2014 Climbing Goals

I've been thinking about my climbing goals for 2014 for awhile now.  I didn't want to focus on chasing any grades, so I decided to keep them big, but very open:

1.) Lead 39 outdoor pitches.  I'll be turning 39 this year & decided this was a good goal to encourage me to lead more.  I wanted to specify trad leads, but with limited partners, didn't think this would be achievable.

2.) Climb Cannon Mountain. I've read and heard about the classic moderate routes & have seen the enormous rock face from the side of the road, but have been too intimidated... that tallus field looks brutal! 2014 will be my year to summit Cannon.

3.) Try ice climbing. This one is going to get checked off right away, so it's sort of a give me, but I had to add it to the list. I'm taking a lesson in January with a friend & can't wait to swing my first axe!

4.) Lead Funhouse (5.7 trad) @ Cathedral.  This was the very first trad route that I followed on & it should have been my first 5.7 trad lead, but the weather didn't cooperate.

5.) Hike Mount Washington.  This isn't quite a rock climbing goal, it's one of my personal goals, but since it will be an intense hike/climb, I'm going to count it as both.

I have some additional personal goals to round out the year, including my current 100 day no-alcohol challenge (23 days completed successfully so far!).  It should be a great year.  Happy New Year!

100 Days. No Alcohol. Seriously.

With the Fall climbing season over & Winter settling into New England, I've found myself devoting more of my free time to social events rather than rock climbing.  While initially this was a fun change of pace, lately I've had more hangovers than I care to admit. So, I've decided to take a 100 day break from alcohol.

This was on my list of personal goals for 2014, but I just decided "why wait?".  I don't need the calendar to change over to make a decision to be more healthy.  The upcoming holidays may be a little rough, especially New Years Eve, but I'm looking forward to no hangovers.

What will I do to distract myself over the next 100 days?  Seems like a good time to focus on my training again.  I have some big goals lined up for 2014 & they'll be a lot easier to achieve if I'm in top cardio & climbing shape.  It's not going to be easy, but I'm up for the challenge.