[Will Hunt]

It's the best thread of the year. You all know the drill by now. Let's be 'avin ya.

Past years:
Best of 2006
Best of 2007
Best of 2008
Best of 2009
Best of 2010
Best of 2011
Best of 2012
Best of 2013
Best of 2014
Best of 2015
Best of 2016
Best of 2017
Best of 2018
Best of 2019
Best of 2020
Best of 2021
Best of 2022

[Dingdong]

Top 3 boulders:
Les Grand Doigts, Crisis and Chainblock.

Top spanking has to go to either Mossatrocity or the storm.

Top 3 new problems put up: Chainblock, gunslinging sit start and land tax are all real bangers.

[Bradders]

You must have more to say about them than that Carlos?!

I'll be writing my essay for the next week or so 

[Dingdong]

Yes they’re all very good boulders, very lovey boulders.10/10 would boulder again 

[Bradders]

 

[Will Hunt]

Do not fear the rambling!

Trad

Master Spy Direct, Wilton 1
After finding most things at Wilton to be a bit of a path at the grade, this was a shock but it was so enjoyable to have a fight to the death and leave everything on the rock. When I topped out I just lay there panting "I'm pumped. I'm pumped." to nobody in particular. Pure joy.

Wipe Out, Wilton 1
Looks like shite in all the photos but this is utter 3 star class. Wilton wizardry, can't get enough of the place.

Comer, Attermire
A headpoint of a mere E2! I maintain that you never know what you're getting yourself into on Yorkshire lime trad so, seeing as we were above the route anyway, I threw a rope down it. Steady away with excellent gear in bomber rock. Attermire is a massively underrated after-work venue.


Sport

Baboo Baboo, Malham Cove
What a sensational route this is. The start of New Dawn to shake you awake, that comely flake, the Rest of the Gods, a moment of burl, smash-and-grab the crux, the peculiar and airy headwall culminating in a stupendous lash for the finishing jug as the drop snaps at your heels. Took more sessions to get right than other routes I've done at the grade, including punting it post-crux. Done on a day with just 4 of us at the crag, howling wind, pouring rain. Magical.

Lost in Thought and Lost in Time, Attermire
Not much to say about this one other than it's really good! The start is a steep jugfest which, if there were a belay at the top, would be among the best 7a's in the area, then it all gets nicely technical.

Dominatrix, Kilnsey
This is just pure quality. There is not a single bit of it that isn't amazing. And it's historic. And it's on the North Buttress. For some reason it took me ages to get through to the roof and the "crux" then went first go.


Bouldering

Yorkshire Traverse, Ruin Bank Woods
Spent some time rediscovering this and doing it from a logical sit to a top out. Brilliant long stamina trav at 7A. Couldn't fit it all into shot on a video. Piranesi, the problem which you finish up, with its crazy heel-over-head beta, makes the list in its own right.

Warstarter, Lad Stones
Grand day out at a new-to-me crag with a good crew of UKBers: Jim, Matt, Remus, Michelle. If only I hadn't just flashed Hades Lair, which shares the easy first move, this could have been my hardest flash (sorry if slipping that in there seems like a lame half-arsed brag but it meant something to me so it's here).

West Side Story, Burbage
A snowy day in the Peak. Warbs' Volvo just about got us through the mean streets of Sheffield and up the Ringinglow. We helped build the platform for Three Blind Mice, did that, then wondered what else to do. We headed over to this and found it dry with a snow free top. It's possibly the problem I've most wanted to do in the Peak but have never committed to trying it, assuming it would take several sessions. I did it to the porthole, rushed into the top and dropped it. I consoled myself that the tourist tick would have to do. Then Isaac Buckley wandered along and we spoke of WSS, The Boss and the washing of stone. I was inspired so went up again and did the top. A YYFY like no other.

A Hundred Eyes, The Crag Which Must Not Be Named
Graded 7A+ but I reckon this is worth 7B. Top drawer body-positiony bizzarity which feels impossible until it doesn't.


New

Hokusai, Ruin Bank Woods
This will no doubt be downstarred by more objective persons in the future, if indeed anyone bothers to repeat it, but I loved it. It's not tall, it's not handsome, but it is so perfectly formed for my dimensions it is almost beyond belief. If that pebble wasn't on the arete it wouldn't work, if that crimp wasn't there it might be impossible. It only just works. Perfection.

Dryad, The Crag Which Must Not Be Named
There's a video of this somewhere if you want to root it out.

Linden Lea, Ruin Bank Woods
Within that woodland flow'ry gladed, by the oak tree's mossy roots... There, for me, the apple tree, do lean down low in Linden Lea. The providence of the woods continues.


New problem name

Get Your Kicks on the A66
Named for the occasion when a friend, after a weekend's trad in the Lakes, wanked himself off into a receipt while driving home along said highway.

[Hoseyb]

Been another rubbish year for climbing, injuries and life getting in the way.

However the rare bright bits shone very bright indeed.

2 new blocks

Cherry Bomb 6C+
Porth Ceiriad
A fine offwidth, felt good to be thrutching again.

Split Lip 7A
Marchlyn Mawr
A technical mantle I fell off many times over a couple of years.

I also was happy to enjoy a couple of vaguely normal sessions in the wilds of Wales, and even climbed other people's problems. Something I intend to do a fair bit of next year

[kingholmesy]

Trad

Andromeda Strain (E5, 5c) Carn Gowla

The guide describes this as: “An outstanding but extremely serious route. Protection on both pitches is appalling and although the difficulties are nowhere excessive they are continuous, making this one of the boldest leads of its day in the South West”

In fact it’s nowhere near as scary as that makes it sounds and I just really enjoyed the climbing throughout. Well worth taking a day off work for in October before the weather crapped out for the rest of the year.

DWS

Ong-Bak (7b+), Nare Head

I had a magical morning on my own, working out the moves on a rope with just a seal in the zawn for company before soloing this.  DWS purists may scorn such tactics, but I don’t care.

Solo

Great Slab (E3, 5b), Froggatt

Had an amazing day at Froggatt during a quick weekend trip up from the South West.

Started by leading Downhill Racer after having a quick look at the top move on ab.  Then soloed Great Slab with a bit of beta, before getting Artless second go above pads.  All three were brilliant - these are the sorts of days that make me yearn to live nearer the peak again.

Abroad

Lionheart (E3, 5c-ish) and Al Thalamiyyah (AD+)

Had a fantastic trip to Wadi Rum towards the end of the year.  Hard to pick a favourite, but from the conventional rock climbs Lionheart was probably the best of the bunch. La Guerre Sainte (7b) and Queen of the Desert (7a+) were also great (both 12 pitch clip-ups).  Equally amazing though was Al Thalamiyyah, a Bedouin route that involved hundreds of metres of soloing in trainers and with a rucksack up some extremely exposed terrain, followed by a campfire and bivi on the top of Jebel Rum - a wild day out with two good friends that will live a long time in the memory.

[RobK]

As Will said, best thread of the year. Some great ones already. Is there a word count limit? If so maybe I can use some of Dingdong's allowance.

Top 5 Boulders:
Paul O'Grady 7B, Ogwen
Finally made it up to this bloc, has to be one of the most photogenic problems around matched by the quality of the moves. It took a couple of sessions to find beta that worked for me and it never felt like a done deal. The top, which almost feels like a path from a stand, turned into a full on thrutch/fight.
Straight Up Arson La! 7C, Devil's Gorge
This turned into my winter project and also turned out to be possibly my favourite problem at the Gorge. Spent a good few lamp sessions trying this with just the bats for company. Eliminate but really nice moves and a cool straight up line.
Strongbow 7A+, Laggan
Bit of a slog to get to this and I got chased by some cows through some wet bracken. Had to hang my trousers off the fence to dry for a bit when I finally got there. Worth the trek though, almost felt like a grit arete plonked in the middle of Scotland, but better.
The Geminid Trail 7A+, Chevin
Up there with the best things I've done on the grit, maybe because it isn't very grit-like! Quality moves from bottom to top. Had a bit of a moment topping out to add to the experience.
Whisky Bitch 7B, Pill Box
I really like the moves and holds on this. Pill Box has a rep for just being ratty crimping but I'm not really sure that's true. Maybe for the really hard stuff, but this was just fun pulling on full-pad edges. Got all the moves to the sit the other day which I'm keen to get done next year - now that is ratty crimping!

Top 3 UK Sport Routes:
Axle Attack 7a+, Mayfair Wall
I'd been saving this for the onsight and also building it up in my head for a while for some reason, thinking it was going to be really hard for the grade with spaced old-school bolting. Turned out to be one of my best climbing days of the year, felt totally in control, read it really well, and made it to the chains with barely any pump. If only I could climb like that all the time!
Canyonlands 8a, Devil's Gorge
Another one I had been putting off for a while. Felt good to hit the lip off the final rockover.
White Hopes 7b+, UPT
The best route I've done on the Orme outside of LPT. Was expecting a beat down having watched a wad-friend battle with it a few years ago. Much better than I thought though with big moves between good holds the whole way, very un-Orme-like!

Top 3 RRG Routes:
Orange Juice 5.12c
Immaculate off-vert pocket/edge pulling. Five stars, if you can get on it.
Singularity 5.12b
Steep, even for the Red. Knee bars and lie down rests abound. Had one bolt to bolt and geninely didn't think I stood a chance which made it all the better.
Witness The Citrus 5.11c
Nothing but buckets for almost 40 metres. Just plain FUN.

Top 3 Trad Routes:
Chimes Of Freedom E2 5b, Mowing Word
End of a good day, spring tide with a big swell on its way in, the perfect time to pack up and head home. Until my mate decides he wanted to do one more route. "Do we have time?" I asked. "Oh yeah loads," he replied, "look Caff is about to ab in we can use his line.". Of course Caff is orders of magnitude slicker than us and by the time we had setup our hanging belay at the bottom he was pretty much topping out. My mate barely has his first piece of gear in before the first wave grazes my ankles. Needless to say I got pretty wet and was on the verge of floating out of the belay. What a route though, almost as memorable as the belay.
The Razor's Edge E1 5a, Mowing Word
A memorable run-out footless traverse to finish with. Hilariously this gets HVS in Rockfax.
Ultravixens E1 5b, Chapel Point
This probably took me over an hour to lead, the vast majority of which was climbing and down-climbing the start unable to commit or find any gear. Glorious pulling once I was round the first bulge though.

Let Down Of The Year:
I've Been A Bad Bad Boy 7c+, LPT
I remain convinced that this is objectively not a good route. A poor line, weird bolting and awkward moves. This turned into a bit of a battle of me wanting to finish what I had started, but also not wanting to climb something for the sake of a tick. Completeness won, not sure if that is a good thing or not.

Spanking Of The Year:
Almost everything at RRG. I always struggle with pure aerobic routes so knew I was going to find things tough but oh my. I never knew it was physically possible to get that pumped. If (when!) I make a return I think a 6 month block of foot-on campusing is in order.

[spidermonkey09]

 No better training for the RRG than FOC.

[RobK]

Yup, should have heeded your advice in the RRG thread beforehand. Next time...

[abarro81]

Love this thread. Keep the long write-ups coming! A good start, poor early/middle and good second half this year.

Top three sport routes - redpoint
Fabela pa la enmienda/Rollito pa la enmienda (9a, Santa Linya) - I'll do a two-for-one here. Always wanted to climb the whole way out of this cave. Such a good feeling! Some perfect rock, some total choss, some tricky moves, some being pumped on easy ones, plenty of getting boxed in your calves and feet... I love these long ones.

The Last Nacho (9a, Tor) - A dumb linkup, but probably the longest and most Euro bit of climbing you can get out of the peak district without getting very traversy. The Mecca-Crucifixion link is also one of the best routes around that level in the peak, despite its abject lack of popularity. If you gave it 8c (which it probably is really) it would be the most popular one in the country. Very nice to try a hard project close to home too, rather than on a trip or a 2 hr drive away.

Autoengano (9a, Rodellar) - Built for me. Pure roof trickery including a crux where you end up spinning around 540 degrees over about 10 moves. Managed to fall out of a kneebar past the last bolt by being sloppy, catching myself in the rope and getting the worst rope burn I've had in the process. Estupido, as one of the locals said in disbelief that anyone could be so incompetent.
   

Top three sport routes - onsight/flash
Sur La Route De Madison (8b, Rodellar) - World class, all the way to the top of one of the coolest sport climbing crags around, with one of the coolest approaches around. Full redlining above the last bolt at 45m.

Cada Loco Con Su Tema (8b, Rodellar) - If you on the shore then you sure not me oh. Piscineta is so good, and long routes like this are so good. Had some brilliant days here with Ella as part of a really nice stay in Rodellar - I forgot just how good that place is. More please! Key approach beta:

La travesia de los gladiadores total (8b, Santa Linya)
Brilliant and terrible in equal measure - questing sideways on greasy choss across the big traverse line. Plenty of old in-situ death slings for good measure too. First time doing two 8bs first try in a day too.


Top the boulder problems anywhere
Hatchlink Extension (8B) - Full back to top through the middle of Parisella's. Basically what I want from bouldering, i.e. flowy trickery route climbing without a rope.

Belly full of Nachos (8B/+) - It's a dumb eliminate that replaces an easy no hander with a more strenuous no hander where it's hard not to lie on the floor... but I'm low on options for this category and it kept me amused.

Angry Old Man (8A, Franken) - Again not objectively very good, but probably the most fun day of a trip where I was falling apart a bit mentally. The sun even came out for about the only day that trip.


Top non-climbing
Seeing a councillor and hopefully getting my existential despair a little more in order after imploding mentally and physically in early summer


Top spankings
My brain/covid - got some of the good shit right from the source on a work trip to China, then felt post-viral for a while and got quite (unreasonably) depressed by it. Hope to do better in 2024, for both my sake and Ella's...

[turnipturned]

My year was mainly dominated by training and doing the Bob Graham Round in August (did manage to climb an 8B to keep the ‘8B a year for 20 years’ dream alive.

April was mainly climbing, including a month ‘working abroad’ in Font with the family. April- August was mainly running, building up to around 100km a week but did manage to have at least two sessions a week on the board or easier boulders. September-Dec the realisation that 6months of reduced climbing, heavy legs and the last few years of mainly climbing on rock and not trying that hard has had a big impact on my strength/condition. So in October, for the first time ever, started working with Mason and have some structured training.

Top 3 boulders UK

Earth worm Jim 8A+, Sour Milk Ghyll| had always written this off as too ‘morpho’ however spent sometime figuring  out a different sequence which used all the same holds but in a different order, almost felt like doing an FA until I realised this is what Jordon did.

Youth young and manhood 8A, Big Brother| another one I had written off as being ‘morpho’ but turned out it wasn’t at all. Another Newberry SW 8 off the list.

Bigger berry sit 8A+, Simonside| had a couple of half arsed goes here and there over the years but that first none hold felt a bit conceptual. In the end went in two sessions. Closest you get to font in the uk.

Top 3 boulders abroad (all in font)

The Realist 8A+, after ripped a flapper on my pinky (again) within three goes on Elephunk, I sacked it off and tried this which went pretty fast. Such a cool boulder that is rarely dry.

Toutes Peines confondues 8A, Black star 8, big, a little scary and some different style of climbing. Quality. Good session with the Quill, Tom W and Jacob.

Irreversible 7C, high and scary but not that bad. Climbed  with James Turnbull (who was into finding crack climbs at the time). Enjoy climbing with James in Font.

Top 3 FA’s

Unrighteous 8A, Gouther| bit of a traverse, funky moves but actually a bit shit. However Atom Smasher RH SS was good.

Hall of shame 7C, Dalt wood roof| Kris Hall (hence the name) showed me this roof and we developed a few problems on it. Varian then got his shovel out to unlock some other lines. Has now created a cool spring/summer little venue.

Underpar 8A, Mardale head| sitting off the landing boulder on eagle huntress climb into the end of eagle. This is how I thought eagle would climb originally. Still annoyed I didn’t invest more time into EH and allowed Varian to swoop in, however in reality probably didn’t have the skill set.

Life experiences

Font for a month- trialling working aboard which didn’t end up being as much time climbing as I thought it would, but had such a valuable time with the family. Might try again before youngest goes to school.

Glean Pean with Alex- decided to go on a bit of an adventure and check out the hype of Glean Pean. Got there late and walked in to the bothy in the dark, slept over and then walked into the crag (15km in total?). On first inspection the place was absolutely mind blogging, there were  30 plus boulder’s Bowderstone size and loads of 40-50degrees faces. We got stuck into this amazing prow which we nearly did until Alex pulled off this hold (which looked unbreakable) and smacked and cut my head. That then set the tone and the realisation the rock was absolutely awful. Like a loose bad version of Dartmoor. We did a couple of new things, but then decided to bail early. Massive disappointment, if the rock was good it honestly would be one of the best venues in Europe.

Bob Graham Round- I did actually attempted to do this the year before with James Noble but it was badly planned and  way way to hot. Did a lot of training, including  double days. Had another date planned but aborted before due to horrendous weather and a stomach bug (Simon Richardson impressively got it done that day). Eventually got an amazing crew together and did it in August, the weather was perfect and had an absolutely amazing day, nailed my hydration and fuelling (which was mainly sugar) and didn’t really have a epic. One person per leg expect the first when John Hartley kindly offered to support about 7hours before I set of (legend), Sam Huddlestons also for leg 1. Rob Lay for leg 2 (even though he was a bit injured), recommended having Rob has a support runner, you won’t stop laughing. Cal Coldwell-Storry for leg 3, always feel in safe hands with Cal, bit of an all round beast as we all know. Also climbed up Scafell which was fun. Bobby (Cals brother) who is also an absolute weapon in the hills, he was amazing, took so much stuff and was good on the nav when it got dark. Caitlin Pearson for the final leg, always wanted Caitlin to come out and join. Incredible experience. 21hrs56mins but felt pretty comfortable. Massive thanks to my parents, wife and everyone who supported, was amazing to see the kids in Wasdale.

Work- shortlisted and won the ‘Nature and biodiversity project of the year’ at the Edie Awards for a flagship project The Rivers Trust delivered around financing large scale restoration through innovative models which we delivered in the previous year. Chuffed to be recognised, a lot of hard work went into that (however did confirm awards are a load of bollocks).  Also got asked to present, by the Azores government,  at their international climate change and adaption conference (the irony I know). Was a great trip and probably the largest conference I have presented at (150 people or so), took my dad along which was ace, been my inspiration for a lot of my work. Bit of a disaster to end, convinced my dad to go on an electric scooter on a 5 hour layover in Lisbon, he fell off, broke 5 ribs and a shoulder….. felt terrible.

Real talk- while it all seems flowers and roses, thought I would also share some challenges (not looking for sympathy, just being honest). I have a pretty tough year with anxiety this year, which has actually resulted in physical reactions like heart palpitations. I am aware it definitely impacts my family life and relationships as I have periods where I am really not there and lost in my head. My coping mechanism is to hammer myself, get exhausted which helps me sleep and distracts me however probably results in an unhealthy relationship those activities. I keep working at it, I think I need to address some of my long term issues like ADHD. Forever grateful for such support wife and parents.

[NaoB]

Best of 2023

Bouldering

Rock Atrocity 7C - this was a big deal for me. Having fondled the holds from the ground over many years, I genuinely didn't imagine I could ever develop the necessary skills to do the moves, let alone link them together. But it turns out I actually love this style! Went really smoothly and a lot more quickly than expected.

Runs on Weasel 7B and Weasel Power 7B+, Kentmere - significant mainly because they marked a return to bouldering after injuring my foot/ankle in Font. I enjoyed beavering away quietly on my own to work these out while the big boys were teaming up on the main event ‘upstairs’.

The Cannon 7A - consolation prize after failing on Paul O’Grady…. This attractively shaped lowball problem was far better suited to my dodgy ankles and was surprisingly fun. Heel hooks, toe hooks and some proper determination were utilised.

Sport

Mediterranean Dream 8a, Datca - everything I love about sport climbing abroad. Knees, pump, some hard bits and having to keep trying all the way to the top

Donkey Kong 8a/+, Nifada, Leonidio - what a line! Jaw dropping territory through the huge steep roof. Probably the most gymnastic and physical route I have ever climbed, glad to do it really quickly too.

Patatas Negra 8a, Twin Caves, Leonidio - in a day, which no doubt means it is soft, but also I felt like everything came together for me to climb well and confidently that trip. Wish I could bottle that feeling!

Trad

Space Mountain E5 6a, Craig y Forwyn - flashed on Jordan’s gear. Cop out, but an enjoyable experience. I found the climbing interesting all the way and had to dig deep particularly for the last few metres.

The Pretentious Gallery E5 6b, Wilton 1 - again flashed on Jordan's gear. I had no intention of climbing anything ‘hard’ as we were only there at Wilton Fest for 2 hours and had some beginner friends in tow. But it was clean, appealing and Jordan convinced me I would love it (I did).

Close to the Edge E3, Thirlmere - pretty much the only onsight trad of the year for me (must do more next year). Was a real journey! I did it in one pitch which felt logical but tiring and intimidating.

Spankings

All UK sport! I climbed 97% well most of the year, ie I felt like I was doing great but kept dropping the top of everything. DOH!

Soft Option, Kilnsey - dropped the top traverse (after the cross through crux section) multiple times. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

Never Get Out of the Boat, the Diamond - I'm blaming suffering and then recovering from a nasty parasite infection during a large chunk of Diamond season this year. But really I'm just a ‘dropper’ with no good excuse. It was all there but I couldn't seal the deal.

Militia, Giggleswick - could do it all but struggled to link it together. To be fair, all my sessions on it were ridiculously hot, and then it was wet for the rest of the year.

Arisaig cave again - flippin nails venue.

Shucks lair again - shut down again by the Cappell and dropped the last move of Doom Gaze, then access issues stopped play. Sad!

Honourable mention

Bat Route - made encouraging progress on this with some big links. It still feels like a fantasy goal, but it's now edging into the ‘possible’ category.

Had 145 days on actual rock this year and got to visit lots of new-to-me venues. So despite it being lean on sends, I've had a fabulous year of climbing.

[abarro81]

Real talk- while it all seems flowers and roses, thought I would also share some challenges

Real talk is good. When I was down earlier in the year it helped a lot to realise that other were in/talk to others who were in similar boats in terms of dealing with whatever shit it was that was messing with their head (or who were in a good place but had struggled on and off mentally along the way).

[Will Hunt]

for both my sake and Ella's...

Forever grateful for such support wife.

Having had my own personal intermittent head shit going on for the last few months I'd like to echo the sentiment of "thank fuck for wives".

[duncan]

Great stuff everyone. A bit counter the spirit of the thread to mention individuals but 8B and the BGR in the same year 

My year was mainly dominated by training and doing the Bob Graham Round in August (did manage to climb an 8B to keep the ‘8B a year for 20 years’ dream alive.

for this and the real talking.


Top three five Fairhead routes:

1. Sandpiper. This has a lot of climbing for an E2 and a great variety of styles, not just cracks. Getting into the pod isn't easy, getting out is harder!
2. Toby Jug. Further proof that the best routes get two stars. In one big pitch, this would be “Top 50” (aka 4 stars) and have queues if it was at Millstone.
3. Equinox and Salango in a day. The latter was a bit of a battle but my kind of climbing.
4. The X-Men. E3 6a isn't my grade usually so happy to get this done. Epic hand crack on pitch one, both incredibly sustained but very varied. Pitch two isn't 6a but is also very good.
5. The Hustler. Another E3 6a that wasn’t. Needed a pep-talk from Simon to get on with it but it was all fine when I did.

The Ceuse of trad. climbing strikes again. A flippin’ amazing 11 days and I'm nervous about ever going back again as it surely can't be as good!


Top three trad. routes it was great to repeat:

1. Perseus at High Tor with Simon. The first time I’d climbed at High Tor since dislocating my shoulder there 5 years ago. Felt cool to be back at the place. It would good to complete the unfinished business next year.
2. Deep Space at Mother Carey’s kitchen with Iain. Great to be climbing with him again, fabulous route, fun chimney at the top, the cave is a bloody cold spot to belay in February.
3. La demande, Verdon with Hugo. A repeat, from 43.5 years ago. Happy I can still be a useful member of a team for this kind of thing (just point me at the chimneys).


Top one Deep Water Solos:

1. Magical Mystery Tour. 118/200 of the lifetime goal to tick Pat Littlejohn’s South West Climbs (1st Ed.). This was ...different and necessitated a long process of acclimatisation to cold water before having the confidence to give it a go. It was good to get out of my comfort zone in several ways and I may resume in April. I’m not a cold water convert and it still felt like I was properly soloing most of the way. I did swim the few hundred metres back to the start which would have been unthinkable at the beginning of summer.


Top three tweaks:

1. Right hip, which has been grumbling away for 10 years but deteriorated to the point where I resorted to shark’s walking poles for a few days. Fortunately grovelling up easy extremes at Fairhead proved to be good therapy.
2. Left hip, a new addition with about the worst possible timing as it announced itself a couple of weeks before heading to Siurana. Typically my project required average left hip flexibility which all of a sudden I lost.
3. Left wrist. Embarrassingly from falling out of the jamming at the top of Thin Wall Special, despite it being an easy grade, playing to my strengths, and having done it three times previously. I now know a lot more about how to deal with TFCCs, having done the same thing to the right wrist last year, and it recovered much more quickly despite being initially much more painful.


Top three gigs:

Concert going hasn't quite recovered to pre-covid levels but I went to 35 musical events this year and there were some goodies.

1. Chineke! Junior orchestra, including The Lad, playing Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Symphony at the Fairfield Hall. It’s a lovely Dvorakian piece, the band had spent an entire week rehearsing it full-time and sounded like a decent professional orchestra. The audience were a bit different from the usual crowd. I was ridiculously proud.
2. Kenny Barron at Ronnie Scott’s. Classic jazz piano trio. Nothing original about the playing but exquisitely done, the venue is legendary, the company was great, and it was a wonderful evening.
3. Das Rheingold at the Royal Opera. I wasn't sure about this beforehand, I'm well into double figures for performances, so a new production has to offer something special. Director Barry Kosky has produced some brilliant work and some stuff which just didn’t click with me, the cast wasn’t that starry, and stalls tickets were approaching Taylor Swift prices. We took a punt and got restricted view seats in slips (£14). I need not have worried, as soon as the lights dimmed and the 'cellos started playing that long opening E flat chord, the world was born again. 

 

[Hoseyb]

I remember Sandpiper and the X-Men from my last visit..
 15 years ago.

There's always another amazing route left to try

[csl]

Some amazing sounding years, well done all!

2023 was my first full year as a parent, and I made a real effort to be intentional with my days out climbing. It seems to have worked as I’ve done less climbing and training than in any other year, but it was probably one of my most enjoyable.

Best routes

A38 E6 6b (headpoint) - Blaise Castle Gorge

The first half of the year was pretty rough and for a spell in June my escape was driving to Bristol to top rope solo this. After a couple of solo visits I found someone off a facebook group to come and give me a belay.

Such an amazing route, gear is very good and very obvious, but the climbing wasn’t (to me at least) so I think it would be a tricky one to on-sight. Once you find all the holds/sequences it’s not too difficult (~7b?).

Felt quite straightforward on the day, although still very pumpy.

Cream E4 6a (headwall pitch only) - Tremadog

I had a weekend booked in North Wales and was very psyched in the run up. I turned up in Wales on the Friday, tied in, got climbing and suddenly this psyche evaporated. I was terrified and climbing very poorly. A low point was protecting 4b moves on an easy E1 by tying knots in the ab rope (before it was cool!)

My confidence was totally knocked but as we drove to Tremadog on the Sunday I realised it had been 7 years since I last visited the crag, and who knows when I’d be back - so I resolved to try Cream, which I’d always dreamt of climbing.

We approached via Grim Wall direct as it was my partners lead and he didn’t fancy the E3 opening pitch of Cream, then traversed into the Cream stance from the ledge.

I started climbing and somehow all the fear and indecision of my previous 2 days climbing was replaced by smooth, decisive movement and I found myself on the jugs at the top with hardly a bit of pump in my forearms - buzzing beyond belief at this point.

Unfortunately psyche is infectious and it encouraged my partner to ab down and try Neb Direct, the less said about that the better.

Darius E3 5c - High Tor

Pure class. Only had 50m ropes so had to belay on the ledge about 8m up, found the moves around the first roof a little pokey as the rock quality isn’t so good down there. But once through it, it was pure enjoyment, romping all the way to the top on some of the best rock around.
My friend had said it was the best trad limestone crag in the country (England, obviously Pembroke beats it) and I’m inclined to agree.

We finished up with some fish and chips in Matlock Bath, top day out.

Mark of the Beast 7c - Lulworth

An old pal was back in the UK for a bit and keen to try Adrenochrome, I’d always had MotB on my list. We had a few sessions down at Lulworth together over September.

On the second visit I fell off the penultimate move of Mark of the Beast and was too spent for another go - but the fire was lit and I was very motivated to get it done this year.

It was my mates go next, and while watching him edging closer to the top of Adrenochrome I had that sneaky thought that I’m sure we’ve all had occasionally, externally I was shouting “come on” and internally thinking “I hope you don’t do it, who will I come back with if you do?”.

Fortunately he fluffed it.

I figured out that I had one more shot this year at the start of October - so booked the day off work and drove down to Lulworth. I pinged off the top first go up, and then my friend did Adrenochrome first try of the day.

Shit, I had to do it now. I had some serious pre redpoint nerves but managed to calm myself down enough to do it next try.



I think it’s the first time I’ve actually enjoyed deep water soloing in the moment, such a great feeling going for it at the top on dynamic moves while facing the plunge. Stair Hole is an amazing venue, I wish that more of the South Coast was like this.

[Will Hunt]

Amazing stuff, Connor.

it encouraged my partner to ab down and try Neb Direct, the less said about that the better.

Tell me this was Nichols.

[csl]

Amazing stuff, Connor.

it encouraged my partner to ab down and try Neb Direct, the less said about that the better.

Tell me this was Nichols.

Of course it was!

[monkoffunk]

Good work all! Lots of impressive stuff despite injury both physical and mental. Definitely inspiring to hear, particularly as I really tend to lean into the injuries and let them be an excuse rather than working around them. Post covid viral fatigue is a very good excuse for depression IMO!

Not much climbing this year for me, nothing on a rope or over water

Top any climbing

The Drifter Sit Start - 7A+ - Great one just to prove I could climb something hard for me again. Having previously done the stand, I started the year no where near good enough to repeat it, let alone try the sit. Some focused training over three months and the sit went in two sessions in April.

Volume in Font - I had a few targets for a font trip in August/September, but injury took the edge off the earlier strength gains so I binned them and just aimed to climb as much as possible at any grade. Did 80 problems, 2-6A either new to me or climbed over a decade ago and forgotten about. Most prolific trip and so much fun. I’ve been meaning to do a font trip with a volume focus for a while, so was great to finally do it.

Making the most of opportunities - I had a couple of Portland lamp sessions after working long shifts when daughter would be in bed before I got home anyway. Still climbing, not sacrificing family time, just putting in a bit of effort to just get it done. Weren’t the most successful trips for ticks, but just pulling moves on rock was the goal. Inspiration for doing that came from Dan’s Careless Talk podcast in March. Just made me realise what you can do with commitment. Obviously can overdo it and need to sleep etc but as a targeted tool every now and again it’s a good option to stay in touch with the rock.

Top spanking

Myself - Without access to a wall in those first few months the training was quite high intensity relative to my conditioning. I ended up giving myself Golfer’s Elbow, a new experience for me but I should have seen it coming. Luckily I managed The Drifter Sit, despite the injury, but it did signify the end of the hard training. Unfortunately I also let other good health habits slide alongside that, which isn’t great. I need to stop tying all my good nutrition and low booze etc simply to times when I can climb. I’ve always been quite cyclical in my motivation, mood etc and consistency has been quite elusive. But exhaustion post night shifts, injuries, illness will always happen and I need to stop those things always becoming a disproportionate set back. I don’t want to continuously find myself at the bottom of the mountain.

Avon gorge - In poor conditions but all the same! Shut down on problems I’d previously done, skin destroyed and felt like a total beginner trying to climb there in May. It’s obviously not world class, but would be nice to have a reasonable go at the local stuff when visiting the parents.

Top life

New baby! - Another reason to work on the consistency, I also want to be as present with my children as possible.

[andy popp]

Great years and great write ups! The forum doesn’t always have that much talk about what people are actually getting up to, so it’s wonderful to read about all the fantastic adventures and experiences people have been having.

It’s making me nostalgic, not least as there a fair few routes here I have my own good memories of.

[steveri]

Good stuff: moving on rock with a smile on my face. I’ll climb any old rubbish and grab some pleasure from it.

Seeing my daughter get into climbing after a couple of kid’s parties as a youngster and long years of ‘that weird thing dad does’.

Getting back up to a (solitary) 7A+, stiffest grade in 20+ years, and enjoying the process of putting together the nuanced micro beta.

New venues on the Lancs moors and elsewhere.

No serious injuries and realising I can train up to the point where the arthritis kicks in and still get better.

Barely tied onto a rope this year and that’s ok, but I will get a bit of stamina to put together more than 6 moves in a row.

[User deactivated.]

My best year of climbing to date, mostly thanks to Hawkcliffe and focusing on developing!

Top 5 non FA's

1. Red Alfa, Windgate Nick
Despite being relatively unknown, this is amongst the best lines on grit (IMO) and can just about be protected with pads - although it's definitely stretching the definition of a highball! It's particularly scary because of how insecure the climbing is; feet can ping off at any moment sending you flying in any direction. On the day, I managed to link it twice out of four attempts on the rope, but I didn't seem to be getting any more consistent and was pretty sure i'd split a tip if I practiced once more. Since the weather looked terrible for the foreseeable, I decided to do it and had a magical experience. I often use distraction techniques like listening to music on my headphones for redpoints, but here I was fully present, experiencing it moment to moment. Great feeling pulling over the lip and Garry followed me up it shortly after.

2. Kenzoku, Lobwell
I remember looking at this when I did the neighbouring problem Source Of Secrets and thinking I'd never be able to climb it. There just aren't any holds! Well I did start trying it, and for the first few sessions it all felt quite unlikely, but I remained interested and eventually the bendy moves started to work. I'd say it's comfortably the best moves I've ever done on any climb and the whole process was a joy, having linear progression from one session to the next (I climbed it on my 8th session and only 2nd session trying from the start). Current projects are certainly not going this smoothly!

3. The Dawning, Hawkcliffe
My ignorance was a blessing in giving me the 'first ascent' experience on this existing route/highball. The crux move is high and felt very subtle and insecure at first, but unlike Red Alfa, this one became more consistent with practice and on the second session, I could do it every time. Unfortunately, my mate didn't turn up and I only had 3 pads, but was quite confident I could do it and went for it. I got to 'the move', high up, and hesitated. I didn't give it everything and came crashing down off the pads into the rocks! This happened twice more before I finally raged through the crux and got it done. Satisfying in a different way to Red Alfa! Of course, it turned out this had been climbed 25 years prior and given the lowly grade of E4... 7B / 7B+ highball or E6 6C at least.

4. Before The Rain, Cloughton Wyke
Whilst in the area, I checked out this crag without a guide just to see what was there. I came across Before The Rain fairly quickly as it's the most striking boulder there. Without any pads, chalk, or shoes I went full Charles Albert, held a few positions barefoot, and tried moving between the holds. Later that night I found out what it was. If I'd have known how hard it was beforehand I wouldn't have bothered even pulling on (bit far for a siege!) But I had pulled on and I knew I'd be able to do it, quickly. This confidence paid off. The problem must fit me perfectly as it only took 2 more visits to do it and the crux move for most people (move 2) felt pretty steady. Really enjoy this style of climbing - tensiony crimping but also powerful slapping. A sit start would go, but I'm fairly confident that wouldn't go down so quickly!

5. The Waiting Line, Caley
Unsurprisingly, another highball and another incredible line (a contender for best line at Caley?) This is the most sustained of the 3 highballs listed. All the moves feel around the same difficulty, which is quite rare for grit. It kickstarted my highballing journey and only ranks behind the others because it went down a bit too easily and I had Steve's beta vid to watch. Yes I could choose to not watch it, but that's like ignoring reachable bolts on trad. It's just not the same. Thanks 36C for throwing down a few more pads!

Runner up: Total Redemption, Bitholmes - great slapping on some poor slopers.

Top 5 FA's 

1. The Miners' Strike, Hawkcliffe
A highball-ish 55-60 degree roof that was once invisible from just 20m away due to extremely dense rhododendron covering every part of it and huge blocks filling the space underneath it concealing the holds. After close inspection, I realised there were holds on the face and put in a few days quarrying, and more days crafting a landing, gardening and creating a reasonable path to it. There's currently 4 problems on it from 7A+ (I might have been a bit harsh there) to 7C+. The Miners' Strike does feel like a bit of a consolation as I've not yet done the direct finish, which will be the main line tackling the centre of the boulder. I just need a few dry days! All will be included in the next update to the Hawkcliffe guide with many more new problems.

2. Crisis, Hawkcliffe
Excellent board style moves with just enough tech on an obvious feature. There's so many ways of doing this now and all seem to be similar in difficulty.  Amazingly, I walked past this one a few times before having the required vision. It just didn't look like it would go before it was clean!
 
3. Pipeline, Panorama Rocks
A good line and harder than it looks. Similar in style to A Hundred Bananas but about a grade harder for me. This is now ok to climb mid week if you get the landowners permission first by calling him. I may have to go back for the even better line on the front of the boulder! Follow the advice on UKC.

4. Triangulation, West Chevin
It's hard to believe this went unclimbed given how many strong people must have passed it walking to the Satellite boulder (big up 36C again for doing the initial cleaning job). Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for the faint of heart, the move to the lip has now been tamed with better beta, but there's still potential to land halfway down the hill! For the wads out there, I reckon there's potential for a very cool high 8 on the right hand side of this block.

5. Chevinteen Years Later, West Chevin
I went up with the intention of trying Harvest, but it makes no sense at all to me. There are jugs in reach, but eliminating them felt improbable. On the left hand side of the same block, I realised there was an unclimbed compression problem. It shares the same finish as Harvest (presumably), but is otherwise independent and feels like a pure line. You'll want a spotter as it sits on a bit of a platform.

Runner up: Africa Wall, Hawkcliffe - an easier one that keeps growing on me as a favourite. Technical vert / slightly overhanging block from an obvious starting jug with various possible sequences.

Top 3 spankings

1. Hawkcliffe highball/solo project
This one is my top choice as I've felt close to doing the move on a rope for a while but alas, I've not managed to latch it yet. Tempted to start trying over a stack of pads just in case...

2. Bladerunner roof project, Hawkcliffe
This will be my ultimate siege if I'm ever to do it. I'm not confident I ever will but I remain psyched! I haven't actually been on it that much since it's so often wet, but I do have a replica on the ceiling of my garage with a pulley setup for assistance...

3. MYXOMOP, Stoupe Brow
I've been on this twice now and it's nails! I think I need to get better on terrible smears. I'll need to get creative making a replica for this one.