[JackAus]

1. DWS Project. Fucking done! Only took me 3 seasons...
2. Get fitter and leaner.
3. Rocket Man.
4. V9s.

[csl]

Ace! I was wondering how you'd got on with this after following along in power club!

[ashtond6]

I think my aims are a bit unrealistic, so I'm including two tiers on the sport climbing:

Onsight some 7as (4 so far, forgot to include this originally but was definitely a big aim)

RP 7c - pretty unlikely so...

RP 7b+ - I'd be really happy with this   (done 7b as of March!)

A good amount of 7A's (5-15?) 7A+ would be an overachievement I think 

Be strict with my antags & control my chronic issues



If my emphasis shifts back to trad climbing - onsight/flash E4s

[36chambers]

1. 8A - tick!
2. 8A - tick!
3. 8A

Preferably at least one not at Almscliff. Or at the very least, not on DWR.

Half way update. Made an excellent start to the year by ticking Dialectics, Exorcist, and Exorcist Short (YYFY). All 8A, all on DWR... I'm obviously only taking two ticks.

That leaves me with 5 months to get myself ready to crush Zoo York come winter. Allez.

[Fultonius]

Alright, I'm in this year just so that I have something to look back at this time next year.

Bouldering: Breakthrough my long, long term plateau of 7B. I'm lacking inspiration of suitable local projects. Maybe Sabotage 8A. Fail
Sport: F7b+ onsight. Up a plus from my current peak. Plus a load of 7a+ and 7b onsights would be nice. (fatten the pyramid) Very Nearly Flashed 7b, but tried very few sport routes this year. Did Marlina in short order, which was nice (Fr7c)
Winter: Have some quality days in Scotland. I'm operating at a higher level than when I left Scotland, so loads of classics to go at. Did very little winter climbing after Jna - too busy at uni
Trad: Consolidate E4 onsighting and get on loads of quality E5s, with improved pacing and tactics. My head was good in the autumn, so long may that continue. Maybe hit Fair Head, Lewis/Hebrides for some big fun trad.  YYFY - smashing in the trad. Actually felt solid on some Es which is still hard to get my head around. Did a load of really, really, really good routes at Fairhead. Did Right Wall.  Well. Chuffed.


Oh, just remembered a far fetched plan. I'm going to join a mate working Requiem at Dumby. Just to see...just to see... Nope

For once I have few trips planned, so a bit of a grade focussed, rather than objective focussed year. N.America in September :-)

Outside of climbing. Fix all injures.  Fixed some, gained some others. Maintenance.

 Smash in my Masters with a solid distinction. 81% average so far (70+ is distinction) just my Thesis to do

Get a job/set up a company. Working on it...

Not much eh?

Not bad for half the year. :D

[TheTwig]

I've kind of accidentally achieved all my aims, awkward.

Climb my first 7b - tick
Climb my first E5 - tick (and onsight) on the first day of the first trip of the year (in May)

I'd like to try and get a F7A+ boulder indoors but it seems so much harder to make progress in bouldering than route climbing, so I'm not mega fussed about that

In a way it's kind of nice to have the 'pressure' off for the rest of the year. Hoping to spend August just bumbling around in N wales and on the grit, and work on some of my weaknesses (roofs, cracks, steep stuff)

[chillax]

Going reasonably well so far

Climbing:
1) Get back up to E2 on trad Did The Ghost in Dalkey just before heading to the states. Done it before, but its a great route and a good one to test faith in the dodgy ankle.
2) Get comfortable onsighting brit technical 5C (have had a long standing mental block about this) Haven't reached this point yet, but feel like I'm moving better than I have before, so theres hope
3) Go on a sport climbing trip
4) Boulder 7A Done indoors. Hopefully will be ticked for real in the Autumn/Winter
5) Solo El Cap again Virginia - Tangerine Trip in 10 days. Boo-yah!

Non climbing:
1) Play a gig with professional jazz musicians and not feel like a complete imposter Getting there slowly

[Wood FT]

Climb Arch Enemies/New Dawn/Raindogs/Pierrepoint
Get on Supercool and K3

Had 2 more sessions on Arch Enemies, getting closer. Didn't try the others but did have a go on Supercool to see what it's like, predictably brilliant climbing but dismayed by how hard upper crux felt. Have since seen better beta on LisaA's video so am keen to get back on it. mid to long term goal. 

Do something of relative merit in Siurana at Easter

Not a great trip, a few redpoints on L'escamarla one day failing at jump move then pulling on and going to the top each time. Annoying and busy.

Get down to the South West more (Ansteys, Brean, Cheddar etc)

Brean in January, cold but fun place and I enjoyed the climbing. Went to Cheddar a few weeks ago and did stuff like Shakin' like a leaf and Still waters.. Really good climbing.

Rein in back in and climb classic E3 routes all over and become a competent and safe climber, been the butt of the joke for too long and it's funny up until I tool myself.

Haven't really trad climbed except pitch 2 of yellow edge and Precious Metal the other week. Had fun and felt safe but enjoyed the 7b Dive Dive Dive round the corner more. Guess i'm just in a different mindset at the moment.

Enjoy bouldering, I.e. get out and have fun on circuits with a good team. Get on Suavito ffs!

Fun days out in winter, didn't go to Gardoms.

General:

Don't fuck it up - so far so good
Keep saving - ditto
See family more - ditto
Apply self at new job - We'll see
Ride a horse - They're too scared
Get Nige on hard sport (the 3rd reincarnation of Kershaw) - not a chance, he's too busy trying to take Rob Clifton's crown as works circuit wad.

Good luck everyone

Not bad, some more south west action next week should be going to Churston/Torbryan and Sennen/Bosigran for the first time, looking forward to it.

An early September sport trip will hopefully give me a fitness boost for some of the Malham and Gordale objectives. I'm pessimistic about the Cornices. 

[TheTwig]

Going reasonably well so far

Climbing:
1) Get back up to E2 on trad Did The Ghost in Dalkey just before heading to the states. Done it before, but its a great route and a good one to test faith in the dodgy ankle.
2) Get comfortable onsighting brit technical 5C (have had a long standing mental block about this) Haven't reached this point yet, but feel like I'm moving better than I have before, so theres hope
3) Go on a sport climbing trip
4) Boulder 7A Done indoors. Hopefully will be ticked for real in the Autumn/Winter
5) Solo El Cap again Virginia - Tangerine Trip in 10 days. Boo-yah!

Non climbing:
1) Play a gig with professional jazz musicians and not feel like a complete imposter Getting there slowly

I'm guessing if you've bouldered an indoors F7A (not exactly easy!) you should be walking up E2's? Keep it up!

[chillax]

I'm guessing if you've bouldered an indoors F7A (not exactly easy!) you should be walking up E2's? Keep it up!

You would think that, but my trad head is surprisingly awful despite (or maybe because of) all the aid climbing. E.g falling off E1's at Fair Head while able to do one-armers... I find trad the hardest part of the game to improve at. Main reason to keep trying I guess!

Cheers for the encouragement 

[the_dom]

8A.

Not quite, but decent progress thusfar.. A couple of 7Cs down.

At least one Font trip.

One short trip to Magic Wood, not a heck of a lot of Font prospects until next year..

Get married. Survive wedding.

Tick! Now to survive married life..

Make decision as to where my wife-to-be and I will be living.

Closer, but not quite..

[nai]

I have two aims for 2016:

Rain. Dogs.

While Raindogs is my main aim it won't be a disaster if I don't manage it and I should have elaborated a bit on others:

Complete 2 routes of 7c-8a in each of 3 peak phases:
 
Priorities = Raindogs & Powerplant + Call of Nature, Why Me?, Sissy &  Body Machine plus some other Peak WIPs

raise OS level from occasional 7a to consistent 7b

OS E4s - Flakey Wall & Resurrection top of hit list.

Make at least one trip somewhere with mountains

[csl]

Rehab Finger - done, but have had two more pulley injuries since...
8a - not yet, but have climbed my first 7c+, hopefully i'll get a chance to get on an 8a
Do some trad - not done
1 arm hang a campus rung/ 1 pad edge - done

 Mid-year addition 1 arm pullup on campus rung

[mr chaz]

Better late than never...

 - Bouldering wise - any of the following would be good: Brad Pit, The Joker, Tetris, Roof of a Baby Buddha, Cosmic Wheels, Special K, Lotus, Mr Fantastic, Stoned Temple Pilots, Diesel Power, Rock Atrocity, Lou Ferrino...

- Would also really like to do a trip to Swizzy having never been before.

- But my main aim and new long term goal is 8b sport.

Rock Atrocity done

Lou Ferrino is close

Going to Swizzy in September, flights booked

Hardly sport climbed whatsoever so far, Cornice still fucked I assume, and I'm focused on bouldering with this trip in mind now

We'll see how the second half of this year turns out.

[nai]

Chances of getting out this week are slim so it looks like this block is now over and time to update
 

Complete 2 routes of 7c-8a in each of 3 peak phases: Managed 1 x 8a, 1 x 7c+ and 2 x 7c in the two phases so far.  On track.
Raindogs - did some good links over 2 sessions in Spring, poor nick on 3 visits since.
Powerplant - still wet
Call of Nature, Why Me? YYFY
Sissy - not managed to get on it
Body Machine - still wet
plus other Peak WIPs - Obscene Gesture, Laughing at the Rain, Obscene Toilet

raise OS level from occasional 7a to consistent 7b, few 7as, 4 x 7a+ OS, flashed Tin Of (7b?). Heading in the right direction.

consistently OS E4 - Flakey Wall & Resurrection top of hit list. - Few E2s, as ever not done enough.

Make at least one trip somewhere with mountains - I was thinking Wales really but off to Chamonix next week. Still want to go to Wales...

[duncan]

Main goal is the usual: E5. This year's twist, do it before 7th June. FAIL

7b RP (Clashing Socks, Empire of the Sun, Still Waters Run Deep). Get on a 7b+. Not close. Postponed to Autumn unless Asturias or Switzerland trips turn into sport climbing.

Climb at Gogarth and Fairhead. Pentire is a fine alternative for one of these.

Climb at Font. at least once. Cancelled in May dues to floods, going there this Thursday.

Rabada-Navarro +1 other at Naranjo de Bulnes. Short Picos/Asturias trip in two weeks

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

Keep doing shoulder and other supportive exercises assiduously. Mostly doing these and shoulder is mostly holding up well. One lapse.

Try hard enough, often enough, to fall off at least one trad. route. Trying harder, not fallen off yet.

A decent year so far. I sustained a significant finger injury just after writing this which took out three months, so negligible proper sport, and meant my fitness is is not quite at E5 level yet. Great Ceuse trip, a worthy alternative to Fairhead, but all onsighting. August should see more green, then time to try harder on the bolts.

[moose]

Aims...pretty similar to last year (unsurprising really given my lack of real progress in life and climbing!)

in no particular order
CLIMBING
1) Try harder to get out bouldering before the limestone sport starts - too many wet days have robbed me of the mojo to even bother dragging the mats into the car, let alone properly project anything - anything off the grit tick list would be a bonus.
FAIL WITH EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES a bit of bouldering but too wet to get momentum before routes started
2) Keep up the new-found enjoyment of finger-boarding - once, preferably twice, a week - more for contrast/relief from work than any real aim at improving my climbing.
PART FAIL- kept it up until May but skin / injury / midweek route sessions led to a hiatus.  Intend to resume as soon as fingertips heal
3) Continue to work through the usual suspects at Malham / Kilnsey.  Next up: GBH (onto The Groove or Overnite if successful).  At Kilnsey, either one of the long extensions at the left side (Bullet or Stolen), or embrace the likelihood of years-long failure and get on Grooved Arete.
PASS - went through Malham tick-list like a dose of salts early season (Herbie, Toadal, Mescalito, Maximum, GBH and Overnite); currently falling off Stolen at Kilnsey (slapped break above boulder problem 4 times last weekend, so hopefully will go soonish
4) Climb something "substantial" not at Malham or Kilnsey - preferably Supercool at Gordale, or maybe something at Yew Cogar or Chapel or Giggleswick.
WORK IN PROGRESS - Did Cave Route LH at Gordale, have had a few sessions on Supercool

NON-CLIMBING
5) Keep trying to re-balance the work/life balance - work smarter during office hours and reduce the slightly needless number of late nights in the office (taking up finger-boarding has been somewhat successful in encouraging this). TOTAL AND UTTER FAIL
6) Drink booze less often. Yes... but only recently - one bonus of work being so full-on at the moment - it persuaded me that my weekday life is beyond the coping-whilst-a-bit-hungover stage.
7) Spend less nights titting about on the internet and more time reading books or watching decent films. FAIL... too tired from work to concentrate on anything substantial most nights.  Currently reading the Iliad.... the time it's taking threatens to rival that of the siege of Troy
8 Go to some live events - comedy, music, football, theatre, boxing, whatever - try to experience less of the stuff I purport to love filtered through a screen. FAIL

[the_dom]

8A.

Not quite, but decent progress thusfar.. A couple of 7Cs down.

Getting closer  - one 7C+/8A done..

[shurt]

climbing aims for the year are:
Bouldering - V7 or harder
Sport - 7b+ or harder
Trad - E4 or harder
Not done 7b+ on bolts but have bouldered and tradded at those levels. As per the year just gone, I've been spending more time going sports climbing so feels realistic.

Forgot to update this...

V7 tick
7b+ tick

Can't believe I've done both of these considering how little climbing I've done. Weird innit...

[AJM]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A few weeks till we go!

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

Back into Lulworth season now, early days though.

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

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

[Footwork]

Interesting first half of year, shoulder injury forcing my hand a bit.

1. Fix/ rehab shoulder. Shoulder impingement which has put bouldering on hold for the foreseeable future. Came out of nowhere and can't climb without pain This has somewhat improved but I still can't boulder hard. Hurts still doing certain movements (like locking off and rolling over with the other arm). However, I can climb without pain and am just a bit sore after, also can't have more than 2 days on at a time. No getting to the bottom of the problem but need to self massage more frequently and keep doing physio. I really hope this hasn't fcked me forever.
2. Pass my LPC YYFY found out today I got distinctions in all exams. Start training contract in Sept.
3. Go winter climbing Had some amazing weather in Scotland and the Lakes. Got quite a bit done and pleased to see improvement (technical and mental) from the last time I went winter climbing. Really excited for this winter. 
4. Take more photographs and try and get some wildlife shots Nada. Although I am quite pleased with the shots I've taken on my phone whilst out. 
5. Easy climbing somewhere abroad like the Dolomites (never been) or the Alps again. This very likely won't happen.
6. Keep blogging Slowly getting back to writing more frequently.

Pleased with the year so far. Most important was passing exams or be out of a job. This means I'll be in Leeds for the next 2 years minimum.  Shoulder means I probably won't be bouldering this winter which makes me sad but roll on trad and winter instead.

Getting rid of 4 and 5 and adding the following for remainder of the year.

- Climb 2 more 7c's and get on a 7c+
- Classic E4's and E5's

[remus]

• Get stuck in to a proper project
• ...but get it done within the year (preferably without too much weeping at the bottom of the crag, sacrificing of first born children etc.) No joy. Spent lots of time ticking off things that were previously projects though, so can't complain too much.
• Trips to font, buoux, fairhead, mallorca, chorro Couple of trips to font in the bag, and fairhead was as good as the reports suggest. Think I even oversaw shark playing pool on a rest day. esoteric siege wad tick?
• Try to keep the font ticklist under control (preferably by ticking off large parts of it) Obviously a fail. Should know better by now that the font ticklist only grows.
• Get scared on some DWS (preferably towards the top of adrenochrome) Slowly but surely the season is ramping up.
• Cutlass
• Wizard of Oz, if I can get keen enough for another go

Going by the numbers the above looks fairly bad, but I feel like I've actually just done lots of stuff that wasn't on the list (academic, bold as love, project 'tick all of the worlds soft touch 7Cs'). Best part of DWS season still to come so lots of opportunity there.

[andy popp]

bold as love,

What a great route, I have fond memories.

[Will Hunt]

However, I can climb without pain and am just a bit sore after, also can't have more than 2 days on at a time.

That's just called "not being Alex Megos", Ben.

[Footwork]

However, I can climb without pain and am just a bit sore after, also can't have more than 2 days on at a time.

That's just called "not being Alex Megos", Ben.

Are you kidding? Could usually manage 4 days on without too much trouble.