get back to training. One of the things I really want to do next is try and find/bolt some routes of my own.