Aims for 2022

[jwi]

1. Keep improving my sport climbing capabilities at a sufficiently glacial pace to not get injured. This would be achieved if I redpoint a hard 8b+ or onsighted several 7c+s in say a month.

No. I onsighted two 8as in the spring, but both felt definitely 8a on paper only. I did one 7c+ onsight in the autumn, again very sceptical about the grade. I spend most of my time in the autumn on an 8b+ extension of a classic 8a+, my best attempt ended on the last boulder problem. By my reckoning it is 8b/b+ to this point, and hard 8b+ to the top. I did the first pitch 2-3 times per session, and I am frankly a bit fed up with doing this over and over again...

2a For the redpoint part: get ever so slightly stronger at bouldering.
OR
2b. For the onsight part: increase my endurance on at least one benchmark.

Hard to say without doing any actual bouldering, only plastic. But I feel like my bouldering on plastic has improved a tiny bit. My endurance was pretty decent in the spring but not better than previous benchmarks.

3. Improve flexibility

No.

4. Get better at pullups and rows. Measure before and after each cycle.

No. Quite the opposite actually. Weaker than ever on pullups.

5. Get stronger fingers. As above

Got a tiny bit stronger in half crimp in the beginning of the season, lost it, but got a tiny bit stronger on crimps towards the end of the year, also fleetingly, I suspect.

 

[Fiend]

1. Stay alive and try to find something worth living for

Christ. Don't know how to assess this one. Technically Yes but have been a lot closer to it being No than is comfortable, for the first part. The second part is a work in progress and partly on hold until things ease.

2. Try to stay active enough not to deteriorate further.

Gonna give myself a "sorta" for this one as I have stayed reasonably active, but have had a slight deterioration overall in fitness and strength due to stuff getting in the way of pushing hard enough.

3. Keep pushing to stay in contact with friends, climbing partners, and maintain social life.

Yes for effort, sorta for effectiveness (including having the right tools to work with in the first place). It's a slow, random, process that's quite a challenge when one is pretty fragile.

4. Try to be careful enough to heal elbows a bit more.

Sorta. I did start focusing more on easy volume and rehab, and I think overall there has been progress and reasonable management, but it's still a few months behind what would be more comfortable.

5. See 1.

See answer to 1.


Quite surprised it's not all red or unanswered tbh. But there's enough "sortas" where there has been some maintenance at least.

 

[Fultonius]

• Loving the Best of 2021 reflective psyche, and the commitment here.
  
  After many years of somewhat drifting along in absolute climbing ability terms, and not really doing much more than surviving at work, this year feels like one that will consist of ending things, exploring/finding things and commencing things.
  
  I've decided that my work/home/training excuses of "not liking plans" and "keeping flexible" is maybe just an excuse for not setting goals and committing to them, accepting possible failure. So far I have made a 16 week training plan, and feel genuinely motivated to stick to it.
  
  I'm also very soon, VERY SOON going to quit my job and take some no-kid parental leave (aka sabbatical), and give me some space to:
  
  

  • Train
  • Start / Finish some woodwork projects that never seem to get done
  • Develop my freelance network
  • Get better at Sea-Kayaking with OH,
  • Go to Kyrgyzstan, climb Perestoika crakc and try a big wall new route... (I AM Sean Villanueva, I AM Sean Villanueva!!!)
  • Make plans for getting a doer-upper bit of land/old house

  
  > I want to pick an 8a project, maybe Axiom at Tunnel Wall and try to tick the rest of the routes up there.
  > Get 2 more E6s done at Cambusbarron.
  > Start working Reqiuem
  > Also have some sessions on Dalriada
  > Malc's Arete (anyone got any other good Glasgow local 7B/+ projects to work on?)
  
  I'm in 2 minds about re-arranging the garage to make a better home wall, but I have 2 good walls nearby and soon to be free during the day so I'm not sure the effort/reward ratio will be there.
  
  I've got a consultant appointment on 10 Jan to see what state my kneecap is in, since it's been grinding a bit so some things will rest on that. Fingers crossed for better news.

  
  
  • Train
  Tick
  • Start / Finish some woodwork projects that never seem to get done
  Very nearly finished the first "big" project, a shoe rack/bench for the hallway
  
  - all hand-cut joints, trying out new new like castle/shiro joints. Lot of work and srill making small mistakes, but on the whole loving my time down there (boosted by getting a wee erbauer heater) I think I've realised one aspect of woodwork that I really enjoy - I can basically take every project to the limit of my abilities and desire for perfection with no need for compromise. That's not to say it's perfect, just that I find constant compromise at work challenging (budgets, timescales, expectations etc.) so here's a free space to do it as I want. Nice.
  • Develop my freelance network
  In progress, but time will tell how sustainable it ends up.
  • Get better at Sea-Kayaking with OH,
  Had a great weekend trip with a guide wiht an overnight camp.All pretty mellow, but a good time and learned a fair bit. Probably need to learn self-rescue next,
  • Go to Kyrgyzstan, climb Perestoika crack and try a big wall new route... (I AM Sean Villanueva, I AM Sean Villanueva!!!)
  Plans changed Went to the Bugaboos in August, climbed a load of great routes including one of the final ascents of Sunshine Crack :'( - it just fell down. :great: Really should write a trip report about that some time...
  
  • Make plans for getting a doer-upper bit of land/old house
  Finally got the keys! But only just, so not been out to assess/start planning the work required yet.

> I want to pick an 8a project, maybe Axiom at Tunnel Wall and try to tick the rest of the routes up there. Tried Axiom, figured most of it out first day but struggled on one move. Ended up really enjoying Endurance at Dumby, 8 sessions in and been very VERY close a few times. Enjoying the process and itching to get on it in the spring.
> Get 2 more E6s done at Cambusbarron. One done, one to go - no change there...
> Start working Reqiuem Not been on it yet.
> Also have some sessions on Dalriada Didn't happen, but mate is keen for a week on it next year at some point.
> Malc's Arete (anyone got any other good Glasgow local 7B/+ projects to work on?) Barely been bouldering, just more psyched on trad and sport just now. That said, did have a good ession on the new Dubh Lic Boulders and got close on Feast for Croes 7B https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/dubh-lic_boulders-28920/a_feast_for_croes_stand-629394 so will need to get back (no update since mid-year)

I'm in 2 minds about re-arranging the garage to make a better home wall, but I have 2 good walls nearby and soon to be free during the day so I'm not sure the effort/reward ratio will be there. Just dismantled it for now, and built a big carpenter's workbench instead.

I've got a consultant appointment on 10 Jan to see what state my kneecap is in, since it's been grinding a bit so some things will rest on that. Fingers crossed for better news. Not terrible, but definitely some wear. Apparently the old PCL repair is still looking tight.


As a more general summary... Quitting my job was 100% the right decision. I'm still not entirely sure where it will take me, but almost everything I've done work wise has been more fulfilling and less stressful. My 1-man consultancy hasn't fully kicked off yet, but I've had plenty fill-in freelance, a few leads and a couple of possible longer term consultancy contracts on the cards next year. Dealing ok with variable income and still enjoying my time off without stressing about "should I be working...".

Climbing wise, no great gains this year, but getting close to nudging my personal limit on sport and had some fun trips away with equal PB onsights despite only having a week notice of the trip... Been quite enjoying trying to gradually increase by base endurance while keeping my strength and power up at ok levels. Less UK trad than I would have liked, but having a few sport projects kicking about meant that my attention kept being drawn to them. Big win this year was finding out that Tunnel Wall is a good mid-summer crag - who knew!

I've had a healthy run up to Christmas and training was going in the right direction for a Costa Blanca trip on 31st....which now hangs in the balance as I tried to chop my finger off on the aforementioned woodwork project....

 

[36chambers]

- 5 off the never ending “why have you not done these yet?” list [4, felt like I barely climbed on Yorkshire grit this year]
- 5 sec, one hand, front 3, BM2K outer edge. [developed some worrying DIP knuckle issues this year, so I spent a lot of time doing three finger pick ups for rehab. My pick up scores has increased plenty but haven't tested it on the BM2K]
- 5 eights [one legit (3 on paper...), I can only think of 3 climbs that I tried for more than two sessions, which is a really poor effort]
- 5 new UK crags [7]
- 5 sessions on new to me 8B’s [3 for about an average of 15 minutes each...]
- 5 sessions on 8a+/< sport routes [4. then sacked off trying hard over summer]
- 5 off the highball list [1. didn't pull onto any more, poor effort]
- 5 FA’s (including shitty link ups) [4, including one that's actually worthwhile!]
- 5 climbing trips (weekends away, holidays) [6. Great year for this]
- 5 Dragon/God level board projects [0, sacked off projecting anything on the board and ended up removing most the hard/tweaky holds]
- 5 training room PBs [Various things, although a few are technically more benchmarks than PBs. I got a weight pin this year and I've been really enjoying the competitive pick up scenes, so loads of new and improved scores from that. Although Footwork currently holds the LH house record . After a pick up session, I pulled onto the BM2K low mid rung and managed 15 seconds on my RH, 5 seconds on my previous PB (likely all down to warming up effectively, but whatever). Got endless scores to try and improve upon next year.]
- 5 percent increase on my powerlifting lifts. [tick for bench and squat, was hoping to bump the DL this month, but my lower back is not doing too well at the moment]


wildcard lifetime goal [tick]
- do an 8A in the forest (close during my short trip in Oct 2021, hopefully I'll get another punt in 2022) [Le Vent dans la Plaine went down first day of my trip in April (so a big fat yyfy!). It was particularly fortunate as it was 20+ degrees for the rest of the trip. Tried a few others in the heat, which all felt doable, even punted off the end of one of them. I've always considered Font my main testing ground for general progress and therefore matching grades by doing them there always feels just as much a milestone as doing a given grade for the first time.]

and finally
- get back to pre-pandemic perceived level of ability (might be purely psychological, but I feel like my general climbing level has dipped during the pandemic, so it will be nice to feel like I’m properly cranking again). [Not quite, started the year well, then nursing injuries over the summer, and now slowly getting back into it. Had a trip to Albarracin recently which was great for the ego though.]

 

[Duncan campbell]

What a difference a year makes!

Feeling much better but still been kind of wary about setting any goals. However it’s not like I don’t have any may as well set my stall out.

I definitely feel like I am on an upward trajectory at the moment so my main aim is to continue on the same path of self acceptance, self love and appreciation for what I have. In the past year I also aimed to have more fun and I wish to continue this into 2022 (and beyond).

whilst I didn’t have loads of therapy do loads of mindfulness this year, I was way more conscious of my mental health and caught myself before I fell too far into negative thought cycles.

Pretty happy with that though the journey is obviously never over.

The above are my main goals and any goals I state below are secondary to these. If trying to achieve one is contradictory to maintaining good mental health then I hope I will drop it.

Climbing

Never sure whether highly specific or vague is the way to go. I’ll try and hit both.

In no particular order...

More E6 attempts from the ground.
Specifically; LOTF, Suicide blonde, Big in America, Pulsebeat, Sixpence, Ghost Train, Grezelda.



Be good to regain my previous overall trad form.

Ummm tried one E6 at the end of a trip to the burren when I was 7th day on and it was just coming into the sun on a hot day. Maybe could have had another go but was conscious of incoming tide blocking the escape route and it was hot. Have it a good go but think I would have run out of medium wires above the crux so maybe was lucky I didn’t get through!

Did a load of E5s this year but still not quite back in trad form… Pabbay trip I did some bits but was definitely struggling with confidence to get on things.

More ~8a sport.

The Groove or Urgent Action would be ace. Zoolook and soft option being others I’m keen for.

Did one definite 8a - Shine On at the Diamond, tried Statement a bit but never had enough consistency on it having 3 sessions spread out a bit too much. Felt like if I had had a few more closer to last session I might have got it as felt good on it.

Also did Dark Stranger which gets 8a on UKC but is probably 7c+

Visit some new crags; Yew cogar, trow Gill.

color=red] Nope barely climbed in Yorkshire this year [/color]

Have a tickle at an 8b? Not too sure which one id try ...

Nope had 2 goes up the Brute with Flo but that was more to try hard moves than try an 8b. Never felt the form this year for that sort of thing

Boulder more 7B+s sneak a 7C out? []Would also love to try Corridors if Power.

Did Pit and the Pendulum at Milestone in the Ogwen. Not the world’s best problem but did it quite quickly and it’s one of those hard problems I’ve always known about. I enjoyed the ratty nature of it too. Did have a period of feeling good bouldering which was nice no 7Cs but think will try and commit to bouldering next winter

Life

Finish house ASAP so fun can resume. (But do a good job)

House jobs are never ending but certainly got it to a good point by March and then have continued to tick off jobs after that at a slower pace. Pretty happy with what I’ve done

Switch to part time work. Whether that is at this company or back on the ropes. I don’t care which as long as I’m not working 5 days a week, 47 weeks of the year.

Back on the ropes, and have managed to work pretty much whenever I want and guy in charge of rope access team totally chill when I tell him I’m unavailable
Don’t fuck up the amazing thing I have just found myself hopefully on the verge of getting into. (Don’t want to jinx it). If it doesn’t work out don’t lose myself in process.

YYFY well psyched to be with Flo, we have really similar energy levels, psyche for climbing, similar interests. Just great scenes.


Hope 2022 is a good one for everyone

All in all a good year! Not a year I climbed any PBs but felt like considering I did little climbing or trained for 6 months my base level
of 8a and E5 isn’t too bad. By the time I did the 7B+ I had certainly resumed training and had a full 6 months of climbing behind me.

The biggest win though was continuing to be aware of my mental health and creating a good relationship with Flo. :beer2:

 

[Duncan Disorderly]

Saw this pop up and realised that I'd not done one yet...

Last year's were probably a bit over ambitious looking back at them especially considering that my #1 goal was not to get injured and it turms out I was already nursing a pretty big one (albiet managing it...)

1. Not get injured Failed as already was!
2. F7c again Didn't even get on one!
3. More than one good trad day (i.e. good/classic routes E1 - E4) :2thumbsup:
4. Make it to Kalymnos in October again :2thumbsup:
4a. Get on Ageallis or another awesome looking F7c
5. F7a+/7b onsight again Nope F7a onsight and F7a+/F7b TR Flash was as good as it got!
6. 7A bloc if I can ever be arsed to go bouldering again :2thumbsup:
7. Eatswood Traverse (wildcard!) Didn't even try - Shoulder wouldn't like the start!
8. Find and get on F8a project for 2022 Didn't try!

So this year I'll be a bit more conservative:

Climbing
1. More F7b's
2. F7b+
3. Get on inspiring F7c, F7c+ or F8a as project
4. Stay out of hospital (i.e. condition shoulder enough to not warrant surgery)
5. Spain in March
6. Kalymnos in October
7. At least one classic trad day E2-E5
8. At least one decent day bouldering high 6's and/or low 7's

Life
1. Build garden cabin/office
2. Get more guaranteed work - being self employed is great but sometimes feels like I'm chasing my tail so guaranteed hrs would be ace
3. Take kids away on a memorable trip (maybe take them on a multipitch)

And it was written...

So, it's that time of year again - looking back on the previous 12 months of disappointment... Here goes:

Climbing
1. More F7b's - Whoop Whoop! Did more than the year before and even got a F7a+ onsight so yay!
2. F7b+ - Didn't even try (one of the F7b's did used to get F7c but that hardly counts!)
3. Get on inspiring F7c, F7c+ or F8a as project - had planned to get back on Virgin King but never found the time
4. Stay out of hospital (i.e. condition shoulder enough to not warrant surgery) - YYFY! Shoulder is fine, almost daily conditioning but feels pretty good all things considered
5. Spain in March - Tick!
6. Kalymnos in October - Tick!
7. At least one classic trad day E2-E5 - Not Quite but did do La Demande in The Verdon and it felt more trad than most of High Tor :lol:
8. At least one decent day bouldering high 6's and/or low 7's - One spring day @ Baslow and a summer afternoon at Slipstones - Nowt above 6C but fills the brief :whistle:

Life
1. Build garden cabin/office - Tick
2. Get more guaranteed work - being self employed is great but sometimes feels like I'm chasing my tail so guaranteed hrs would be ace - Tick! Probably the bigest one of the year - working for a brilliant company full of like-minded folk, ace!
3. Take kids away on a memorable trip (maybe take them on a multipitch) - Tick! Took boy up Tryffan (when he was still talking to me) and girl sea kyaking around Lands End!

Wow there's more green there than expected! Looking at the areas that were missed it looks like I just need to get on harder things as you can't do them if you don't even try!

 

[andy moles]

5. A few good days of DWS. Zilch this year

Self-correction, the Best of 2022 thread reminded me that I did have one fun day on Mingulay.

 

[Footwork]

Aims for 2022!

1. Spend more time developing whilst I didn't manage to do the main projects, I did spend a lot of time searching and trying various new things. A lot of trips where I basically took the pads for a long walk. There are 3 or 4 things I would really like to do this year
2. Five routes off the sport list took me about 2 months to get rid of covid early in the year and never really got going. Only managed a handful of trips out.
3. More trad and highballing than 2021(a lot more) not so much on the highballing but went to Lofoten with cls. Incredible scenes. Did 40 pitches of climbing plus some days out at Ilkley, Chevin and Millstone to try and prep. I was not prepped
4. Consistently burn off Will Hunt on any head to head on the board and pick ups, Will didn't stand a chance. He has however ticked one or two things I didn't manage, but only because he went back for another session
5. Get something big booked in the diary see Norway. Also got married
6. More trips with mates Not as many as I would have liked. I think only one weekend away :-\

Weird year. One of the best climbing trips I've been on but then also not much climbing done and a pitiful bouldering year on paper. It's been a big year though.

Good luck everyone

 

[Simon Lee]

Overall in 2022 I want to enjoy my climbing more and tick something that’s hard for me.

Things I’ll do differently this year.
- No limit projecting when it’s too warm/humid as it’s demotivating
- Drop my grade in the summer
- Travel more
- Resume trad climbing (still aspire to onsight an E6 at some point so need to start building back into it)

If year pans out well it will include:

Jan: 3 week trip to Spain with Duncan leaving on Friday (Good weather, great crag but with hindsight should have got on steeper routes)
Feb: Focus on Bens without kneebars
Mar/April: Malham season. Oak/Mescalito
(just one day but heart wasn’t in it)
April/May: Host a yank I hit it off with n Chulilla and weather permitting take him on a South West sea cliff tour (unfortunately Jerry cried off to have some voodoo medicine operation)
Summer: Van trip to Briancon area with Sonia (actually took car as had Tommy and Poppy and even better Rob and Rach Barker stayed with us)
Autumn: Tor or Malham projecting
November: Red River Gorge (be fit for it this time)

Lots of ticks but not of the hard redpoint variety which I value most. Enjoyed myself too much. Did some outstanding routes, travelled lots and got to tick my first E5 and onsight my first 7b+ in about 5/6 years. Some of the routes I did are are all time high points in terms of quality notably Swedish Fish at Red River Gorge, the top pitch of the Skull on Cyrn Las, Swordfish in Pembroke and Sula on Mingulay.

 

[dunnyg]

1. Try an E5
Didn't even pull on one. Did do a soft(?) E4 at Baildon on headpoint.

2. Repeat Sean's route
Put some stakes in and had 1 session on it with some friends. Had a nice time, and it felt absolutely nails. One very hard move. Might have another look after work this year. Strong Sean!

3. Climb something >300m long
Not sure I even managed a multipitch!

4. Onsight 6c
Overdue at trollers. Boulder problem into f5.

5. Climb 7a
Managed 3, all in a sessions, except angelic upstart, which I had a session on about 10 years ago and managed after a top rope this time! Ticking off unfinished business is good. A trip up the jim grin showed me my stamina needs improvement to get on the less bouldery routes though...

6. Fall off a sport route when going full beans
Didn't fall off, but tried hard on new mystique and angelic upstart. Not "flow state" but not bad

7. Climb on Gimmer and/or Scafell
Usual partner had long covid which left me bouldering most of the year

7.5 Climb a multipitch E1
Nope

8. Don't get injured
Tweaked my finger on pinky in January

9. Tick off something(s) from the yorkshire 3* tick list.
Wombling wall at baildon, where I used a microtraxion (amazing) to headpoint it. Not sure it is E4, but enjoyable climbing either way. Not sure it is 3* either (or 2...). I also got up illegitemate crack at Ilkley which deserves its starts! Went out with a new partner and had a great time on this. Intimidating for VS but excellent crack climbing. If you haven't done it go do it! Always nice to climbing with new psyched people too.

10. Climb on a sea cliff
Trip to pembroke, but no climbing as usual partner sofa bound. Thought about some soloing, but settled for surf (most excellent!) and a boulder at plumstone mountain instead...

11. Do some exploratory development. Having a trek in and failing counts!
Not this year. Still have some spots awaiting the right conditions and at least one to scout out.

12. Go on some decent adventures (climbing or otherwise). Uncertainty in outcome required, suffering optional.
Climbing wise, not really, but had a solid first 6 months of the year caving. Plenty of uncertainty in outcome, and a reasonabe amount of suffering. Highlights include; doing dow-prov and getting to the bit I recognised (gypsum trav) and knowing the entrance was close, happily floating along through ducks after several hours of dragging batteries along crawls followed by lying on the surface in the sun after fully bonking in the entrance series, rigging my first cave, first solo trip, and taking dad down Dow. Hopefully more above (and below) ground adventures in the new year.

13. Make use of local rock and board for training
Board has been well used. A little less so in the last couple of months due to work/life. Some jugs arrived yesterday so going to try and get some form of circuits on there to mix up the intensity a bit too.

Bonus aim was to go to 5 new crags this year, which was successful, mostly south lakes lime bouldering, but also had a trip to craig-y-longridge and some local moorland esoterica (shooting party in situ). I get so psyched when I go to a new crag. I love climbing everything I can. Usually means I don't push my limit or only have a few goes, but had a great day with a mate up at newbiggin crag zipping round and pulling on everything I could find. Great stuff.


Stay positive about the guts. Allez.
Found some drugs that work, meaning fully functioning for the last 8 months.

To summarise: Had loads of non-bouldering goals and bouldered/caved for most of the year, due to my and my parters health/wedding/building/new job.

Reasonable use of a year given the circumstances. Bouldering highlights will have to be in the best of thread...

 

[duncan]

Overall a reasonable mix of colours, though the most specific and most ambitious are an undiluted red.

Climbing
1. Try hard more often. In the last three or four years I’ve shied away from pushing myself, especially on trad., defaulting to mileage days which are fun and sociable but I won't be remembering in 10 years time. This has been necessary at times due to not feeling very mentally robust and influenced by not trusting my body after dislocating my shoulder in 2017. There is a balance to find between pushing myself and pressuring myself but I think I could now do a bit more of the former. Hard to be SMART about this...
Still a work in progress. I did hardly any sport climbing which was what I particularly had in my mind. I did push myself to onsight a 7a in Ceuse and really enjoyed it. Overall, I am still doing rather a lot of grabbing gear instead of going for it. Did not fall off a trad. route all year. One to roll over to 2023.


2. Climb something from my best Christmas present this year (The Great Mountain Crags of Scotland ) and last year (The Great Sea Cliffs of Scotland).
Had a couple of short but great trips to Scotland with Wil. Did Torro as my first rock route on Ben Nevis on an absolutely glorious day. Only wish I had had a little more oomph for another that day!

3. 7b+
Didn't even try one. Everything was going in the right direction to give one a real go on the Ceuse trip, then I had leg infection which floored me. Summer was far too hot to sport climb and as soon as conditions improved I was single-parenting again and had acquired a wrist tweak.

4. E5 (or at least more than E2...).
At least tried a couple of E5s but hadn’t really established the base of E3/4s and/or 7a onsights. Did lots of great E2s but this was exactly what I said I shouldn't be doing...

Life
1: Redecorate home, it’s looking pretty shabby.
Repainted and had a new boiler installed (timely).
Bathroom and kitchen refitting still works in progress.

2: Take advantage of the many positive aspects of living in London.
The relaxing of covid restrictions has helped and I’ve accepted I’m going to be in London for a while. Have been to some great live music events of many varieties. The start of the ENO Ring Cycle was a bit of a disappointment but there have been lots of other really memorable concerts.

3: Sort out my finances
A work in progress. The de facto 15% increase in cost of my living this year has been a bit of a shock so a little more cash would come in handy. I feel I'd still enjoy working as a very part-time hands-on physio. but reviving my professional qualification would be a PITA.

4: Make a decent fist of being a dad, son and husband.
We’re all still talking.

 

[seankenny]

It feels fair to say that whilst 2022 was totally shit, I did the best I could with a bad hand.

Crikey, your year puts most of our frustrations and failings in perspective a bit. Hope the next one is a lot better for you!

Thanks for the kind words Andy (and Ged). All I want is to get this life changing shit out of the way so I can enjoy the same sorts of frustrations and failings as everyone else…!

 

[cheque]

Respect to everyone who does this thread, not just for setting and ticking your own goals but also for keeping everyone else motivated. It’s mad how helpful I find it as a tool to keep me on track. :icon_beerchug:

Lower body stretching as a first priority... 240 days at least.

Just done todays so 242 days, just over 2/3rds of the year :dance1:. Proud of this- I feel like an less dedicated climber would have sacked it off after a few weeks and just continued to be like “Hurhur I’m so inflexible”. I’m not amazingly flexible now but the fact I was surprised to see that I’d set this as first priority reflects how much of a difference it’s made- for the first time since my accident I’ve felt like my general mobility hasn’t limited me while climbing in the latter part of this year.

fingerboard twice a week in Jan, Feb, Nov & Dec and at least once a week March & Oct.

Yep. 48 sessions total so three fewer than last year (and not quite in these monthly boundaries) but still within target. Similar to the stretching one I don’t have fingers of steel but at no point in 2022 did I feel like my fingers were holding me back and I’m pleased that I’ve kept chipping away at it. Also learnt new ways to vary my sessions from my physio that help keep imbalances in check rather than making them worse.

Tick remaining pre-injury strength PBs.

Just one- 2BW deadlift at a heavier “BW” than ten years ago. :strongbench:. See below.

Repeat or better all my other PBs.

Nope, did fewer than last year. Made rapid inroads at the start of the year but becoming a full-time carer (thankfully briefly) meant training took more of a maintenance role from mid-February onwards. By the time autumn rolled round I’d developed a bit of a shoulder impingement that stopped me doing some of them and realised that my biggest weakness was fitness so physio-directed rehab and autobelay sessions took both time and energy away from ticking these.

Climb in the E-grades again. I’ll be happy with an E1 so that’s the minimum. Ideally let’s say… 6.

Did two E1s. Neither high in the grade but neither felt desperate so pretty confidence-building.

Try routes with roofs in. This is the most quantifiable way I can come up with to say “climb out of my comfort zone”. Actually I can think of another, I just don’t want to type it- take at least one, ideally 5 or more trad leader falls.

Forgot all about the roofs bit :lol: I did lead some roofs though but nothing hard (toughest was The Owl in Boulder Canyon which was ace but probably only VS 5a. I think I fell off three or four times this year but none was anything like a whipper. I don’t think this aim was really a great way to address my head problems really.

South-West trip.

Nope. Didn’t get anyone else interested in overnight climbing trips in the UK but didn’t really try to either.

Climb the Devil’s Tower.

Twice. ;D

Complete my photo project and, linked to that, take a camera out every time I go climbing.

Took a full-frame camera out every single time I went climbing and got loads of good photos I wouldn’t have got otherwise. I didn’t quite get the variety of pictures I needed to complete my project though- with hindsight I underestimated it.

 

[dunnyg]

Devil's tower is on my life list. One day when I can get out there I may pester you for beta... Epic job on the stretching too!

 

[monkoffunk]

I was planning on doing this at the end of January after a bit of time to consider some plans post exam year.

Unfortunately I dislocated my patella yesterday walking across my bedroom of all things.

That’s slightly altered the start of my year but anyway few goals for this year:

1. Do a ton of physio
2. Restart running, take it easy, no specific aims for now.
3. Climb again.
4. Especially on rock…
5. Sort out home training facilities.
6. Stick with habit tracker a bit better.

Agree very much with above, I’m impressed by everyone I meet right now keeping on going through some tough times, and puts my own injuries etc into perspective.

Here’s how much year is going in brief:

Certainly much happier in general after 2021 the year of exam revision. So good to draw a line under all of that. Lots of areas I could improve on still, but I’m more content despite not doing much on paper.

For the goals:

1. Physio - kept this going pretty well until I could run again and then has tailed off somewhat. Need to improve this as the reason my knee dislocated again was in some part due to pre-existing muscle imbalances, it wasn’t just about rehabbing this injury.

2. Restart running - have done this sooner than the physios said despite there still being some discrepancy in leg strength, but needed to for sanity. Have signed up for Bournemouth half marathon again now, so do have a specific goal. My pace is still way off pre knee so I doubt any PBs will be set, but I have some time before October to at least get up to the distance.

3. Climb again. I’ve done this! (Not enough, but some)

4. Especially on rock. Climbed down in Swanage once, felt unbelievable unfit but was still fun. Felt really strange finding 6a absolutely nails and not being able to do moves on a 7a, but I didn’t have expectations and was just great being on rock. Just back from first Font trip post pandemic which was also great. Repeated a 6C I had done some years ago in a couple of goes and some circuits in the heat which was fun. Had a crack at the sit to Danger Majeur at Sabots, couldn’t get off the floor, but other than that didn’t feel far off, so psyched for next time!

5. Haven’t built home wall yet, but living arrangements still somewhat fluid. Have some home gym stuff.

6. Am sticking with the habit tracker pretty well to kept some consistency going with the various things I’d like to do better (yoga, sleep, etc). Will aim to do better second half of year!

Making one of my few appearances of the year to revisit these goals!

Also psyched to see how others have done and put my own efforts/challenges into perspective.

1. Do a ton of physio
Did enough that patella is staying located in its correct location despite engaging in further laundry.

2. Restart running, take it easy, no specific aims for now.
Ran the Bournemouth half, despite not being anywhere near fitness required. Not worst time, but way off PB. Still was probably toughest mentally to keep going and not stop so was good to do for sure.

3. Climb again.
Yep!

4. Especially on rock…
Good to get out a few times, didn’t really have any goals in mind but nice to get back up to at least one 7a after starting the year almost shut down on 6a!

5. Sort out home training facilities.
To be honest main issue has been not using what I have enough rather than not having the best stuff. Home wall can wait a bit!

6. Stick with habit tracker a bit better.
Have done this better! Just helps to help on top of things, both stuff I want to do like yoga, and stuff I don’t like excessive screen time or whatever. Room for improvement as with anything, but I think I did the more weeks than year before and keeps some sense of control.

 

[JohnM]

Time to set the 2022 goals. Some are dependent on injuries and other factors out of my control but even a couple of things off the list will make for a good year!

Climbing

1. Fix my right elbow.
2. Finish Der Schwarzer Schwann (8c).
3. Finish some 8a-8bs I have tried in Tirol - Particularly Rose der Zeit (8a+).
4. Climb on some sport sandstone (NRG, RRG or Taipan if it opens again).
5. Go bouldering outdoors again.

Running/Cycling/Fishing/Skiing

1. Fix my ankle and knee tendonitis (or at least keep it at bay).
2. Do a ski x-country marathon.
3. Finish one or more of - Bob Graham Round, Eiger Ultra, an Everesting, UTMB (dependent on entry lottery), Dragon's Back Race (dependent on not getting in UTMB and getting a place via the waiting list), run 3000km.
4. A nice cycle tour (2-3 days).
5. Catch a 20lb+ pike.

Misc./life

1. Sleep more/better.
2. Drink less.
3. Get less stressed about work + work less (maybe try and take Q4 off work).
4. Learn more French.

Climbing

1. Fix my right elbow.
It seems fine recently but probably due to a lack of volume than any specific rehab I did.
2. Finish Der Schwarzer Schwann (8c).
Only had one session. Crux 1 felt easier when I eventually did it. I couldn't get near crux 2.
3. Finish some 8a-8bs I have tried in Tirol - Particularly Rose der Zeit (8a+).
Not really. I did a really cool 8a (Chiquita) I had not done before and got close to a couple of 8bs but I left it too late in the year to get back into shape and everything got too cold/wet.
4. Climb on some sport sandstone (NRG, RRG or Taipan if it opens again).
Didn't make it over to Oz in the end and worked all of Q4.
5. Go bouldering outdoors again.
Don't think I got out bouldering once.

Running/Cycling/Fishing/Skiing

1. Fix my ankle and knee tendonitis (or at least keep it at bay).
Don't remember having ankle tendonitis and the knee never got too bad all year. I strained my mcl in a hyper-extended drop knee in Misja Pec though which has been bad for climbing this year but didn't really affect running.
2. Do a ski x-country marathon.
Attempted one in Queryas but it was at altitude, on solid ice and had way too much elevation gain so we gave up after 30km.
3. Finish one or more of - Bob Graham Round, Eiger Ultra, an Everesting, UTMB (dependent on entry lottery), Dragon's Back Race (dependent on not getting in UTMB and getting a place via the waiting list), run 3000km
Finished all my running goals this year including the Bob Graham, Dragon's Back and crossed the 3000km mark on the last day of the year. I was really happy to finish the Bob Graham and love being out for long days in some of my favourite mountains. Inevitably, my climbing suffered this year though, which was always going to be the case if I was working full time as well, but it was worth the sacrifice for one year.
4. A nice cycle tour (2-3 days).
Didn't do any multi-day tours this year.
5. Catch a 20lb+ pike.
Nope. The biggest was about 15lbs from Lake Bled in the Autumn.

Misc./life

1. Sleep more/better.
I don't measure it but I get the impression I slept a lot better over all.
2. Drink less.
Meh. Probably not much less.
3. Get less stressed about work + work less (maybe try and take Q4 off work).
Again meh! I still worked a lot more than I would have liked and got stressed about it!
4. Learn more French.
I did learn more French but it was sporadic.

 

[spalmer]

1. Find a good balance between fatherhood and climbing.
Confirmed with wife. Reducing hours at work to spend with the baby means we have loads of time together. Had loads of outdoor sessions (some with the baby) so not felt I’ve missed out on much.

2. 5 7Cs with at least one on grit.
16 7C or above, although only one on grit! Also lost 6 months to injury/illness so massively beat expectations here.

3. Touch my toes (improve hamstring flexibility)
So I put this down as I was hoping it would help manage a back injury. I managed to “touch my toes” in January, which didn’t help in the slightest. MRI showed all the stretching in the world won’t help, so I’ll join the long NHS waiting list to sort this out. Back climbing again for now though.

4. At least one weekend away to NW/Lakes.
Didn’t climb in either due to injury. Would have had at least one weekend if not.

5. Climb abroad with family.
Amazing 2 months in Sweden and Finland

 

[tommytwotone]

Climbing-wise - same as last few years:

Do a new (to me) 7a outdoors somewhere.

Easy to say, but getting the stars of weather / time / family life / ability to all align suitably is the challenge here.

Outside of climbing:

Carry on working from home without going too stir-crazy
Learn to maintain, and actually maintain huge / complex garden on the new house
Be / carry on being an alright Dad and partner

New 7a ticked - Tangled Up In Blue at Dove Lowe on a good but blustery day in March.

Was going well on the training / feeling like I was getting my mojo back front too, and then I knacked my knee at the wall in not a week later. Cue months of faffing about with physios, referrals, knee specialist, then an op. I'm back on my feet now but still rehab-ing.


WFH - still struggle with it but I'm coping. Voluntarily going in approx. a day a week which breaks it up a bit.

Garden - total fail. I hate gardening, and I doubt I ever will.

Parenting etc - hard to assess but both my kids seem like decent, well-behaved (at least outside of the house) people. Probably more my other half's influence!

 

[mr chaz]

Shockingly, lockdowns, injury and becoming a parent has meant my last logged outdoor climb/boulder was in May... FFS. Shouldn't be too hard to better that in 2022 I hope, so my aims are simply:

1. Jumping on the bandwagon here as well - be a good Dad/partner. Reckon so
2. Build the woodie (shed is up, materials have arrived, holds on order... just need a precious day or so to put it up) woodie is up and thriving
3. Get back to the outdoors in general with family - walking, camping, van, etc not as much as I'd like to
4. Do more climbing than 2021. tick, although still a lot less than I'm used to though
5. Look after bicep. left bicep fully recovered something weird going on with right bicep/elbow
6. Get in some more Trad days with my brother, like the good old times! big fat fail

Less of a priority now and seemingly impossible:

7. Finish (haha!) house renovation and endless list of DIY jobs must be fucking joking

 

[reeve]

Looking back it didn't feel like a golden year for climbing, a finger injury in May scuppered most of summer for me. Fortunately the 'best of 2022' thread reminded me of loads of great routes I'd done, proving yet again that enduring mediocrity is no barrier to having fun


Climbing
More E-points than last year (so >184) 195
Try some harder trad routes (i.e. take some entertaining wangers): let’s say five E6s in fair style Hmm, definitely didn't make those kind of numbers but in April I had a good couple of days doing grit routes, and I fell off a lot on one route in October. A bit generous on the orange here maybe!
Get on some big multi-pitch adventures (stuff like Main Cliff, South Stack, anything where if you get stuck you have to abseil into the sea [but ideally don’t get stuck]) Despite this being the thing I love the most... rubbish effort! The factor I find most difficult for this one is organising a matching and psyched partner
Three 8a’s and a couple of 8a+’s (the latter would be the first in five years) A hard fail on this one... injury meant I didn't really get any momentum going with sport all year
Maintain some semblance of strength not being humiliatingly weak throughout summer by going on the board or hanging at least weekly. At a stretch, dare I say it, end the year stronger than now. I wish! I've probably got back to where I was pre-finger injury now I'd say
Get stuck into some dirty offwidth somewhere - a welcome consequence of injury; do some DWS and use the opportunity to heckle “friends” into the sea; bivvy / wildcamp and climb somewhere green-tick wankers don’t go; another new route; do a route at Malham (last time I did was 2013!); 10 trips in the van - well, 9 is close enough!; Darkthrone - didn't even try it; go abroad; get to a bunch of new-to-me crags as this was great fun in 2021.


Non-climbing
Sound-proof the entire house from our friendly (but shouty) neighbours. New kitchen. - no progress on either count, but, if anything, an increase in the shouty-ness will hopefully motivate us to overcome our inertia
Finish bloody PGDip before the fucker gets extended – yet again – to the following year - pleased to have done this, learnt loads that is directly helpful for my work which I'm enjoying more and more
Keep on with general lifestyle changes and keep the passion for work, which is what makes it enjoyable
Treat Marie even more than last year
See more of friends – finding this harder than ever since March 2020 Not done so as much as I would have like,d although to be fair it isn't for want of trying... Probably a roll-over to 2023