[shark]

Abide by the rules:

1.   Take at least 3 complete rests of 7-10 days during the year and every 3-4 weeks have an easier (non-training) week 
2.   Minimum of 2 deadhang sessions a week except on planned easy weeks, rest weeks and trips 
3.   Only commit to routes and problems that I genuinely think I can do within 4 sessions in a season (Oak excepted). 2 extra bonus days allowable if close on the send/redpoint
4.   If I haven’t got past the horn on the Oak from the ground within 5 sessions then sack it off for the season

Pretty much stuck to the rules.

Do a one arm pull-up again

Just because

Felt tweaky when I started training for this so backed off. Bit of a daft aim anyway

The Oak

Prepare well mentally and physically over the next two months ready for when it next comes into condition

Prepped well enough but hampered by injury, seepage and illness in spring then the route getting wet as sending temps arrived in autumn

Find a part time job I’m psyched for

Possibly a role in the not-for-profit sector generating commercial revenue. Open to offers! Alternatively come to terms with semi retirement.

Had a few meetings and interviews but nothing worked out. Offered a job back in exec recruitment but thought better of it

Keep dancing...

Yes. Stuck at this. The last of two couples still going to the class

[Steve R]

Someone got in my head that climbing is bullshit and grades and experience does or doesn’t matter (I forget which) and that’s all very well but if you lose your grade chasing performance metric mojo and don’t replace it with something then what are you left with? Not being jazzed for climbing that’s what.

Maybe I’ll get back into it next year but it seems a mountain to climb just to get back where I was hanging out before.

Merry Christmas all and keep up the good work.

Without trying to be too much of a sycophant, I've found some of the thinking and wisdom on the Fiendblog helpful during bouts of existential meltdown re. climbing, training, grades, motivations, progression, what's the point, etc.  Good for getting things back into focus.

[moose]

[1] Enjoy Siurana (and Margalef / Arboli etc) in January / February.  I hope to tick a few nice F7 classics and regain some fitness lost during 4 months of (largely indoor) bouldering.  But I will be happy to just see some sun and recover a little mojo after a long wet winter and a tricky few months of work.
Pass - not that enjoying myself in Spain is any great achievement! Very cold and windy weather meant I climbed whereever there was shelter and never really worked anything.  30+ routes; lots of flash / 2-go RP action.  Still, happy with doing some great climbing (Avatar and L'imbecil stick out).  Also, finally visited Montsant, which I really want to go back to; and, having a place in mind, which feels worth keeping in the game for, feels very valuable at the moment.
[2] Boulder outdoors a few times before the routes season begins.  Various 7s on Yorkshire grit and Big Marine at C-y-L are ever-presents on the tick list.  I would also like to visit a few further afield crags during work trips (Northumbria and the Peak especially), though that is beyond my control. 
Pass(ish).  I reawakened my love of bouldering, with the help of thenew Lakes guide, albeit sadly at the expense of routes.  Did some nice problems but not as many as I would have liked before getting shut down by wet weather.  Still, a pass for effort if not achievement

[3] Spring & Autumn: get on a new Malham project, as I've lost all enthusiasm for Predator.  Perhaps try Well Dunne Finish (trying to relearn Zoolook could be a good way to regain fitness), or maybe get on the Groove.
Got on Main Overhang as a "get back fit" project but Malham got wet and then hot annoyingly early, and by the time cooler conditions came I had lost enthusiasm for routes.  I'll hopefully get back on it next Spring... not holding out much hope of trying anything harder though... Malham is a fickle mistress

[4] Summer: get on a new 8a+/b Kilnsey project, I've not done Bullet, Full Tilt, Ecstasy, Vanilla Path, or the Ripper but none of them currently fill me with any great enthusiasm; hopefully a candidate will emerge (any suggestions welcome).
Technically a pass but only because I set such a low bar! I'd already lost enthusiasm for routes so got on Bullet, the extension to Man With a Gun, mainly for social reasons, and with no great sense of mission to actually do it.  Eventually managed it in my usual faintly hapless and unexpected manner with a rain-soaked top making clipping the belay an unexpectedly prolonged and harrowing experience!

[5] Visit non Malham or Kilnsey crags; I had good sessions at Hollywood Bowl and Gordale last year.  That again plus re-visiting Chapel Head Scar and some Peak lime would do nicely.
Total fail

[6] Maintain midweek training efforts: hangboard, woodie sessions, TRX.
A pass but could / should have done better.  Managed a TRX and a hangboard session most mid-weeks; not been on the woodie a while but got some new holds for Christmas that will hopefully help rekindle my mojo for it
"Life"
[1] Less booze; eat better [insert maniacal laughter gif].
I gave up alcohol completely for 7 months... back drinking again now - plan to abstain for January and see how it goes from there.  Ate more - and now a stone heavier than last year (I must be one of the few people who got heavier when going booze free) - probably for the best re long-term health but might require a down-grade of next year's aims

[2] Less aimless web browsing: be more efficient at work (less needless long evenings in the office), read more at home [insert gif of man repeatedly headbutting a wall].
Mixed results. Still lots of aimless web browsing but mainly at home - so more efficient at work with less late nights there. Neutral results for reading - uptick when booze free, not so much now
 
[3] Don't let work get on top of me [insert gif of a semi-nude Harvey Keitel in the Bad Lieutenant swigging vodka and weeping].
as Greg Lemond said, "It never gets easier, you just get faster"

[monkoffunk]

I managed my main climbing objectives of the year, but am finishing on a bit of a performance and fitness low. I feel like I could have kept the momentum going and maybe achieved more but wasn’t to be. Feels like a long road back but I’m sure not as bad as it seems! Looking forward to feeling a bit healthier.

Sport climbing

Climb Fighting Torque. Number one goal; if I do this I’ll be happy, even if I do nothing else.

Done! Was the highlight of the year, and most certainly a lifetime peak in fitness and performance.

Get back to some of my less frequently visited crags, Anstey’s, Cheddar etc. Tick off more routes from the old list. Climb Ninja Warrior, Circus Finale, Directoonima. Try Academic, Cider Soak again.


I did get back to these crags, but not as much as I would have liked. Did Ninja Warrior, but didn’t try anything else from the list.

Climb significantly more routes above 7a than last year.
Climb significantly more routes of any grade than last year.


Definitely did this. Had a low bar!


Bouldering

Cycle back to strength and power training after climbing Fighting Torque.
Main goal: Riders on the Storm. Step up in grade for me, but absolutely my style, probably best chance of climbing 7C at my current ability.


Didn’t even try. Distracted by other things I suppose. Not close to good enough now. 


Tick off something from my ‘fuck-me-this-is-impossible’ sandbag list: Work Shy, Stompin’ with Bez, Full Power.


None of those. Did Ladies Night but that’s certainly the easiest of the boulders I had in mind.


Try Ope in Hell at least once.
As it cools down later in the year, go to Dartmoor. Try Foal’s Chopper again.

Didn’t do this at all.


Go to Font in spring (if Brexit doesn’t make this impossible).

Good trip and ticked off Beatle Juice, main goal.

Climb significantly more problems over 7A than last year.

Low bar again.

DWS

Summer – climb anything above water, should be able to combine trip to Fisherman’s ledge with outing with the wife and her family.

One session doesn’t really count, didn’t get up anything. 

Training

Number one goal: Maintain consistency.
Continue regular supplementary fingerboard stuff.
Cycle training in vaguely structured manner (this is sort of a plan to plan).

Tale of two halves of the year. Moving work from Portsmouth to Dorchester meant easier evening access to outdoor boulders but the weather recently has been so poor, and training has really suffered. Stopped posting on power club because was getting a bit depressing.

General life

Reduce overall use of screens. Discovered Screen Time on iPhone recently. Quite shocking the amount of wasted time. To that end:
1)   No TV at least every other day during the week. I never missed TV when I didn’t own one, somehow has become evening habit.
2)   Stop obsessively checking phone during any moment of down time. I’ll try replace with reading journals when I’m at work. Big habit to break, I have definitely become a phone addict, a feature I tend to dislike in others.
Leading on to - Sleep hygiene (again!). No phone use 1 hour before going to bed. Ideally have cut off at 2100 or something like that.
Yoga most days.
Would like to trial meditation, see if I get any benefit from it!
Read more books.
Call parents once a week.
Donate blood maximum number of times.
Back to non-Christmas diet (this will be easy).
Back to minimal alcohol (this will be easy when not at parent's or in law's).
Longer term: Re-evaluate my relationship with meat. Increasingly of the opinion that some degree of vegetarianism/veganism is ethically correct with regards to the environment, but I’m just not there yet. Reduce consumption at very at least.

  I’ve been pretty rubbish at all of this, again mostly in last few months after a reasonable start. This year hopefully will be a bit more co-ordinated with family and try a bit harder!


Work life

Apply for job from August.
Dedicate time every week to continued learning of some sort.


Got the job at least!

[tommytwotone]

Well blimey - a good argument for modest goal-setting...

Quite simple for me, 3 x new 7a problems outside.

Ticked - technically 2, though the stand and the sit to a problem at Church Crag. Also did Mike's Arete at Blackstone Edge in pretty short order a couple of months ago on a great day out with my daughter and some of the UKB crew.

Also did The Lushering that day from the proper sit start, but don't think I can really take that as I've done it all bar pulling by arse off the ground before.

Life-wise, I'd like to be less grumpy / more patient with my kids

I'm taking this as a tick. I keep meaning to post on this in the Black Dog thread but back in June / July in finally bit the bullet and went to my GP to admit that I wasn't coping very well. 6 months into SSRI use and can definitely see an improvement.


[/size]

At some point move house to somewhere bigger. Seems like everyone's holding their breath till after Brexit though, nothing out there that fits the bill for us at the moment.

Well it's up for sale - but not a great deal of interest as I predicted. Hoping the onset of 2020 breathes some life into the market.

[monkoffunk]

Being perfectly honest, I had a great six months of the year where everything was on track and I felt happy and fulfilled, and then I had a week off where I thought ‘a few beers couldn’t hurt’ and it was pretty much all downhill from there.

[Yossarian]

2019 is going to be a year of ticking stuff.

20 7ANYTHING (inc Help the Young / Benchmark / Beach Ball / Mark’s Roof / Boyager)

Didn’t really get stuck into bouldering till later in the year, and then made the mistake of thinking that watching videos of various UKBers making things look easy would mean that I too would find them easy. But I did manage one 7A in Font, an actual thing at the Tor, and had fun trying lots of problems with daughter. We’re both focusing on boulders for 2020, so will probably carry this over.

20 7anything (inc Waves Become Wings / Violent Breed / Yorkshire Talk at the Promenade, plus Empire of the Sun / The Lynch at Ansteys)
10 Eanything

Routes became the main focus in 2019. It took over 6 months to figure out that Portland is my anti-venue. A great day at Torbryan in early summer led to a couple of visits to Anstey’s and finally ticked Empire which was totally brilliant. Finally felt that I was back to previous high point. Didn’t do enough trad (mainly down to lack of partners) but managed to tick The Asp in May, which was first E3 in 15 years and another major YYFY.

Get on 8a / 7B+ and reassess Project 8a

Tried some harder boulders in Font and elsewhere. King of the Swingers at Baric’s Roof felt like the 7B+ that might go down fastest. Didn’t really try any sport harder than Empire (apart from Empire Direct, which felt nails) but checked out a few things (Cider Soak / Avenged / Liquid Crystal / Seven Months Later, etc) and need to make a plan for progress. Alas, recent turbulent family events and the resultant lack of clarity re what I’m going to be doing / where I’m going to be living in 2020, coupled with general unfeasibility of productive sport climbing trips with 8 and 5 year old mean that we’ll focus on boulders for the short to medium term, and then maybe I can squeeze in some selfish sport in the autumn.

Family font trip at Easter, something in the summer, sport trip in the autumn
Try to wangle more mid-week Dorset / SW days, even if it’s just for solo shunting
Decent Font trip mid summer, and first time there for years. 43 days climbing outside - something that is unlikely to happen in 2020, but you never know. Missed out on sport trip, but lots of missions to SW, plus a few visits to the Peak.

Clear garage and get a board up asap
Didn’t happen and house will be up for sale before long. Unlikely to me moving anywhere with room for more than a fingerboard...

Get weight down to 80kg (or a touch lower)
Got down to 85, but has recently crept back up to 90+
147
1 arm pull-up
Shoulder injury just after I wrote this last year meant that sort of training was hampered for quite a lot of the year, but generally quite pleased about how training went.
Push on with yoga and stretching
Performed in a yogical manner sporadically. Will try to do a bit more next year,

Get deal for new book project
Got deal for first non-kids book. Alas, due to recent events I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to actually get it done, but still have 12 months to work this out.
Sell bicycles
Sold most of them,
buy motorbike
depending on whether I end up with room to store one, I am aiming for this in 2020 along with a host of other midlife crisis decisions / cries for help.
Finish kitchen (3 1/2 years and counting) Finally got working ovens installed after 4 1/2 years.

[cheque]

Funny to see how low I set the bar- first time I’ve ever had this much green! 

Take leader falls again.

Took some in March which felt like a big deal then, apart from an indoor fall practice session in October, just climbed well-protected trad for the rest of the year so only a few slumps and baby falls on that. I don’t feel like I’ve had “a bold head on” at any point but my confidence has increased and I don’t feel like I have any accident-related irrational falling fear left either which was my aim.

Leading HVS and low 6s and carrying normal loads to the crag by the end of September

Smashed this one- led 7a before the end of March, onsighted 6a in April. Hopeless at trad at that point still but worked my way back to competency. I still don’t have the strongest or most pain-free back in the world but can carry heavyish rucksacks and I’m still getting stronger.

Finish one or, ideally both of my new films.

Shot quite a bit of cool footage for the bouldering film but haven’t had the all-consuming psyche/ disinterest in personal climbing performance you need to get these things finished. Did literally nothing for the other one- forgot all about it until now! 

Stretch and regain flexibility

Stretched almost every day and regained huge amounts of flexibility. “In the ballpark” of where I was before but still lots of work to do.

Capitalise on positives from 2018

Ticking this one too- I’ve lost a little bit of the fear that powered me through my rehab last winter but I still train hard, keep the faith in terms of sticking to training and make noises every time I climb.

[jwi]

1. Climb a real™ 8b+. Don't care if it would be "No War" in Saint-Antonin or "Tennessee" in Gorges du Tarn (even if they are both 8b in the respective guide books).

2. Onsight a real™ 8a. I'm pretty sure that I've only done guide-book 8as onsight. A real one would be well satisfying. If I manage goal 1, goal 2 should be fairly easy.

I went on an o/s trip for a few days after managing goal 1. I was in probably my best shape since 2015, but I was shit at onsighting since I've only climbed on two routes for most of the winter (always the same warm-up route, then attempts on the project). I did almost mangage my intermediate goal of three 7c onsights in a day, falling touching the clipping jug on the last of the day.

Did not try onsight a lot after that as we did not much go to new crags where that would make sense. The closest I got was likely to fall on the last move getting to the no-hands ledge that marks the end of difficulties of Jack of All Trades, 29, Waterval boven. And I'm also sceptical that Jack of All Trades is a real™ 8a. In fact, I can't really recall going for more than two 8a's this year. The only other 8a I tried o/s was No Guaranty in Leipi shan, an extension of a 7c called Papercut, where I promptly fell on the first move after the 7c anchor...

[Footwork]

Focus this year is to maintain bouldering power and seek some climbing balance.

- Five 7C+'s or higher (this would be a new pb) fail, only managed 2. Very close to doing another 2 or 3 mind
- Three sport routes off my list (will have to drag myself away from the Bowderstone) fail, did no sport
- Three decent trad routes (completely failed before so lets keep it simple) fail, just did highballs

- In the words of M. Katz, "always do something". Less of the TV watching and more reading, writing, stretching etc. I watched Love Island this year so another fail for that alone
- Fingerboard. I have never really done this and I think it's starting to show through as a main weakness. did a bit when I borrowed 36 Chambers' beastmaker when he was in Rocklands. Climbed my hardest lime boulders to date so probably helped but need to be consistent
- Take more holiday went on some nice holidays which were all non climbing

oh dear

[duncan]

1. Look after myself mentally and physically (see 2-4). Very non-specific but I’ll know it when I see it.
Mixed. Things got a lot worse before they got better. Sometimes it’s got to be like that.

I exercised on 359 days this year, did my shoulder strength work assiduously, got into fingerboarding properly for the first time in my life, and didn’t get any tweaks (cracked wrist and injured elbow bashing into rocks, but they were more-or-less random events).

Looking after my mental health was a much bigger challenge. I took several hits which, individually I could probably have coped with but were, collectively, too much. I have always been able to rely on climbing out of low mood but not this time: a big red flag. Finding confidence on rock considerably affected was also new, it’s usually my strongest suit (many thanks to Fiend, who had some good words to say about this). Everything improved quite suddenly around six weeks ago; with the odd dip I’ve been much better. I think mainly because I could see the causative factors ebbing away.
 
2. Change my work status.
As of three weeks ago, pretty much where I want to be work-wise, so that’s a big tick. Shame it’s taken ill-health to focus some people’s minds.

3. Spend a lot more time (like more than 19 nights) in the hills or by the sea. Should be able get away for weekends rather than day trips from April, however may need to spend some of these in Weston-super-Mare (see 7) which won’t count. It would be great to climb in North Wales for the first time in more than a decade.
65 days out of London including three trips to North Wales and several new-to-me places. I should try to sustain this in 2020.
 
4. Make a decent fist of being a dad.
Difficult one as I’ve been remote parenting much of the year. Time together was great, normalish service will resume shortly.
 
5. A classic Pembroke E5 (Wall of Prey would be even better).
Not close. Got my usual E4 ticks but life and injury curtailed climbing from there on. Had the trad. mileage but didn’t have the fitness or the mental fortitude.

6. Continue to tick my teenage wish-list with Scenic Cruise in the Black. Bonus points for other western US destinations from Climb!  and Master of Rock.
A decent or better stab at all these.
   
7. RP 7b+ (The Jimi Hendrix Experience?). Finish the job on Empire... and Paradise Lost. 
Not close. Minimal sport: I find working routes and red-pointing quite mentally demanding and this wasn’t the year for pushing myself.
 
8. Fall off a 5.13 (7c+).
[/quote]
Nope

Onwards and outwards in 2020.

[Fiend]

Without trying to be too much of a sycophant, I've found some of the thinking and wisdom on the Fiendblog helpful during bouts of existential meltdown re. climbing, training, grades, motivations, progression, what's the point, etc.  Good for getting things back into focus.

Crikey, that's nice / surprising to hear. Always nice if the waffling has some meaning for someone else. Maybe it's because I'm a semi-permanent state of low-level existential meltdown and try - mostly successfully - to stay psyched despite that.

[andy popp]

Great post Duncan.

[yetix]

2018 wasn't a terrible year but I spent much of it sieging a few 7C's and coming far too close, but failing to send. This year I plan to get to some different venues and build a decent pyramid along the way. Hopefully with a decent pyramid and some training blocs I can get 7C ticked. 

Bouldering
7C - achieved sent 5 7Cs and a few slash graded problems (so probably 7B+s!)
10 7B's - achieved, sent 46 problems 7B and upwards, and 106 7A and upwards
Go on a trip to a new venue abroad
achieved managed to go to Rocklands, with a pulled finger unfortunately, but made the best of it.
50+ days outdoors achieved did 100+

Training Goals
Complete at least three 6-week phases of max-hangs over the year (stolen from coops) achieved
100 benchmarks on the Moonboard achieved managed to do this in January and it set me up really well for the rest of the year being more outdoors focused.
Pancake - pulled my groin last year when I nearly did this in box splits so should start working towards it again really. Failed
Work on mental game/tactics (feel this really held me back in 2018) I think I'm a little better here, but still alot to learn

Life
Work on sleeping habits
Still shit, but maybe a little better

Any of the ones on Paint it Black?

Gimmie a shout when you start working on this, had a few sessions last year on it and would be nice to get it finished off!

A really really good year in terms of achieving beyond what I expected, ticked a hell of a lot more than I expected to. Had some failures though, fallen off the easy parts of so much more than I've succeeded on, in particular a fair few 7C+s which would have been a nice way to top the year off!

[Duncan campbell]

2019 didn’t quite go as planned so many of these are red or orange just because life got in the way.

Always an exciting time of the year this! The last two years have been so good route climbing wise. This last year hasn’t been terrible for bouldering but I’m definitely struggling at this genre more than I have before. I can deal with it as long as I keep having route success, but it is something I will need to address.

Anyway my goals;

Heading to Spain for a couple of months so goals for that first as always. Didn’t get to spain as the timing belt on my van broke 2hrs off the ferry into Spain and destroyed the engine. So I came back home and spent the two months I had booked off buying and converting a new van and not climbing much. This was actually very satisfying in its own way plus I got to spend heaps of time with my girlfriend at an early stage in our relationship which was great

- Consolidate at 8a. Would be great to rattle some more off and a bit quicker than i have before. So far both the 8as I’ve done have taken 4 sessions though serpentine was actually done in about 6 goes up. So this is achievable. To do an 8a in a session would be amazing nope

- 7c onsight was very close to this a couple of years ago so this should be doable but o/sing is a fickle art form. Would love to flash 7c+ if one presents itself. nope

- I’d love to try something trickier for me like Mon Dieu, 8a+, at Oliana. Not so much about the grade (though maybe it holds some attraction) nope

My U.K. summer may be a little different to usual as I have a girlfriend who works one day if the weekend in Sheffield. I may well get less weekends away tradding. (A slightly terrifying prospect)

- Zoolook, Malham. I think we will maybe spend quite a bit of time at Malham as I really like it there. And I think it will suit Hannah’s strengths. Think this will be a big step up (maybe more so than Mon Dieu as a U.K. 8a that is nearly 8a+ is probably going to be harder than a euro 8a+) when I got back from my abortive Spain trip I had a go up zoolook but wasn’t quite yet in the flow of route climbing. Found it desperate and then when I got back to work I was on a really cool but very physical job installing lights onto bridges over the Thames. Running cable tray and cables under the soffit of one bridge was akin to slowly digging a horizontal sport route with a load of tools hanging off your harness day in day out for weeks on end. Core got strong but for the whole two month job I felt totally fucked

-Some other high 7/low 8s (New dawn/Defcon/Biological Need) Did Defcon and cave route left which were absolutely mega and tbh felt about the same grade. Had one session on new dawn when I got back from Spain and fell off where I always do. Did some other 7s. Thought Hannah was going to be more keen for sport than trad but due to getting scared preferred trad a lot of times

- More E6s. If I do Lord this year I’d be absolutely made up. Other E6s I’d like to do would include; Suicide Blonde, Grezelda/knock yourself out, The Cad, Pretty Girls, R&S Special. Ahh the list goes on. Be amazing to build on my first E6 onsights from last year Nope! Never really got the fitness or the mileage up to get on any E6s. Had a spell of cocking up even relatively steady E5s like poetry pink which was frustrating

- Do some Trad with Hannah and have fun, get her into it and enjoying it. She is an ace climber so she shouldn’t struggle. Would be ace if she could enjoy doing trickier things with me, rather than having a shit time, especially if she got into leading mid E-grades. If she’s not into doing trickier stuff with me I won’t push this. im gonna go with green on this as we have had some ace days out. She still gets scared but has put in some good seconding efforts top one being pacemaker at sharpnose as she did it clean and at the top to top out you traverse away from the belayer and she was really pumped and got committed but did it - mega!

-Bouldering. Really struggling with this this year. Be good to do some 7Bs again. I basically need to remember how to move like a boulderer. Maybe I need to find the love again, who knows but I’m struggling with it at the moment for whatever reason. my one real personal climbing success for the year!! Not sure what happened but something clicked and I got some good stuff done on both sides of the year. Including my long term projects west side and art of white hat wearing plus some other things I hadn’t tried much or at all.  

Hope everyone has a great year!

[gme]

I have read that you need to write down your goals and tell people about them to put some pressure on yourself so here goes.

Goals for the year.

Routes - Redpoint 8a Nope. Got close in Flatanger with minimal training so dont think it would be that hard
Boulder outside - 7C and 50 new to me 7s ( guidebook grades, grovels and link ups allowed. Very much a quantity thing not quality)No where near. Did maybe half a dozen 7s but had pretty much stopped climbing by June.
Boulder School - 7C Nope. 7B on moonboard was best.
Training - 1-4-7, one arm hang BM2k slot for 5 secs, front lever, 2 x BW DL. 1.5 x BW BP. No to all but very close on DL

Work - drop to 4 day week from July. Things already in place to allow this to happen. Decided against this, really enjoying work and dont thing i would put the day i had envisaged going climbing to good use.

Life - Raise 30k to take 21 fifteen year olds on rugby tour to Japan for the world cup in October. 20k reached and flights booked. Been a time consuming challenge so far but will be worth it. Oh Yes and then some

Think its all more than possible now my life is getting a bit easier. Biggest task wont be physical but getting out enough to do the 50 7s.

Despite there being lots of red on the list i had an amazing year. Climbing and training started really well but then some major family stuff stopped play in March. Only just managed to clear this and get to Norway in April but with zero training the goal didnt go down. Nice to try an 8a again and realise they really are not very hard and a modicum of effort would get me up one.

Major changes then underway at work that took up all of the summer so i pretty much gave up trying to climb, probably been once a week since then max.

The highlight of the year though came from the Japan trip. 2 years of planning, 44k of fundraising and what ended up being a full time job, on top of the one i already have, saw me get 21 15 year old kids from little old Alnwick rugby club out to Tokyo on tour playing 4 Japanese schools and taking in the world cup. A truly amazing trip that other than England losing the final could not have got better. We even managed to get the whole team into the England training camp and meet the players, saw the All blacks beat wales, plus scored 24 tickets to the final.

Probably one of the most rewarding things i have ever done in my life and definitely worth missing out on a year of scrabbling up arbitrary bits of rock.

Finished the year celebrating my businesses 20th anniversary and winning Sheffield SME of the year.

All in all very happy.