Year in Review: Toot your horn. Or come clean. Let's hear it for 2011.

1) Got Married!
2) Graduated with my Bachelors
3) Climbed Rainier via Kautz Glacier with my wife
4) Climbed the Titan via Finger of Fate again with my wife
5) Introduced to Ice, Aid, Trad, Big Wall, Multipitching all this year.
6) Soon as the snow gets in it will be time to learn how to ski.
7) Honeymoon is Alaska (got to see glaciers)
And more...

Best year of my life!!

1. Caught a blue whale with a fishing pole
2. Did my first free solo of the keyhole route on Long's Peak.
3. Redpointed the yellow route in the lead cave
4. Created an iphone app that allows me to climb and grow a chia pet at the same time
5. Chipped/manufactured 18 routes in RMNP

1. Sent V10
2. Climbed a route on the Diamond.
3. Road tripped with my girlfriend for 7 months and we still like each other.
4. Moved to Glenwood Springs... RIFLE!!!!
5. Wrist injuries... The one bummer of 2011

grampa potate wrote:1. Caught a blue whale with a fishing pole 2. Did my first free solo of the keyhole route on Long's Peak. 3. Redpointed the yellow route in the lead cave 4. Created an iphone app that allows me to climb and grow a chia pet at the same time 5. Chipped/manufactured 18 routes in RMNP

I call bullshit on that yellow route redpoint!!

1: Main goal this year: Start trad climbing

2: Accomplished:
a) Started toproping (previously only bouldered)
b) Started leading
c) Led up to 5.9 trad
d) Led up to 5.10a sport
e) Led a multipitch mixed trad/sport route
f) Trip to Smith Rock
g) Trip to the Gunks
h) Flashed V4
i) Sent V5
j) First fall on gear! (guess what, it works, whoddathunk?)

3: Lesson:
a) Getting a good lead head together isn't easy.
b) (related) Just because you sent it last week doesn't mean you'll send it today.

4: Biggest negatives:
a) Pulley tendon injuries
b) Lost a lot of core tone from an appendectomy.

A little over one year ago I got psyched on training and started my first periodized schedule (thanks Mike Anderson). In 2011 I did my first 13b, first 13c, first 13d, first 14a, first 13a onsight and a set of 3 5.13s in-a-day. 2011 was a good year for my climbing ability.

2011 was the best year of climbing that I've had. I started training on hangboards and campus boards more rigorously than I ever had before, spent more time on the rock than in years past– pretty much every weekend in the spring and fall– and took a 2-month roadtrip out west with way fewer rest days than I should have taken.

Had some really motivated partners. On this site, Mike Anderson and JohnL both crushed this year, and were both great motivators for me at the RRG. While my wife did not get out as much as I did, she is still the best climbing partner I have, and had a banner year as well: broke into 5.12 trad, did her first solid 12b sport, and then her first solid 12c sport. We both did some really cool longer granite stuff this summer in the Sierras. I also met some great partners who are on this site, John Moen in Tensleep, and Ryan Williams in City of Rocks.

Highs and Spray: finally broke into 5.13 sport this spring and summer, when some long-term projects went down. Then, this fall, things went really well; did my first 13 gear route, and got another sport climb of the grade pretty easily, second go. Had my best almost-onsight of Space Lords (12c/d) at Maple, but blew it when a hold I was clipping the anchors from broke. Also managed to onsight Skinner's Roof, a 12a ringlocks crack at City of Rocks, which was really cool.

Lows: I really wanted to do big mountain granite routes this year, and got nearly completely shut down. Lone Peak Cirque was snowed in, and then Elephant's Perch's stream crossing was impassable. Then, for a final injury, my wife flew out to meet me in CA, and the very day that we were planning on going to the Needles, that area was closed because of the Lookout Tower fire. I really should have just stayed out West until September when all these areas got good again.

camhead wrote:Also managed to onsight Skinner's Roof, a 12a ringlocks crack at City of Rocks, which was really cool.

nice! That rig looks so cool!

Ryan Kelly wrote:

dude, coming in this thread and complaing about spray is like moving to 'Rado and complaining about the scene, or moving to California and complaining about too much granite.

Old habits die hard.

OK, no spray here, instead how about an overdue apology - to the beyond-kind person (Mark?) who set up the single-rope raps into the Painted Bowl last April and after he made sure his large party was down allowed at least 4 or 6 unknown stragglers use them while he patiently waited.

I promised to bring you a beer at the campground but for various (weak) reasons I didn't deliver on my end. Never felt so guilty drinking a beer in my life.

Beer debt is bad mojo and it wears heavy on my soul to this day.

Oh yea, I also got married. Whoops!

Ryan Williams wrote:Oh yea, I also got married. Whoops!

Taken out of context that statement is rather amusing.

1. I started the new year in Thailand (as in I spent new years in Bangkok's airport) and that place changed my life so much that any goals I had went out the window. I'd say this year was all about developing goals and working towards them.
2. I didn't make it to my goal but I knew it was gonna take a bit. I want to bum around for a bit and work maybe a day or two a week (climb every day!) but I was under about 30k of debt... now I'm down to about 14 and hope to be free in about 6 more months.
3. Most memorable lesson: I started really enjoying climbing this year. It's about my third year climbing trad and I've been obsessed with it since the begging but this year the fear subsided and I started smiling bigger and bigger every perfect hand jam that I found. Besides that I left Joshua Tree on sighting a super classic 5.10a Illusion Dweller. Stoked.
4. My only defeat was not challenging my self enough I think. I climbed hard and went from being a confident Yosemite 5.8 leader to a confident 5.10 leader. Only problem is I never bailed and never failed.

And my girl started leading trad and I've gotten to watch her get better and better.

camhead wrote: moving to California and complaining about too much granite.

I'm guilty of that. Actually, that describes my 2011 pretty well; it was the year that I overdosed on granite. I didn't even climb hardly at all from Sept. to Nov., since I was living in idyllwild and was rather un-psyched on granite slab. 2012 is planned to be a granite-free year (Quartz monzonite is still OK...)

More importantly, though, 2011 was a major transition year for me, climbing wise. I made some significant improvements in ability, but the major accomplishments of the year involved becoming more well-rounded as a climber. Prior to this year, I had spent the previous 8 years or so trad climbing almost exclusively. I dabbled in sport climbing, but never with much focus, and bouldered very little. 2011 changed that; this was the year that I shifted attention to sport climbing and bouldering and learned to do them properly. From a material perspective, this was visible when I bought my first crash pad, got a pair of sticky-rubber kneepads, and started buying my climbing shoes a size tighter. From a skills perspective, I learned a lot this year. Probably the most significant period of the year was 3 weeks I spent in Maple Canyon in June. There, I learned how to climb efficiently on truly steep enduro sport climbing terrain, and before long discovered that this is the style of climbing I am strongest at. I learned how to kneebar properly, and started finding kneebars everywhere (this October, I think I might have become the first person ever to use an upside-down double kneebar no-hands rest on a Tahquitz route). I learned how to shake out properly as well, to fully recover on jug rests, even on steep terrain. I also learned a lot about how to redpoint- the tactics and mental game- and this paid big dividends to my climbing. My level for sport climbing went up by 3 letter grades in a 3 week period, and my onsight grade came up as well. Redpointing, I broke into low 13s, a grade that two years ago I never expected to reach- and now I feel like that is just the beginning. I also spent a lot of time bouldering last winter/spring, and I learned to really enjoy this form of climbing.

Although I made some improvements in my climbing in 2011, the most important thing about the year is how it has set the stage for 2012. I've learned some new tricks, I've learned what my weaknesses are (small crimps, bouldery cruxes, bouldering), and I've learned what I need to focus on in order to improve as a climber. I've also been able to line up the cards to take a long road trip for 2012 to spend some time on these things. I am (hopefully) starting up grad school next fall, and am taking the trip to get some things done, climbing wise, before committing 5-6 years to school.

I'm about 4 weeks into this trip, so it feels like 2012 has, climbing wise, already started for me. I have been in Bishop for the past 3 weeks and have been bouldering exclusively. I'm planning to be here until the end of February, to really focus on rectifying my weakness in bouldery climbing. I'm having a great time, and can feel myself getting stronger by the week. In three weeks, I've brought up my hardest bouldering send by 2 V grades, and I've got another 2 months to go in Bishop. After that, I think I'll be tying into a rope again for the spring and summer and trying to use some of this newly-gained strength. I don't have any specific goals for 2012, just some ideas, but I think that it is going to be a good year.

Came back from an ankle injury (10-15 ft. fall on Dave's Deviation on Tahquitz) and got my first 5.10a onsight: Prepackaged in Joshua Tree. Also got my first 5.10b redpoint: Light Sabre in Joshua Tree.

1 & 2: Goal, Recovery from Shoulder surgery, Climbing at all again was a major blessing after almost two years of dealing with the injury. Came back pretty well and am feeling GOOD leading pretty solidly at 5.10 level trad and some 5.11 sportyness. That is great success for me in context of the recovery. And at last, 13 months after surgery, I can finally do 10 pullups in a row again!

3: Learning some crack technique at the creek. Got better at big hands.

4: Epic fail... Crushed by Touch and Go. First lead in the morning, dipped hand in a wet hand hold, got spooked, backed off. Weird off day.

Jon Moen wrote: More importantly, though, 2011 was a major transition year for me, climbing wise. I made some significant improvements in ability, but the major accomplishments of the year involved becoming more well-rounded as a climber. Prior to this year, I had spent the previous 8 years or so trad climbing almost exclusively. I dabbled in sport climbing, but never with much focus, and bouldered very little. 2011 changed that; this was the year that I shifted attention to sport climbing and bouldering and learned to do them properly.

This is cool to read. I'm wondering if you could comment on a theory I have... I think a lot of the criticism for sport climbing stems from a misunderstanding of what it really is. Many people categorize any climbing that ISN'T summit-oriented, and risky as "sport climbing", when really I would call most of what people do "recreational climbing". "Sport Climbing" to me is a pursuit of maximum climbing performance, so a casual day out climbing forgettable clip ups is not "sport climbing", it's "recreational". I dont think one can really understand what sport climbing is until they have tried it, and a day or trip at the crags climbing forgettable clip ups doesn't count. By "trying it", I mean spending months or years pursuing maximum performance. This is the only way to appreciate the commitment, determination, focus and mental control needed for true "sport climbing". I've found that many people who have put in this level of effort to learn about sport climbing chuckle at the typical trad vs sport comparisons.

(sorry in advance if this becomes a thread hijack...)

grayhghost wrote:A little over one year ago I got psyched on training and started my first periodized schedule (thanks Mike Anderson). In 2011 I did my first 13b, first 13c, first 13d, first 14a, first 13a onsight and a set of 3 5.13s in-a-day. 2011 was a good year for my climbing ability.

This is super inspiring. What were your "first" routes?