2024 was the best year of climbing so far for me. I had changed my annual goal to be oriented towards effort rather than performance. Ironically, as a result I had the best annual performance ever. I broke into grade 27/7c and I sent all three of the 27/7c’s that I tried in 2024:

1. White Trash, White Wall, West Wanaka Heights (January)
2. Batman, Main Wall, Waipapa (May)
3. Morning Glory, Lakeside Wall, Waipapa (August)
On the send of Morning Glory.
On the send of Morning Glory.

The last of these three took me many attempts. The day that I sent it I first dropped into Bryce’s rock climbing shop in Wharepapa South on the way to the crag. I hadn’t seen Bryce all winter so we caught up. He said he had been tracking my (lack of) progress on Morning Glory from my online log book and his frank opinion was that “you aren’t strong enough for that route”. He continued by telling me that if he sent it after taking so many attempts, he “wouldn’t even be happy about it.” He told me I should just go away to train until I am strong enough, then go back out to the crag, strip down to my underwear and send it once and for all. I took all this as it was meant: well meaning advice from a climbing legend that had been there and done that. I enjoy dropping in on Bryce to hear a yarn and learn from his experience.

But going out to the crag after being delivered his firm admonishment, lit a fire under me. I had already been determined to send the route on that trip, given I was about to travel overseas, but now I also felt the need to prove him wrong. I was strong enough, and I would do it. Arriving at the crag with Dan Head I was so filled with the need to send that I couldn’t imagine climbing a warm-up route first. The draws were already up from my previous session. So I did a short routine to warm up my fingers and shoulders and then tied in for an immediate red-point burn. Amazingly, after having fallen somewhere in the crux every tie-in for 4-5 previous sessions, I found myself in the dihedral above the crux and whooping in delight. The second half of the route is technical stemming, but I had never fallen there. I held it together and found myself at the anchor with another yell of delight. I had climbed my longest project clean to the anchors on the first tie-in of the day. Dan, who had not belayed me on the route previously, was quite surprised. “First go… no way!!”.

Despite Bryce’s claim that I shouldn’t be happy having taken so long to send it, I was ecstatic. I remain very happy now. Yes, I would have loved to send it more quickly, and yes the 3-4 sessions of regression leading up to that day were very mentally taxing. But every day I arrived at the crag, I was surrounded by beauty, good climbing friends and faced with a physical and mental challenge that made me feel alive. The relationship I developed with that place and that route feels as important as having finally “done it”.

Beside those three hard routes in 2024 I also sent five 25/7b’s (two second go), 11 24/7a+’s (two flashes) and 13 23/7a (two onsights) during the year. So the volume of harder routes was also much better than previous years.

But in the last week of the year I had probably the most fun I have had climbing in 2024. That was because Alex and I went to a totally new crag every day for our climbing holiday in the South island. A quick-fire grand reconnaissance. At some of those crags I sent nothing (Little Babylon!) or we only did one easy climb (The Chasm, China Wall). But it was the act of getting to those remote locations, the people we were with, or met there, and the discovery of new beautiful places and new beautiful routes that made is very special. We tried hard when we wanted to, and chilled when it suited us. Rock climbing as it should be.

This year I plan to continue to make my goals effort based. I have no goals to send particular grades. But I have a main goal to put effort in to trying grade 28 at least 40 tie-ins in 2025. Lets see where that gets me.

Best of luck to all of you in 2025, whatever your goals are!