Just days after climbing onto the podium at the British Bouldering Championships at Cliffhanger to claim a very credible third place, Gaz Parry got his harness on and rope out and nailed a rare repeat of the Kilnsey North Buttress classic, True North (F8c). At a time when many climbers are focusing on either bouldering, trad. climbing or sport climbing, Gaz’s ascent of True North after the bouldering comp is very impressive; talk about mixing it up!

True North has had something of a chequered history. Nic Sellars did the first half as Full Tilt (F8b) only to see Tony Mitchell steam in and blast on to the top of the crag to create True North at F8c. It was then repeated by an on-form Ian Vickers in a spectacular two hour blast – a feat which impressed the best climbers of the day. To date, the total number of repeats is still in single digits; a mark of the route’s difficult and its seepage prone nature smack in the middle of Kilnsey’s North Buttress.

Watching Gaz on True North was something of a masterclass in redpointing. His movements were precise, economical and deceptively powerful. His breathing too was totally in tune with his climbing, something which is essential on a power endurance route like True North. But what impressed me the most was that his ascent came with only a single rest day after the BBC. To coin the old cliché, here must be something in the water that Gaz has been drinking recently!

Doubtless Gaz will blog his own thought on his ascent so check out his blog at http://www.gazparryclimbing.blogspot.com. And whilst you are at it, you might want to get the full low down on some training and climbing tips at one of Gaz’s masterclass sessions either here in the UK or else in Spain at his new base near Gandia on the Costa Blanca – further details here http://epic-adventures.eu/default.aspx.