[Fiend]

Trad

Minimal, yellow edge on Avon Gorge being the highlight. Hard not be safe with threads that big.

Unless you pull off the hollow handledge on the reachy move into the borehole on P1 with wires a long way down and left and enough ledges to hit  Great route but a lot dodgier than the guidebook implies.

[csl]

Rehab Finger - done, plus various other injuries since.
8a - no, but did first 7c+ and some quick 7c's. Didn't really try an 8a, probably my major failing.
Do some trad - yes, but not much of it.

Not actually that bad a year when i think back. Good job everyone else!

[Wood FT]

Trad

Minimal, yellow edge on Avon Gorge being the highlight. Hard not be safe with threads that big.

Unless you pull off the hollow handledge on the reachy move into the borehole on P1 with wires a long way down and left and enough ledges to hit  Great route but a lot dodgier than the guidebook implies.

Yikes. Yeah sorry, my lead was the steady pitch 2, pitch 1 can fuck off. Shaley bolted death 'adventure'.

Amazing last pitch, got knee bars and would love to think I would've used them on lead (no)

[Falling Down]

Looking forward to 2016. Some things I'd like to do this year:

- Get back into shape and do some climbing. 

A good first half of the year with trips to El Chorro early on with Martin to get my mojo back; a really great and fun weekend in Siurana with Bridbeast, csl and Shurt, a scary day out to Boulder Ruckle with Duncan, a top weekend with loads of people for Fatneck's birthday in Abersoch, a weekend in Swizzy with an old schoolmate at Magic Wood & Chironico, a weekend in Wales with old friends from Sheffield and the locals and a lovely day out on the grit with Mike Harrison climbing for his first time out for over twenty years.  After that it all went downhill climbing wise but I wasn't too bothered.  Just started training again for a trip to Buis at the end of Feb with loads of mates from Sheffield.

- Continue the good work on the music front, write some songs & do more gigs. 

A good year. Lots of guitar playing and some DJ'ing.  Guitar playing has really come on with more forays into Jazz and modal stuff... did some low key gigs with friends

- Do some writing.

Nope.

- Become a Dad.

Still trying... next year is going to be expensive.

- Get a new job/career that's fun, challenging, pays the bills and doesn't dominate my life like the last five years.

Tick.  Happy with being self employed.  Have been pretty much full-time since May and it looks like it will continue into 2017. 

It's also meant that I've been able to fulfil an ambition to begin training as a Psychotherapist.  A five year programme starts in January and I'm really excited about it. 

- Go surfing somewhere interesting like Orkney or South America.

Didn't surf at all.

- See all my friends & help my family sort some problems out.

Saw lots of friends and didn't see some.  Family stuff is stable for now...

Have a great Christmas everyone and best wishes for the New Year 

[bigironhorse]

Didn't write anything on here but had a few things written out. A bit of a mixed bag but mostly good progress.

Climbing
Try some 8As. Nope. Have ticked a few 7B+/Cs but not really made much progress towards doing an 8A.
Do an 8a. Call of Nature Raven Tor.
E7 ground up Grand Potato with about 10 pads so not really.
Right wall/Strapadictomy and other E5s. Tempest/Pool Wall/Rattus Norvegicus. Also flashed Desolation Angel. No right wall or strapadictomy though!
Climb something big. Motorhead/Septumania - Grimsel Pass. Luna Nascente - Mello.
DWS
Ariege
Northumberland
Dont get injured Got away with one finger tweak and a touch of golfers elbow so compared to previous years a blinding success!

Slacklining
Walk 75m Managed a new PB of 70m but didn't manage 75m and lost interest towards the end of the year.
Highlining. Good sessions at Hallam University and Hull Dock lines.

Life
Get a car.
Do well on MSc.
Get a Phd.

[Footwork]

I've got 2 more climbing days left (weather permitting) which might see me pull off a magic trick....

[TobyD]

Sort out irritating niggly collateral ligament tweak which I stupidly retweaked yesterday, and then:

Trad:
Onsight 5 E5s after a few years of neglecting trad almost altogether, ideally Extreme Rock ones.
Climb E6 (again).
Get out in Scotland.

Sport:
Overnight Sensation, The Groove, Love amongst the Butterflies (all of which done in overlapping sections 2015)
8a abroad, possibly in Margalef in March.
Statement of Youth
If going ok find a suitable project 8b or harder to get stuck into

Bouldering
7b on the lime
Brad Pit, eatswood traverse,
Get over to Wales at least a couple of times

Collateral ligament damage totally sorted...

Everything else mostly failed, although I did do 2 8as abroad in 2 days, second and first go respectively. Unfortunately, I then smashed my head to smithereens, and broke my wrist into the bargain which put paid to any more climbing from June. I'd got a PB highpoint on the groove about an hour before too, which I'd basically forgotten about until just now.
Other scraped positives... Would probably have knocked out a couple of 8a+s given slightly better conditions in Spain in may. Had started with a few bits of lime bouldering and even enjoyed some of it.
Now reaching the dizzy heights of 6b+ on top rope at the wall, and almost bench pressing body weight... I am currently actually pretty pleased with both of these.

[36chambers]

I've got 2 more climbing days left (weather permitting) which might see me pull off a magic trick....

my thoughts exactly...         

...can you give me a spot?

[Wood FT]

Sort out irritating niggly collateral ligament tweak which I stupidly retweaked yesterday, and then:

Trad:
Onsight 5 E5s after a few years of neglecting trad almost altogether, ideally Extreme Rock ones.
Climb E6 (again).
Get out in Scotland.

Sport:
Overnight Sensation, The Groove, Love amongst the Butterflies (all of which done in overlapping sections 2015)
8a abroad, possibly in Margalef in March.
Statement of Youth
If going ok find a suitable project 8b or harder to get stuck into

Bouldering
7b on the lime
Brad Pit, eatswood traverse,
Get over to Wales at least a couple of times

Collateral ligament damage totally sorted...

Everything else mostly failed, although I did do 2 8as abroad in 2 days, second and first go respectively. Unfortunately, I then smashed my head to smithereens, and broke my wrist into the bargain which put paid to any more climbing from June. I'd got a PB highpoint on the groove about an hour before too, which I'd basically forgotten about until just now.
Other scraped positives... Would probably have knocked out a couple of 8a+s given slightly better conditions in Spain in may. Had started with a few bits of lime bouldering and even enjoyed some of it.
Now reaching the dizzy heights of 6b+ on top rope at the wall, and almost bench pressing body weight... I am currently actually pretty pleased with both of these.

That's a great comeback, won't it feel great to do the groove now Ey? I've found your desire to get back to strength very inspiring Toby.

[Eddies]

Sort out injured knee (meniscal tear) then: I had the op on April 19th (Tore it way back on October 12th... Shambles NHS Waiting list!) They removed most of my left meniscus.
7C on peak lime No lime 7C's this year I spent most of my summer chumming about on a rope. Highlight was getting 'Out of my tree' start re-worked and wired ready for the route.
7C+ on peak grit No Grit 7C's this year. Had to make do with four 7B's, incl. Monochrome, which I flashed... and 'Piss' which I did second go (Obvs all with a limp left knee)
8a on peak lime Spent 3-4 sessions working 'Out of my Tree' at Raven Tor. got all the moves done before my wedding/honeymoon in August!
Multiple personal training goals. Spending 10-11 hrs. during the week training hard either gets you strong or injured, and at times it's a thin line!

DIY goals: I move into a new house in Jan so will have a woody and a garden to build. Major goal smashed! Been spending a lot of time on the house and garden and they both look great
I'm also getting married in August so have significant stag do goals! Amazing stag do Nr Kirkby Stephen in North Yorks. One-off wedding at Gradbach, and a much deserved 2-week honeymoon (only even been away for a 2-week holiday once before that) in Split, Croatia... Which I highly recommend to you all (Split, not necessarily a honeymoon!)


All the best for Christmas crushing/rest and all the best for decent gains in the new year 

[TobyD]

That's a great comeback, won't it feel great to do the groove now Ey? I've found your desire to get back to strength very inspiring Toby.

Cheers Guy! Good to see you again on Tuesday. Have a great Christmas. Give me a shout if you want a list of recommendations for Thai if you are going to the south.

I forgot to mention, winner of 2016 is the foundry. Been down a handful of times recently, and I'd forgotten how friendly and inspiring everyone down there is. Best wall in the world, no question.

[Will Hunt]

I set no goals this year, and thus have neither failed, nor succeeded. Perfect.

[Andy F]

Bouldering: 7C (which is not at Trowbarrow or in any way Vitruvian man related).
Routes: more than last year's abysmal showing, so an 8a in the Peak would be nice.
Trad: 

Spending most of the year struggling with tendonitis in my left elbow and carpal tunnel in my right wrist put any aims out of the window. Still, did a cracking 7b+ at Llandulas which was a brilliantl surprise.

But after what happened to Toby D I have no room to complain. Get well soon pal.

[SA Chris]

1) Not get injured and maintain current reasonable bouldering form
Disaster right from the get go (gecko). Fucked thumb skiing end of April, hardly climbed most of the summer - which meant most of the below didn't happen.
2) Do some more mountain rock routes, maybe tick a few more Classic Rock routes (although nearest ones are now Glencoe / Nevis)
see above
3) Do some more routes indoors instead of bouldering
see above
4) nail 3 last remaining bouldering projects locally
see above
5) Do the DWS traverse
see above
6) Get some great powder riding in in the Alps
Fuck yes
7) Do a ski tour / bit of ski mountaineering in the Alps (nothing massive, the Roc d'Enfer (or at least part of it) looks like a good objective)
Hell No. In hindsight unless it was a very unusual set of circumstances the two were pretty much mutually exclusive.
Get back to some surfing again (last year was not a good year)
Had another average year locally, couple of great days  in the water on Lanzarote but had some great days out on the SUP on flat days though
9) Do some local ski touring (on new skis I'm about to buy), and if conditions don't allow, some easier (II/III) winter routes.
Had some brilliant touring days, in spite of one of them resulting in a destroyed thumb
10) ski Glencoe
negative
11) Take more photos, and do something with them
yes - spent a lot on kit, started a facebook page, actually sold one or two.
12) Don't be so lazy when it comes to Aurora chasing
One minor tick so far for the year, hopefully more to come
Upgrade this - had some really successful nights - kit upgrade has made a major difference.
13) Hang on to job in current crisis in the industry
Unbelievably still here
14) Man up and take back extra time I work with no credit
Done OK this year - quite a few days I could have had off were taken up sorting out the estate of a close relative, but didn't do much working from home in evenings like last year.


Plus side to the injury and not getting much climbing done was discovering the simple joys of road biking and running, and finding out my grindy knee which i thought would get worse because of them is still holding up OK. CV fitness is better than it's been for ages, and looking forward to doing some ski touring days out where I'm not the one at the back breathing out my arse.

[fried]

Bunch of fucking slackers, there's more than a week left of the year! I'm hoping to get more sessions in before the end of the year than in the last couple of months.

[Wood FT]

I set no goals this year, and thus have neither failed, nor succeeded. Perfect.

I'll retro-set you one Will, be a smug twat, good effort! 

[Will Hunt]

I set no goals this year, and thus have neither failed, nor succeeded. Perfect.

I'll retro-set you one Will, be a smug twat, good effort! 

Been training all year for that one. Tickety fucking tick 

[TobyD]

Cheers Andy. I really appreciate all the support I've had from the UKB collective this year. I've needed it. Could have been worse though, I'm not whining, there are others in a far worse place than me.

[Oldmanmatt]

Cheers Andy. I really appreciate all the support I've had from the UKB collective this year. I've needed it. Could have been worse though, I'm not whining, there are others in a far worse place than me.

Yep.
Shark just found out he's stronger than Hayden and lost his last excuse for failing the Oak!
A mere hole in the head pales by comparison...
[emoji12]

Good luck in the New Year though, you were looking stronger between meetings already and a BW bench is pretty good.


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[SA Chris]

Bunch of fucking slackers, there's more than a week left of the year! I'm hoping to get more sessions in before the end of the year than in the last couple of months.

<peers out of the window at horizontal rain, and checks forecast>...

[Oldmanmatt]

Bunch of fucking slackers, there's more than a week left of the year! I'm hoping to get more sessions in before the end of the year than in the last couple of months.

<peers out of the window at horizontal rain, and checks forecast>...

Nice and warm in my training room. So my new 2016 goal is a one armer with a 2kg weight belt. 3-2-1...

And Nope.

Roll that over to 2017 then.

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[36chambers]

Bunch of fucking slackers, there's more than a week left of the year! I'm hoping to get more sessions in before the end of the year than in the last couple of months.

<peers out of the window at horizontal rain, and checks forecast>...

Nice and warm in my training room. So my new 2016 goal is a one armer with a 2kg weight belt. 3-2-1...

And Nope.

Roll that over to 2017 then.

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There's still a week left, that's at least two more sessions. You could even drop 2kg in body weight in that time...

[Hoseyb]

Try to avoid convention
Score!
Do the Tosheroon
Fail. Not ever fit at a suitable time
Do the Marchlyn project
Fail. Something to do with not training since 2014
Rebalance my body
started,  but my hip is a bit stubborn
Do something surprises me
Neverfall, Bertleman Slide and 7A+ outside. A year of injury,  work and kids so these successes are a score!

Next year I will try training...

[fried]

Bunch of fucking slackers, there's more than a week left of the year! I'm hoping to get more sessions in before the end of the year than in the last couple of months.

<peers out of the window at horizontal rain, and checks forecast>...

Nice and warm in my training room. So my new 2016 goal is a one armer with a 2kg weight belt. 3-2-1...

And Nope.

Roll that over to 2017 then.

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There's still a week left, that's at least two more sessions. You could even drop 2kg in body weight in that time...

Connies looking O.K here, hoping for 4 outdoor sessions, with the first on Christmas day , could all so easily change though.

[AJM]

Mixed bag - some successes, some works in progress, some not to bes.....

Still potential to turn a decent chunk of it green, if I'm lucky.....

Ah go on I'll get involved. Some of these would be good, all of them and I'd be stoked.

1. Over the winter, V6/7 at home, in Albarracin and in Bishop. Try V8 at home some point. Some sort of hardish winter sport project - cuttings or whatever. Fighting torque maybe?

Mixed. V6 in Albarracin, at home and in Bishop, but no harder and none of the big Bishop classics. Not really done any bouldering since return from Bishop, but need to get back into it.

2. Actually get on Infinite Gravity. Maybe also try Fuel my Fire, Cider Soak and some harder Portland ticks (mainly west coast high 7s)

• IG season isn't yet open but I've been canvassing for partners.
• Spent 3 days on Cider Soak and keen for a rematch
• Done Saskatchewan Uranium Miner for one of my classic west coast 7 ticks
• Not been near Fuel my Fire.

3. "Short trip" 8a send. If I can get an onsighting trip organised, try to break through into 7b+/c territory.

3 days on Mediterranean in Feb with good progress but no tick. Onsighting trip looks unlikely with my remaining holiday, as does another sport redpoint trip.

4. Trad. Get my mojo back, get back onto some E4s and have a decent go at an E5.

Got on some E3s, but nothing more as yet. Getting back in the game, just need more miles and more opportunities.

5. This, and be actually on my mental and physical game for it this time

Get ducks in a row for trips to Switzerland, Dolomites, Verdon or other longish, hardish & freeish objectives. 

A few weeks till we go!

6. Build on last year's reintroduction to dws, get some obvious Swanage and Devon classics done and push the boat out a bit at Lulworth - 7b+ or more?

Back into Lulworth season now, early days though.

7. Buy a house, continue to get on well at work, complete other goals (cycling). Try to make various potential reunions with far flung road trip friends come about.

House and cycling done
Reunions, well, sadly didn't really work out. There's always next year.

No progress on a number of these.
1. No more bouldering - pregnant wife stopped bouldering first of everything so we did more roped stuff.
2. Got a bit more time on Cider Soak and made definite progress but otherwise not much. Did get down into the cave and am psyched for schwarzchild radius as well as IG
3. No progress, no more hard sport trips
4. A few E3s are !y lot. Thought I was going well end of august but the death of a friend took the wind out of my sails.
5. Still got spanked but felt a lot better in myself, less feeble performance
6.did surprisingly little dws this year
7. Got the house, did the biking, continued to do well at work. Failed on road trips.

It looks like serious underachievement! However, I've done a lot of life stuff - nearly (23 Jan!?) become a dad, bought a house, done a bunch of stuff to it (serious garden admin etc which I'm actually pretty satisfied with the result of) and that sort of thing. That distracted a lot of my summer, but actually I had a really focused spring of training and climbing, made definite progress on Cider Soak which is a step up from previous projects, had an excellent trip to Montserrat and had admittedly very brief glimpses of a world in which I could get back into the headspace of pushing the boat out on trad. So overall not a bad one...