The holiday season gives us time to take a step back from everyday life, seek comfort from the cold, and pause to look forward. The year was not a failure by any means. I climbed the full Exum on the Grand Teton, sent my first v9, solidified my headspace for easy soloing, had a great month in Lander with some of the best people I know, and found myself really wanting to send hard 5.13. The first three quarters, while aimless, were strong.

What happened? I was so singularly focused on training to go back to Lander in early fall to send Asian Orange (5.13c). I changed my diet, cut out drinking, was in the gym with a plan. One week before deloading, I sprained my A2. That's fine, we can tape. A couple days later, an A3 on my other hand went. Asian Orange is a hard vert boulder problem with some of the most vicious, smallest crimps I've touched in my life. There was no way I'd be able to get it done. I cancelled my trip, switched to rehab mode, picked up running, and started dating around again. Fall was by no means a wash either. I got a few good trips up to Keene Valley and really leaned into big days in the high peaks. I spent a lot of time with loved ones. I met my current girlfriend.

It's a new year. My fingers are technically at 100%. There's some lingering soreness when I press the pulleys, but I don't know how much of that is physical injury vs mental considering my strength benchmarks are much higher. It's time to map out the year and have a plan.

What are the goals?

I thought about breaking this up into three categories: meta, local, and reach. Meta are not about sends but rather skills or mindset. Local are things I can bang my head on, reach are things that are unrealistic unless the stars align.

Meta

• I need to break out of the fear of falling on lead. This is actually my biggest limiter, and admitting it is hard. Projecting? I can whip left and right. Easy? Not worried. But on-sighting/flashing/falling in a new place? Terrifying. I need to practice falling on lead.
• I will break the cycle of getting injured before a climbing trip from overtraining
• Knee stability. Heel hooks have always scared me.

Local

• Ozone 5.13d - the big one. I need to get burns on it at any cost. The only reason I haven't tried is because fear of falling.
• Requiem for a Heavy Weight 5.12d
• Vanishing Point 12a R as a headpoint
• Infinite Space - Early season send to get into the swing of things.
• Survival of the Fittest 13a on lead - I've top roped this, but now I should redpoint.
• Yellow Wall 11c - Exposed and scary feeling.
• Send 15 5.10s in a day at the gunks.
• Onsight a 5.12 at a sport crag, e.g. Rumney
• Redpoint 5.13a in a day at a sport crag, e.g. Rumney
• First v10 - Crouching Dragon is the most accessible Afar
• Asian Orange 13c - This was the
• One big wall

What's the calendar looking like?

There's a good chance I get to go to Bariloche in mid to late February and link up with a good buddy of mine for some big days in the mountains. July in Lander is non negotiable and is happening. It'd be nice to get out in the middle of spring for a trip, possibly to Spain. I want to really commit to the gunks for the fall.

As an aside, one thing that feels really important to take note of is how many climbing days do I get in a season? As a weekend warrior with a full time job, I really need to figure out how to maximize time outside while still having a normal life.

What does training look like?

The calendar surprisingly breaks up nicely into 6 week blocks. I didn't climb at all during December, so I need to accept that I cannot and should not be limit bouldering on the tension board for the next month as I ease back into hard climbing. Tentatively, this is how I'm thinking about this:

1. Base Endurance 8 week block. What I really lack is baseline aerobic fitness, and my individual hands are pulling around 85% BW on a 20mm edge. I don't need to get stronger fingers necessarily, but get back in shape. I'm going to follow Steve Bechtel's Full Tilt redpoint plan and make a slight modification to really build aerobic capacity and basically ARC three days a week.
2. Bariloche 1-2 weeks. Big ol romps in the mountains. The endurance will do me well. Would suck to get pumped.
3. Strength Block 6 week block. Get the body and fingers really strong for spring season. Maintain aerobic endurance.
4. Siurana 1-2 weeks. Long, vertical limestone with lots of crimps.

Now this is where things become more questionable.

5. Power Block 6 weeks. Lander is a lot of power endurance. I've never actually trained power, but once again, I'll need to figure out how to maintain base endurance
6. Lander, WY 4-6 weeks. Fun times :) Maybe send Asian Orange.

This is the plan so far. Fall is for the gunks, maybe a Yosemite trip, but I need to work on Ozone. That is the goal for the year. Stop being afraid of falling, and by that goal, send Ozone.

Photo credits: Chris Vultaggio