[Richie Crouch]

I've noticed the absence of this annual thread , so thought I'd get the ball rolling!

What were the climbing highlights of the last year for you? Obviously this will be subjective and may be related to the enjoyment gained from climbing something with amazing moves, or breaking a new grade, crushing a long term project..etc!

You can answer n/a if you didn't partake in any particular field. Please try and keep the answers to 3 problems/routes for each category!

If you use the format below it will make it easy for everyone else to follow;

Top three boulder probs, UK
Top three boulder probs, abroad
Top three trad routes/soloes UK
Top three sport routes UK
Top three routes abroad (any genre)
Top three new route/prob put up
Top Spanking's

[GCW]

Top three boulder probs, UK  Beauty of Being Numb, more for it being the end of a seige.  Damned Spanky SDS at the Kebs, New Rose as it's an ace wall and it was revenge for the A2 injury 364 days before.
Top three boulder probs, abroad  Mouton a Six Pattes, Abdolobotomy, Toubib or not Toubib
Top three new route/prob put up  David Vetter, The Crescent of Embrace,  Sans Arete (dyno)
Top Spankings  Pit Problem, Sloping Beauty, Big Marine (again)

[Richie Crouch]

Oops got occupied in work, working and didn't contribute..

Top three boulder probs, UK In Hell (cave), Ben's Groove (caley), Texas hold em (trowbarrow)
Top three boulder probs, abroad Sale Gosse, Rubis sur l'Ongle, la berezina (all font)
Top three trad routes/soloes UK N/A
Top three sport routes UK Cruisin for a bruisin (yew cogar), Ice (Dinbren), Fit of Peak (kilnsey)
Top three routes abroad (any genre) N/A
Top three new route/prob put up N/A
Top Spanking's Where to start! Failed miserably on Comedy, 3 goes to cigar hold = pumped and failure. Failed to finish off In Life in the cave falling off Left Wall twice and then the wobble block came a cropper!

[Adam Lincoln]

Top three boulder probs, UK Super Submarine, Yellowcake, Vienna
Top three boulder probs, abroad Atomic playboy, La Balance. L'arrache coeur
Top three trad routes/soloes UK Gigantic, The Cad,  Electric blue(solo)
Top three sport routes UK Dr Crimp, Urgent action, Ecstacy
Top three routes abroad (any genre) La cara que no miente, Avec vue sur la mer,
Top Spanking's Photoshot. Ripped my fingers to shreds

[nodder]

Top two boulder probs, Pools, Caseg groove
Top three boulder probs, abroad I wish
Top three trad routes/soloes hmmm did one cant remember it so it must have been great.
Top sport route UK Bad boy,
Top three routes abroad (any genre) NA
Top Four new prob put up The Crest sit, Special K, Tracks, dolly Rocker
Top Spanking's That 7b at llandulas 3 sessions of gibbering, Superior air 10 years and counting.

[i_a_coops]

Top spanking: Fell off a 6c warm up at Cheedale Cornice, fell off the crux of Cry of Despair 10 times (after ignoring advice to dog it again first and avoid flash pump....), fell off a warm down. left.

I'm strangely proud of that for some reason...

[JacobJacob]

Top three boulder probs, UK: The Storm, The Fin (sit), Cardboard box
Top three boulder probs, abroad : Alas n/a
Top three trad routes/soloes UK Barriers in Time, Hermann Borgs basic pulley Slippage, Get Some In
Top three sport routes UK: Shadowstyx, Berlin Extension, Hall of Mirrors
Top three routes abroad (any genre): The Muscles from Brussels, Solecito, Afroman
Top three new route/prob put up: The Muscles from Brussels, Giant Octupus, Mega Shark (The only 3!) all in Cala Barques Mallorca
Top Spanking's: monoculture (OMFG), Northern Comfort, WSS (the saga continues)

[abarro81]

Top three boulder probs, UK
Staminaband - first 8A that Ru probably wont downgrade
The Storm - fun day in the snow
Jerry's roof - great times waking up to see snowdon in glorious morning light and us all covered in ice in our sleeping bags, then eating far too much flapajck and going bouldering in the pass.

Top three boulder probs, abroad
Supernova (Magic wood) - 'cos it's dead fun
Berezina (Font) - 'cos my mates couldn't do it
Biceps mou (Font) - 'cos it was snowy so I got to be like Jerry

Top three trad routes/soloes UK
Reproduction (High tor) - Not placed gear for 9 months, warmed up doing chin ups. Got the most pumped calves in the world trying to remember how to fiddle in wires and took about an hour and a half to climb 30m. Great fun!
Ulysses - more like a highball with some snow and pads but Reeve fell off and I didn't. So there. Plus I've not done any other trad this year.

Top three sport routes UK
Tuppence - possibly the best sport route I've ever done.
R'n'P - for the cool footlock drop knee faggotry at the crux.
The Toilet - not actually the 3rd best route, but was super psyched to flash 8a in the UK so it goes in.

Top three routes abroad (any genre)
Latido del Miedo (Terradets) - first 8a onsight. Chuffed. Plus Dan fell off (even if it was 'cos of Bob's wack beta).
Telemaster or Aeroplastica (Margalef) - Could easily be any of the other great routes I did in Margalef, but these two were probably my faves. Or magic festival and cova de la felicitat.
ATP (Masriudoms) - god I love onsighting long routes.

Top Spanking's
32 - too weak
Everything in Ailefroide - too weak, too little skin
Migranya - Fell off the headwall 3 times like a retard. Then hurt my finger. Bastard.
La criature (wild side) - tired, weak and low on psyche at the end of 10 weeks away. Plus burnt off by Ed again.

[i_a_coops]

Ah what the hell.

Top three boulder probs, UK Neil's Traverse (end of siege!),Deliverance, To Be Or Not To Be (epic near-death fall)

Top three trad routes/soloes UK Track Of The Cat, Lundy Calling, The English Opium Eaters

Top three sport routes UK House Burning Down, The Mettle Detector, England's Dreaming

Top three routes abroad (any genre) The Muscles From Brussels, Afroman, Solecito

Only non-shit new route put up Strong Thom vs. Jungle Lion

Top Spanking's Washout on Cry of Despair. Also, spent 3 hours recently on some eliminate at High Rocks then found out the top jug was full of ice..... faceplant into the snow? Oh yes

[Doylo]

Quite shocked i haven't got anything to put in some of the categories!
Top three boulder probs, UK
Hardly did any bouldering, well hardly got up anything. Did some good problems at a crag X. Most satisfying problem would be Broken Sam in Cave as its damn hard with the proper sequence.
Top three sport routes UK
Empire of the Sun, Ansteys. Really rate this, immaculate.
Battle of the Little Big Orme, LPT. Also immaculate, fantastic limestone.
Stark, Pigeons Cave. Rediscovered, love this little route.
Top three new route/prob put up
Three Degrees of Levitation, Crag X. A real find for me, only short but good rock and really different unique climbing. Crazy dyno to a lovely jug.
Melon Beach, LPT. A link up that i had had my eye on for 6 years, finally felt good enough to do it. Really good for a link up, crimpy first section then jug rest then burly finish. Even better if you finish up Parasite a la Robins!
Temple of Gloom, Llanddulas Cave. Fantastic roof climb. Feel very lucky to have found and done this. Topping out through the hole at the top of the cave into the light was magical.
Top Spanking's
As usual no shortage of these. Powerplant, Cheedale. Fucked up top wall 3 times in spring cos got pumped. Returned later in summer and could hardly do crux anymore!
Cider Soak, Ansteys. Fell off with top of the crag in my hand. Disappointing to say the least.
Diamond Project. Despite a significant improvement from the previous year still failed to bust through the stopper move. Maybe its time to admit that i can't do fitness (or 8as)!

[Adam Lincoln]

Crazy dyno to a lovely jug.

Or static to a lovely jug 

[remus]

Boulder Problems abroad
3 x 'that cool little thing in font that i cant remember the name of'
UK trad
Venus Fly trap, Lundy
concrete chimney + quartz icicle finish
Sea green, lower sharpnose
Foreign Routes (does scotland count?)
Magic Crack
The Hill
Grey Panther
Top Spankings
Quietus, got completely shut down, felt like i could have spent a life time slithering about in those top cracks.
Crime and Punishment.
Hercules, curbar. Slithered out of it after 30 mins effort and nearly puked. Pretty much put an end to the days activities.

[Andy F]

Top three boulders UK erm.. struggling a bit here. Did beta flash a V7 section of the Longridge traverse, that's about it. Shocking really 
Top three sports routes UK now I'm on safer ground. Grooved Arete (obviously), Overnite Sensation (again, obvious) and Le Lapin (Kilnsey, unusual style of route, more techy than the usual burl).
The rest n/a

Note to self - Boulder a bit more this year.

[Eddies]

Top three boulder probs, UK
The Fin (sitter)
Wrights Traverse (Uber Classic)
Tetris (OK I did it today but its going in the list anyway, its just so good)

Top three trad routes/soloes UK
A birthday ascent of The Sloth
A solo ascent of Portfolio (A perfect friday evening after work solo of the entire crag)
Browns Eliminate

Top Spanking's
Peak limestone... It happens every year!
Visited Crag-X for the first time tho and REALLY liked it. Did half a dozen or so probs but I reckon Zippys Trav was my favourite tick. I will be back for Moffatrosity in the summer.

[Teaboy]

Top three boulder probs, UK
I rarely bolder but I was pleased to do Firestarter at Pantymwyn as its not my thing.

Top three trad routes, UK
Marble Staircase, Iron Crag
The Eternal Optimist, Gogarth - not for the route but for the novelty of doing a route at Gogarth after work
What a Difference a day makes, Llanberis Pass - I fell off this years ago so nice to take care of business

Top three sport routes UK
Comedy, Kilnsey - every year I get on this and get bent over, this year I stuck with it...... for too long really!
Extreme Ways, Dinbren  - quite a find by Big Lee this
Fated Path, Tunnel Walls, Glencoe - is there a better positioned sport crag in the UK?

Top three routes abroad (any genre)
For the first time in years I never went sport climbing abroad this year so these are trad:
Que cherche-tu Jean Marie? Aguille Croux - quite simply the best granite I've climbed on in the alps
Diedro Nanchez, Valle del'Orco - thanks for the recommendation Tommy (we met you in the campsite), a world classic, cragging route.

Top Spanking's
Penal Servitude at Reecastle -just embarassing, who'd have thought the climbing would be so hard?!
All the sport routes I did manage took far longer than anticipated
Fessura della Disperazione, Valle dell'Orco - F6a+ really doesn't tell the whole story...........

[Johnny Brown]

Found it hard to remember to be honest, a dig through the photos has jogged my memory a little...

Top three boulder probs, UK
The new Roaches slab at the upper lower tier. Not outstanding but decent and always good to burn Ryan off.
Art Nouveau - THE perfect grit highball, done it before as a solo back in the day but more fun with pads and managed to maintain the no falls record. Hmm, struggling here, can't think of much tbh.

Top three boulder probs, abroad
Didn't go bouldering abroad, so I'll have Top three Snowballs please:
Ai No Corrida, Weather Report, Goosey Goosey Gander. All brilliant climbing much improved without gear faff or death fall, and done on some magical days out. More please!

Top three trad/ winter routes UK
Supersonic, High Tor - the kind of thing I assume I'm not up to but snuck up on it with little drama.
Braille Trail, Burbage South - just amazing, so hard to get round to actually attempting these things, was fine in the end.
Western Gully, Black Ladders - again, in my mind a massive deal, THE big welsh route, upgraded etc, pissed up it in a few hours in perfect nick on a perfect day. Ace.

Top three sport routes UK
Only did one really - The Ogre, Chee Tor. Not just my first 8a but a genuinely good route.

Top routes abroad (any genre)
DWS trip to Mallorca all I did really, took me a while to get into it, Afroman was the biggest number embarrassingly enough. Amazing stag do scenes though. Visited Taipan, which was a tick in itself even if I climbed like a lettuce.

Top new route/prob put up
Two winter routes on the Black Ladders, the first - The July Crisis - being properly decent and a great salvage of a deteriorating day.

Top Spanking's
Any overhanging limestone, both in The Peak and Mallorca. Everything on Taipan, sadly, on my three day visit to Oz. Failed to get up the start of Careless Torque.

Other scenes of note - got engaged, set up a business, was on telly, sold some photos. That's cheered me up to be honest, not a bad year! Look forward to seeing Nige's - could be tough narrowing down the trad to three!

[nik at work]

Top three boulder probs, UK
Gareths Traverse, Mytholm
Titus Gaukroger, Mytholm
Piss, Higgar

Top three boulder probs, abroad
La Puce, Canche. First 8 in the forest.
Surplomb de la Coquille sitter, Hautes Plaines. Just lovely.
El Pousif, Isatis.

Top threetwo trad routes/soloes UK
Boldness Through Ignorance, Cows Mouth Quarry, unexpected trad bounty.
Lockless, The Nook, sport but soloed.

Top three sport routes UK
Smouldering Globules of Lust, Trollers.

Top three routes abroad (any genre)
Errrr...

Top three new route/prob put up
Titus Gaukroger, Flight Path, Clowns Pocket Direct.

Top Spanking's
Sport climbing, sport climbing, sport climbing (again...)


Didn't seem to tick much of anything this year.

[Stabbsy]

Top three boulder probs, UK
Top Cat Traverse, Almscliff
Titfield Thunderbolt, Brimham
Red Tape Traverse, Brimham

Top three boulder probs, abroad
Rubis sur l'Ongle, Gorge aux Chats
Holey Moley, Cuvier
Barre Fixe, Elephant

Top three trad routes/solos, UK
The Axe, Cloggy
Left Wall, Brimham
Five Finger Exercise, Cratcliffe

Top three sport routes, UK
Cruisin' For A Bruisin', Yew Cogar
Axle Attack, Pen Trywn
Space Race, Malham

Top three routes abroad (any genre)
Nowt, must try harder...

Top three new route/prob put up
Nowt

Top Spankings
China Crisis, Kilnsey (again)
Bleau's Art, Rempart
Bloodsports, Pen Trywn

[nai]

Top 3 Boulders, UK
West Side Story
David
Tierdrop

Top 3 Blocs abroad
Angle Jean Luc - still not easy even when you know how
Cure Dents-  a highball 6a arete at 91.1 with a supercool move and spicey top-out
Drôlesse - a lovely 6B arete at Guichot, all slopers and compression, font in a nutshell.

Top 3 Trad
Darius -I think this is the best route I've ever done
North West Passage (South Stack)
West Rib (Mot) - much much much better than Diagonal.

Top 3 Sport
That Was The River - always wanted to try it for the name (for those of The Waterboys generation) but it is a great route
Whose Line is it Anyway
Brachiation Dance (after a 16 year gap since first trying it)

Top 3 Snowballs
Three Blind Mice
Trimming The Beard
Verandah Buttress Direct

Top 3 Spankings
ACME Wall defeated me again, although it was a spanking hot day
had my nose in front of the belay of Big Zipper three times only for my fingers to uncurl before I could clip;
Stall continues to confound as does The Lurch.

[andy_e]

Top three
Crimpy Roof, Titfield Thunderbolt, everything else I did.

[chillax]

Top three boulder probs, UK
Carbide, Fair Head
Eat It Left, Fair Head
Racing The Sun, Wicklow

Top three boulder probs, abroad
Pass

Top three trad routes/soloes UK
Thunderhips, Fair Head
Fireball, Fair Head
First pitch of Mizen Star, Fair Head


Top three sport routes UK
Pass

Top three routes abroad (any genre)
La Classique du Piler Du Couchant, Todra Gorge
Enchiladas Metallicos, Todra Gorge
Afrique Physique, Todra Gorge

Top three new route/prob put up
Norwegian Jumping Penguin, Cruit
Twelfth Day, Owey
Racing The Sun, Wicklow

Top Spanking's
Completely failing at ice climbing in Wicklow after putting my crampons on backwads and wondering why there were no frontpoints....
Getting beaten down by Black Taxi at Fair Head
Having to pull on draws to get up a corner in Morocco that my girlfriend cruised with no apparent effort

[T_B]

A funny year climbing-wise (due to getting married and honeymoon in South Africa). Did less trad this year than ever before, but did some great bouldering.

Top three boulder probs, UK
Cornelius, Churnet. Tried this a couple of years ago above the stump. Now the stump is gone, it still feels scary, but less terrifying with 8 pads  . One of the best of its genre in the UK.
Ben's Roof, The Tor. Never thought I'd be able to hold that crimp. Not the best problem, but at a crag I visit a lot, so well chuffed to finally do this.
Big Air, Stanage. Tons of pads and spotters on my 2nd stag do. Manned up for the jump after much dithering. Wearing various bits of stick on facial hair.

Top three boulder probs, abroad
Cedar Spine, Rocklands. One of the best in the world. Perfect line, perfect height, perfect moves. Just perfect.
Pinotage, Rocklands. Beautiful boulder and line. Perfect conditions.
Jaws, Rocklands. Amazing location, beautiful features. Finally worked it out after much faffing.

Top three trad/ winter routes UK
The Pump, Grochan. Early season mega pump. Only just stayed on.
Dexter Wall, Grey Crags, Buttermere. With Rach on a perfect day 2 weeks before our wedding in the same valley (another perfect day ).
Mint 400, Froggatt. Probably the only dry route that day after all the snow. Snowballed but still a bit scary.

Top three sport routes UK
Magnetic Gates, Lulworth. On Dave's stag do. Sadly, the big one was wet that day.
The Ogre, Cheedale. Great to do a vertical 8a without mingin crimps.
Roof Warrior, Cheedale. Bit painful on the knee, but a cool route by Peak lime standards.

Top routes abroad (any genre)
Afroman, Mallorca. Managed to on sight in gopping conditions.
Bandito, Mallorca. Friendly DWS.

Top new route/prob put up
N/A

Top Spanking's
Chimes, Tor. Quite a few sessions this year, but wasn't strong/fit enough early summer. Was probably strong enough late summer, but no time 
Nemesis. Yet more confirmation that 8a+ is about 3 grades harder than 8a.
Narcissus, Froggatt. Despite perfect conditions, pads, beta etc etc. Just feels so wrong?!

[duncan]

A mixed year for climbing.  Somewhat better than usual aches and pains management and the tentative start on a structured training programme for the first time in 10 years helped.  First year of parenthood, finishing PhD and work-place redundancies curtained activity. 

I did a greater number of routes than for several years but most were fairly forgettable.  No bouldering or sport-climbing to speak of but this is all set to change for 2011.  I failed to get to Carn Gowla - again.  I had a couple of good trips to Pembroke where I managed my token E3 (this has to change for 2011) and best spanking at the hands of The Whaler (full-on benightment, rescued by partner who lowered into the sea, swam to abseil rope and prusiked out - thank you Sue!).

The highlights of the year were two great trips to Red Rocks and Yosemite.  Getting up the Salathe for my (large number)th birthday is the best climbing I've done in the last 10 years.

[205Chris]

Top 3 Boulders, UK
This is tricky as I've had my best season bouldering ever and this list could easily be 10 but I'm going with:
West Side Story - Took a lot of sessions but every one of them was enjoyable.
The Keel - Done in a truly epic session. Dropped the last move (with hand in jug) early on and about 4 hours later I finally did it.
Brad Pit - Had the week off work before Easter and was supposed to be climbing in the Lakes but the rain forced us back to Sheffield. A few sessions on this and a late evening raid on Easter day got it in the bag. Memorable.

Top 3 Blocs abroad
L'Aerodynamite - First 7b+ in Font and a real thing tick as well. What more do you want?
Smash - Awesome dyno. I lost a lot of skin to the top hold before latching it.
L'Angle Bens - Took me ages to figure out the beta but well worth it.

Top 3 Trad
Only one trad route this season....
Wing of Unreason - Because my Dad taught me you always need 3 points of contact with the rock. Not here you don't.

Top 3 Sport
Cry of Despair - Was about to set off on the redpoint when a load of old school wads turned up to climb it. I remember thinking it would be nice not to look like a total punter in front of them. Luckily I did it that go.
Brachiation Dance - The way I like sport routes. Steep and with massive holds.
Seventh Aardvark - The best route I've done at Malham so far.

Top 3 Snowballs
Ai No Corrida - Including a rather terrifying but completely unintentional cut loose move.
Three Blind Mice - Because I can wind my mates up about flashing E7 (with tongue firmly in cheek).
Silk - Failed to do this on the Saturday with loads of pads and spotters. Went back on Sunday by myself with 2 pads, a helmet and no spotters. Got through the crux first go and then politely had to ask the couple gearing up for the VS crack for a spot on the top moves.

Top 3 Spankings
There could be lots of these but:
Kudos - If it wasn't for the fact I want to climb hot fun closing I wouldn't bother with this.
Zippy's Sidepull - I regret spending as much of my life trying this as I did.
Rattle and Hump start - Seem to be getting worse on this.

I don't think the fact that the top 3 spankings are all on Limestone is a coincidence.

[joeisidle]

Top Three Boulder Problems

Clever Beaver Low Start- Right Wall Traverse: Yes it's a link up, yes it involves a grovelling sit start, yes it's a traverse and yes it doesn't top out. Oh, it's in a dusty cave too. However, it was my first font 7 after much seiging and represented the first time that I'd climbed something that I knew people much better than me had found hard.

Razor Roof: For having brilliant moves, being 'my style'(ish) and for making me work for it after failing on it at first before going away, getting stronger and returning to crush it. It made grovelling over the top-out all the sweeter.

Virgin Wall Traverse (the easy bit): For being yet another awesome traverse at Churnet. Crucially, it's the only one that won't destroy your skin despite the fact that the rock's good. Combine this with good moves, nice varied holds and a secluded setting and you have a lovely easy traverse.


Top Spanking

Rippled Wall: Got through the crux move lots of times over the course of a week long trip to Dartmoor but only worked out the top sequence on the second to last day, 5 days on with no skin or energy left, and couldn't get through the bottom sequence by the time I knew what to do