[cheque]

Here we go!

Previous years:

Aims for 2008
Aims for 2009
Aims for 2010
Aims for 2011
Aims for 2012
Aims for 2013
Aims for 2014
Aims for 2015
Aims for 2016
Aims for 2017
Aims for 2018
Aims for 2019
Aims for 2020
Aims for 2021
Aims for 2022
Aims for 2023

[Hoseyb]

Right!

It has come to my attention that I turn 50 on August. Despite 2021 being absolutely awesome in terms of climbing goals achieved, the last 2 years have been dog poo due to injury and life crapness.

This must stop.

Since my 49th birthday I have been seeing a physio/coach every two months and this is continuing into the new year. I have embraced structured training after 36 years of mucking about and intend to continue with injury proofing my body.

With this in mind.

Climbing goals.
7B+ before I'm 50
I've only achieved 7B so far a couple of times despite being fairly consistent around 6C+/7A ( despite being inconsistent in actually climbing).
I'm hoping that a more consistent and strength based approach will get me there.
Currently got my eye on Ultimate Warrior. This may change.

More long term, I'd like to tick my two long term projects down Tremadog way. Both fairly burly and dynamic.

I also have a DWS venue I want to develop post birthday. Need a few less birds and some warmer sea.

Life Goals
I'm embracing the fact I'm probably fairly neurodiverse, and not always great in social situations. I want to strengthen the friendships I've made and climb more regularly with people outside.
I also recognise I need to keep up my lone wolf missions as I need to decompress from everyday social interactions.

[Ed booth]

Climbing Goals:
Improve conversion rate for actually getting all those nearly ticks from '23 into successful ascents.

Sport
- >20 8a's or above
-LTG 8c, want to do Bat route but not sure 2024 will be the year for getting to Malham
-Badger Badger Badger
-Walking Mussel/Melancholie LPT
-Get back on Infaticide/Youthanasia LPT
-Insomnia, Dinbren
-Unfinished slate 8a's and others, The Medium, Wish you were here, Walls Within, Quarryman Groove pitch
-Sworn Enemies
-The Thumb
-Supercool
-Nemesis, The Cornice
-Get some other A55 8a's done such as Tommy Chamonix, Oyster, Madness Reigns or Nanazabho.
- Do at least 1 8b or harder.

Trad (most of these are safier sporty types):
-Jeune Cassini
-Dream Topping
-Trumpet Blowers
-Eye of the Tiger
-Top Loader
-From a Distance (want to try to flash this if I get to Pembroke with some sport fitness and some trad mileage in the bank)
-Craic Yr Maestri (may be a bit optimistic as would take quite a lot of prep/time, but being slabby could be good one to go on after sport days where arms are toast)
-Trad climb more. On sight >5 E5's

Multipitch:
-Unchi Maka, Ecrins. If i can fit this in with a family hol, have wanted to try this for years.

Bouldering:
-The Big Smile
-Crafnant problems
-Bytilith Wall
- At least 1 8A

Destinations:
-St Leger (Think I'm going in April)
-Pabbay (Think I'm going in June, should help with E5 on sights and trad mileage)
-Family Hol, French Alps areas
-Pex
-Glen Nevis
-Lots of LPT
-Yorkshire lime big 3 crags (because I love them)
-Slate
-Heptonstall
-Pembroke (criminal that I haven't been for a few years!)
At least 1 day of DWS

Life/Other:
- Get back doing more regular board climbing at home.
-Tick over with aerobic stuff, a bit of pleasure road biking and some park runs. Don't let love of the Giro and TdF make me give up climbing for a temporary road biking fad)
-Get round to doing the house DIY job/upkeep list that I have been putting off for years.
-Be a good Husband/Dad (whilst some how achieving all the other stuff  )
-Get more comfy/confident in role at work, so that it takes up less mental energy for my climbing/rest of life.
-Be more life organised, so my wife gets time to do her stuff too.
-On 50:50 days (such as when i'm knackered from nights, or iffy forecast) just commit to the drive and get out anyway. Always get something done.
-Get the kids doing some multipitch climbs with Mummy for some family days out.
-Get on with Podcast project

Happy new year for a healthy and strong 2024 everyone! 

[reeve]

Good luck everyone!

Trad: 5 off the life list, try hard on a bunch of E5/6s, more multi-pitch adventures, more entertaining (for others, if not me) runouts and / or falls

Sport: Don’t bother building a pyramid (I’ve spent twenty years doing this and avoiding trying harder things) – just crack on with Monumental assuming it dries (if it doesn’t, then…) Climb at Malham (been saying that for the last three years on here I think!)

Bouldering: any of birdsong, pixie tits, blackfoot, facetime continuum or similar.

Bivvy somewhere cool
Do some harder cracks
Go DWS
Don’t get too weak over summer / don’t get too unfit over winter

[M1V0]

Not participated in these before, but first time for everything.

Climbing
I turn 30 later in the year, and despite climbed numerous 7Cs I have somehow never really progressed past this. I don't think I have ever put in enough sessions on anything harder. So before I do turn 30:
> 3x 7C+ (of which I have my eye on many, and a handful of sessions on some)
> 1x 8A (similar to the above, some should go with some reacquaintance and some time invested)

If I get around to getting on a rope:
> Militia at Giggleswick (I was very close three years ago, and then never went back)
> Get back down to Cheddar Gorge (having intended to for the last five [or seven] years, it has just never happened)

And then finally:
> Stay relatively injury free. Having spent the last four years on and off injured or academically-stressed, this would be nice
> Tick some of the harder project climbs on the board. Set by others and none of them are my style, so a good indicator of improvement.
> Get to a point where I cannot claim that my pinch strength is a major limiting factor
> Revisit some of the venues where things have been oh so close and I have then never gone back

Life
> Submit my PhD (with a hard deadline of mid February this will happen)
> Defend said PhD
> Get a stable job with a mortgageable income (Ha!)
> Get married (this should be pretty straighforward)

[James Malloch]

Life:
Do some good husbanding and parenting. Our new baby is now 3 weeks old so my wife will be off most of 2024. It is definitely the year to try and strike the right balance to keep us all happy and ensure we’re able to keep our own identities along side the new priorities. A year of low expectations is in order.

Keep check on mental health. I’m pretty good in general, but do lock things away. The whole birth experience was rough as fuck and talking about it has helped loads. Hopefully it will help me open up more about anything else that gets locked away.

Also don’t lose focus on the dog who’s definitely in need of more attention now - we are working with a local gun dog trainer so I’ll aim to keep that up over the year. The dog loves it!

Depending on how contracts go, hopefully finish work for at least a few months to enjoy the last bit of maternity leave together away in the van.

Try to keep up a weekly yoga practice (though the class that I go to just stopped for good which has scuppered my plans a little).

Climbing:
Climb at least once a week. Do some structured board sessions given the reduced time I’m likely to have.

Font trip in the van.

Use baby as added weight. Always wanted to be able to one arm hang with her bodyweight when she was born, but I am so far off. Maybe keep doing some pull ups and dead hangs as she grows…

Some, hopefully, very attainable specific local routes if i manage to keep climbing once a week - more of a focus to get out and enjoy myself with friends

The Jim Grin - 7a

Angel Delight - 7a+

Cold Turkey - 7b

Haslam - 7b+

Lost In Thought and Lost In Time - 7b+

If everything is going well get on a 7c with a friend who wants to do one this year.

Running:
Get back up to 30 mins of running. I’d love to do more but my injuries keep requiring me to go back to square one if I have a break - and i think there will be plenty of breaks this year!

[Andy F]

Going big this year.

Sport 7b+
Trad E2
Boulder 7A

Hard for me, but with a fair wind, no injuries and a bit of luck, all 3 are achievable. Hopefully.

Good luck everyone 🤞

[monkoffunk]

Keep check on mental health. I’m pretty good in general, but do lock things away. The whole birth experience was rough as fuck and talking about it has helped loads. Hopefully it will help me open up more about anything else that gets locked away.

Our first was a tough birth experience. It’s only now with the second that we realised how much of an impact that had on the first few months.

[monkoffunk]

Good luck to everyone!

If hit my C goal in anything I’ll be counting it as green!

Bouldering
 
A - 7A+
B - New Cuttings 7
C - 7A

Also - try Pastoral and The Slide again.

New Cuttings was the perennial spanking I forgot to mention, I’ve never climbed a 7 there, even when I climbed (one) 7B+.

Sport

A - Anything from the to do list
B - Any 7
C - Tie on, indoors or out

DWS

A - Not even going to pretend I’ll do a 7!
B - New-to-me route above water
C - Climb above water

Running

A - Run 40 times
B - Run 20 times
C - Run every month

Life
 
1. January detox. I don’t think that massive excess followed by ‘dextoxing’ is a sensible or healthy way to live your life, yet here we are. Complete Sharkathon (maybe not quite 30 mins a day, unless walking counts) and dry January. Nutrition kick after epiphany.
2. Be present with children. Be a good example. Started the year well with less bad phone habits; let it slide.
3. Aim to support wife with her post pregnancy fitness recovery goals as much as she supports me! Facilitate her self care as much as possible.
4. Train/exercise consistently. Not just for climbing but for health. Return to strength training for its own sake.
5. Socialise with people with kids of the same age.
6. Meet up with climbing friends I haven’t seen due to reduced climbing.
7. Do something tangible towards career progression.
8. Donate blood again if I can. Previously prevented due to low Hb. Increase the iron intake.
9. Consistency, consistency, consistency. Last year I completed a habit tracker 37 weeks of the year. I can maintain lots of good habits easily when I do this. Aim to do better this year.

That’s far more than I intended to write! I’ve made the mistake of too many goals in the past and just not achieving anything. Most importantly, asides from the headline targets, I want to just remember that the really the process is the goal. How you live today is how you live your life!

[shark]

Come Sharkathon (maybe not quite 30 mins a day, unless walking counts)

I’m counting on it

[spidermonkey09]

1)Unjustified
2) Serpentine in March
3) Climb in europe again in the autumn.
4)Make some progress on the 8s challenge, either one or the other of E8 or 8A...

Life

1)Buy better meat (ie. butcher not supermarket) and generally eat less of it
2) Keep plugging away on PhD and keep the faith that it's worth it... 15 months to go.

[moose]

Mainly repeating / rolling over the aims from last year, and trying to keep it simple.

Start sport climbing in the UK again - I really enjoyed my fortnight of sport in the Blanca this year, but never went through with getting back on the Yorkshire limestone.  Yet again, if I enjoy relearning its intricacies, I think working my way back to f7b+ and finding a project for the next year would be good results.

More short bouldering holidays / trips to visit new crags, especially in North Wales and the Lakes. Likely not entirely reconcilable with the sport climbing aim, so would be happy with either/or.

Keep up the mid-week training / conditioning habit, try to do something, anything, 3-4 times a week - finger-board, pull-ups, kettlebell... whatever - just keep active.

Make more effort to get bouldering outside, okay the autumn / winter weather was crap, but I was really far too ready to boulder indoors (telling myself it was the sensible long-term choice; training for a brighter future that will probably never happen).  I really need to find a few projects that inspire me, are reasonably dependable conditions-wise, and not more than 90 minutes drive away.

And for the non-climbing,

Make more effort to see friends and family.
Less booze and peanut butter!

[teestub]

1)Buy better meat (ie. butcher not supermarket) and generally eat less

When you’re over this way may I recommend Hilltop farm at Malham who have the fluffy belted numbers you see around that way. They stock the farm shop at Airton but also offer boxes at good value if you have a big freezer. Check out their insta for regenerative grazing practices etc.

[stone]

New Cuttings was the perennial spanking I forgot to mention, I’ve never climbed a 7 there, even when I climbed (one) 7B+.

Years ago, a New Cuttings aficionado told me the key was to pre-emptively tape all of your finger tips. Apparently the sharp flowstone edges bite securely into the tape, letting you bear down to victory. That was just before I moved North so I never got to give it a go myself.

[monkoffunk]

New Cuttings was the perennial spanking I forgot to mention, I’ve never climbed a 7 there, even when I climbed (one) 7B+.

Years ago, a New Cuttings aficionado told me the key was to pre-emptively tape all of your finger tips. Apparently the sharp flowstone edges bite securely into the tape, letting you bear down to victory. That was just before I moved North so I never got to give it a go myself.

I’ll try anything at this stage.

[yetix]

3x8A (hopefully this is just a case of closing accounts from last year)

See a surgeon (I believe Mike Hayton is the man to see?) about my finger I fractured in 2017 and explore the options available to me on that front.

Explore training again as this is something I've been awful at commuting to over the last few years.

[cheque]

Almost all of these are rolled over or modified from last years.

Get the bogey routes list down to 5 or fewer.

Best trad year ever. Not bothering with counting HVSs because they’re not hard for me now, so 8+ E1s & 2+ E2s.

300+ days hip stretches. Progressed back to passable flexibility levels by doing 300 days of leg stretching in 2023 but most of those I only stretched my hamstrings. Adding another 10 minutes on the areas I have most to gain in should take me up another level.

Strength PBs. Every year I say I can do it, every year I start really well but then just go climbing spring- autumn and leave too many for the later months of the year when I have less motivation. In 2024 I plan to avoid this by joining the gym in the first few months and nailing most of them “early doors”.

Do more multipitch and go on more trips. Let’s say 10+ multipitch routes and 4+ actual overnight trips.

Good luck everyone 

[cheque]

Oh yeah Take practice falls indoors before the rock climbing season starts. While I’m happy to weight gear, abseil and even solo a bit these days, there’s something in the unconscious bit of my brain that still thinks that if I fall off above gear the whole system will fail and I’ll deck. This hugely holds me back and if I can get a handle on it I’ll be able to improve my climbing no end.

[Wood FT]

- Make list
- Run 5k in the Peak (recommendations welcome)
- Go to at least one training session at a club
- Spin off my left hand
- 40m and sideline place kick 
- Go away at February half-term somewhere with juggy routes and sun
- Climb any 7c route (repeats included)
- Bouldering in Lakes, N Wales and Tintagel (climb 7B)
- Have a look at Treebeard with Dave and all those cool new forest spots around there
- [add in summer plan when partner's situation is resolved]
- Help my son navigate through the early challenges of life

[Fiend]

Christ. What the fuck to put on this?? It could be "stay alive" or it could be "burn AndyF off by the sole virtue that I can probably get at least one E3 done next year" or it could be "regain strength fitness and confidence, actually tackle some of the trad inspirations I've shelved, do regular trips to Wales / Lakes / South West, plus some dream trips to Bohuslan, Ettringen, and Pfalz for a fortnight". And I could fail to do any or those at all....

So I guess anything I write has go to be a vague and speculative compromise... I can assume that realistically my power-to-weight is going to keep declining, my fitness is unlikely to improve, my mental health will stay very challenging and get in the way of climbing especially the logistics, I will be at a constant injury risk due to weight and age so won't be able to actually "train" in any progressive form, and I will always struggle with like-minded partners suitable for my current fragility. In that context I guess I should focus on learning from recent years, trying to slow the decline, and have some possibly feasible, gentle, but attainable goals:

1. Stay alive. Not always desirable but I'm not likely to tick other aims if I don't tick this one.

2. Continue to work on my mental health self-care. I can't predict what will happen, but I can keep trying.

3. Keep trying hard to build and solidify a social life, including accepting that overall it's far more skewed to me having to initiate contact, communication, and plans, but if I keep putting the effort in it will incrementally improve.

4. Keep active. Preferably active in ways that directly factor into my climbing, injury management, or slowing weight gain, but otherwise any activity that doesn't harm those aspects is valuable.

5. Keep Lancashire cleaning to a manageable minimum. Don't get carried away, don't get burnt out, don't get fatigued, don't sacrifice multiple potential climbing days. Get the big jobs done over a damp winter and stick to small amounts on climbing days in the trad season.

6. Keep up with the volume mileage indoors in crappy weather. Possibly increase intensity or add board sessions if....

7. ...take care and rehab my tennis elbow, and keep working on my shoulders. Ideally avoid other injuries roflbbqmaolol.

8. IF in a fit state, get back into rotpunkting as good all round training for trad. And do this instead of hacking away at ferns and turf.

9. IF I maintain enough strength / fitness / confidence / stability - set up partners and hustle to get on what I really want to do. Or at least a tiny bit of it.

10. Get back into checking for the NWB Coastal Crags guide. Curtailed by weather, injury, weather, punterdom, weather, etc but keen to do more exploring and checking.

11. Get back to Pfalz for 2 weeks in autumn, plus ideally one or more of Bohuslan, Ettringen, Pedriza, Annot, Font, etc etc. Not expecting to get even a halfway house here, but a couple of good trips would be great.

12. Do more trad in Wales, Lakes, Devon. A very low bar given the dismal 2023, but fundamentally important to me.

[mrjonathanr]

See a surgeon (I believe Mike Hayton is the man to see?) about my finger I fractured in 2017 and explore the options available to me on that front.

I’ve seen him, on Ru’s recommendation. Seems to be the boxers’ favourite. Has a good reputation. In my case, he said it would heal if left alone, which it did.

@Fiend.
You forgot #13 - scare yourself at Gogarth, with me.

[User deactivated.]

Keep turning up on the Bladerunner Roof project -  probably can't do it, but whenever it's dry, I'd like to have at least half an hour trying it before moving on to other things. 10 sessions minimum would be a nice commitment.

Try to film something every time I go out climbing - I enjoyed putting together a climbing video last year and should try to get a new interesting angle on something each time I go out.

Develop at least 10 new boulder problems

Last year's goal of 10 sessions on rock with other people was a nice one (that I easily achieved) so that one can roll over to do again.

20 minutes hip opening exercises at least 6 days per week every week (5 days off allowed throughout the year for illness, events, etc).

[csl]

Basics
- 50 indoor climbing sessions
- 50 fingerboard sessions
- 100 stretching sessions
- 25 outdoor sessions (have a sabbatical to take so should manage more than 2022)

Process

- Book a big trip for my sabbatical (some variables here but hoping for Yosemite in October)
- Try something ≥ E4 every time I’m out on trad
- Try something ≥ 8a for at least 3 sessions
- Always visit crags with life list routes on
- Always try a life list route if I’m at the crag

Numbers

- 8a indoor or out
- At least 3 ≥ E4 trad routes
- Something long, hard and (preferably) mostly free

Some routes I’m interested in trying, if anyone is keen for pairing up for any of these then please DM me.

- Infinite Gravity - Blackers Hole
- Adrenochrome - Lulworth
- Wall of the Worlds and Lean Machine - Boulder Ruckle
- Return of the Gunfighter and nearby routes, Paradise Lost, Bird of Paradise - Cheddar

[duncan]

Happy New Year and good luck for 2024 everyone.

Oh yeah Take practice falls indoors before the rock climbing season starts. While I’m happy to weight gear, abseil and even solo a bit these days, there’s something in the unconscious bit of my brain that still thinks that if I fall off above gear the whole system will fail and I’ll deck. This hugely holds me back and if I can get a handle on it I’ll be able to improve my climbing no end.

Totally worthwhile. I did this last year, using the boring very slow progression approach. I got to about 200 falls and should have done a lot more. Most of the time I was barely above the bolt when letting go but it still had a huge transfer to the real world. (I struggled working sport routes, I found it really mentally demanding repeatedly switching from hanging on a bolt to climbing with a 100% chance falling, probably because I have a long history of climbing whilst trying to avoid falling at all costs. Taking very many short falls was therefore specific to my needs.) 




1a. Try Hard: spend more than half my sport and training sessions on things I can't flash. Doing this whilst minimising the inevitable tweaks, which mean I can't always just try hard, is the crux of my climbing.

1b. Try Hard 2: put time into a good 7b+. I’m likely to be in Somerset a fair bit this year so Uphill Quarry (suits my strengths), Brean Down (close to the opposite to my strengths) and Cheddar (variable) are the most likely venues. Overseas options also count.

1c. Try Hard with a Vengeance: fall off or entertain onlookers [reeve, 2023] on a trad. route.

2. Climb in five places new to me. Malham would be good. Range West or somewhere on the Llŷn would be great. Lundy or a Scottish island would be even better. Most likely will be obscure quarries in the (very good) new Bristol Sport guidebook.

3. Climb with five new partners. Enjoyed this last year so rolling it over to encourage me to continue to make the effort which doesn't come naturally. Get in touch, especially if anything from 4. appeals!

4. Do ten routes from Pat Littlejohn’s SW Climbs. The 1st edition as this is the one I grew up with and it means more to me than Hard/Extreme Rock or their ilk. I've been chipping away consciously for the last five years or so, 118/201 so far. Fortunately I did the majority of the E4/5s back in the day and it now presents a good stretch but with no completely ridiculous targets given a rope gun for the multipitch routes. Finding partners for the very unfashionable Cheddar or South Devon trad. will be a challenge. Getting fit enough for Rainbow Bridge and the two Swanage E4s will be a big challenge. And there are large gaps in the Lundy selection, probably the sternest test. 

5. Do something fairly long, somewhat hard, and mostly free. Keen to return to Verdon: travel by train worked really well and, in my mid-60s, 10 pitch routes with time for a pizza in the evening are becoming more attractive than 25 pitch epics starting and finishing in the dark.  And, well, it's the Verdon!

6. Rematch with Supersonic.

[clclark]

Never contributed on here or any other forum so goal is to actually be a part of climbing community more.
Sport
1) Consolidate repoint at 7a, preferably including the two at Anstey's and maybe also Potato Head
2) Consolidate 6b as onsight grade, bit murky on this at the moment
3) Chase the grade on 7a+, at least puts me on some harder stuff and more effort
Hoping through these to get more time on sport and in differing styles. Preferably also a bit of multi-pitch on this as well. Would be nice to do another trip abroad and focus more on sport.
Boulder
1) Consolidate 7A as doable grade
2) Consolidate flash at 6B+
3) 6C on Dartmoor, the Barrel feels vaguely possible or at Tunhill
4) Chase grade of 7A+, hopefully at Tintagel
5) Keep having sessions out and improve strength
6) Go to font and don't injure myself there again
Trad
1) Consolidate HVS as onsight
2) Onsight E1
3) Do Aerobic Wall ground up, love the problem as feels very possible, gave it one go in bad conditions
4) Do some of the sea cliff stuff about (going to include Magical Mystery Tour here as feels sacrilegious to be in South-West and not do it)
Training
1) Actually do some with vague structure
2) Get more flexible
Life
1) Graduate university
2) Get a job
3) Keep in touch with people as lives change