On the surface 2009 would appear to be a normal year of climbing… I did some bouldering, did a lot of sport routes, and few trad routes. But for me this year opened up new avenues in my climbing, because for the first time I finally climbed on a rope for a long enough period of time to get into a groove and really appreciate a good, long, enduro route. My boulderer friends say that I’ve ‘turned over to the dark side’, but now I’m well-rounded 4lyfe! Climbing in multiple disciplines has opened my eyes to how to get stronger, get fitter, have more fun, and avoid injury and burn out. And my patience with roped climbing this year paid off. I sent my hardest route to date, which also happened to be an FFA (San Miguel, 5.13c in Hell in AF).