Northern Lights 9a by William Bosi

William Bosi, who did six routes 9a to 9b+ during a one month trip to Spain this spring, has done Northern Lights 9a at Kilnsey, after just two sessions. He was belayed by Ben Moon who bolted it more than 25 years ago. "World class line with so much history!"

Moon actually stopped sport climbing and started bouldering in 1996, after tried it for 30 days without success. Then Steve McClure did the FA in 2000 and it has only been repeated by Adam Ondra in 2010 and Alex Megos in 2016. McClure is known for his hard grade and Moon has said that he thinks that it merits 9a+.

So what have you been doing since returning from Spain?
Since returning from Spain I’ve continued my training in preparation for the competitions later in the year.

How was the process taking it down?
As the route is only about 15 meters it is all about power endurance, so making each move as efficient as possible was key. So I spent the first day just working on each individual move and section. I did give a redpoint go at the end of the day where I fell just before the last draw. I knew it was game on at this point so I decided to rest and come back. Coming back I warmed up and then gave two redpoint goes, the first I fell on the second last move and the second I was able to fight through and clip the anchor! Definitely has to be one of the best routes I’ve climbed.