For the past few months I've been training, rock climbing, and putting up new mixed routes. I've had a lot of psyche lately, as I want to show up fit to climb with Tommy Caldwell in Patagonia. As a result I've gotten a lot accomplished is the last few weeks.

Around Christmas Erinn and I went to Red Rock to rock climb in the sun, where I managed to onsight some classics like Choad Warrior (5.12c), and SOS (5.13a), and redpointed the classic Red Rock testpiece Monster Skank (5.13b), which is one of the best damn sport routes I've ever done. I then finished off some mixed projects in Rifle, with FAs of Tapout (M8), Ground and Pound(M9), and Submission Victory (M10/11)--as you might notice from the names I've been watching a lot of Ultimate Fighting lately. Then it was off to Eldo for a day of sunny rock with my friend Chip, where I climbed Captain Crunch (5.13a), made the fourth ascent of a slightly scary little trad climb called Stupid Fly (5.13b), and flashed the classic Your Mother (5.12d). And if that wasn't enough spray for one paragraph I don't know what is...

For my final week before heading to Patagonia I'm trying to accomplish my arbitrary goal of doing a new M10, 5.13, and V10 in a week. Having Whit around has helped a bunch, and I've already done the 5.13 and M10. Hopefully the weather will hold out at Joe's Valley and I'll do a V10 this weekend.

The photos...Whit on Package of Woe (M10) in Redstone, Colorado, pulling some ice off the Ouray Comp route, and pulling on to the ice during the FA of Submission Victory (M10/11). Many thanks to Chris Goplerud for the photos from Redstone and Rifle. Hope you all have a great finish to you're winter, and stay safe and psyched. I'll try to post again--hopefully with stories of splitter weather and great climbs--when I'm home in late February.

Cheers,

Josh Wharton