Setting Goals for the New Year – Climb Higher in 2026

The turn of the year always hits a little different for climbers. The temps drop, the gym gets louder, and we all start thinking about the stuff we want to pull off next season. Maybe it’s your first V4. Maybe it’s finally sending that route you’ve been flirting with for months. Or maybe you just want to climb more consistently and feel better doing it.

Wherever you’re starting, the New Year is a solid excuse to reset, refocus, and chase something that gets you psyched.

Start With Something Real

Climbing goals work best when they’re rooted in your actual climbing—not whatever Instagram says you should be doing. Think about what felt good this year and what held you back. Were you confident on slabs but melted on overhangs? Did you cruise moves in isolation but fall apart when you had to link the whole thing? That’s where your goals live.

Break the Big Goal Into Small Wins

“Send harder climbs” is a wish, not a plan. Instead, make bite-sized benchmarks you can chip away at:

• Lock in two consistent climbing days each week.
• Add a short warm-up routine that actually warms you up.
• Pick one weakness—footwork, pacing, grip variety—and build sessions around it.

Small wins add up fast. By spring, you’ll notice you’re doing things you couldn’t do in January without ever having a dramatic breakthrough moment.

Train Smarter, Not Harder

More volume doesn’t automatically mean better climbing. Mix up your sessions with purpose:

• Project days: slow, intentional work on something just above your comfort zone.
• Mileage days: climb a bunch of things you can do to sharpen technique and build endurance.
• Strength sessions: hangboard, core, or mobility—whatever supports the style you’re chasing.

If you’re not sure where to start, ask our team. We’ve all had seasons where we needed someone to point out the obvious.

Listen to Your Body

You don’t have to grind yourself into the pads every session. Rest is part of climbing. So is staying healthy enough to actually enjoy the sport. If you tweak something, back off and let it settle. If you’re cooked, skip the dynos and stick to movement drills. Your future self will thank you.

Celebrate the Process

The best part about climbing goals is that they rarely feel like chores. You get to fail creatively, learn on the fly, and surprise yourself along the way. Every skipped foothold, every sketchy top-out, every “I’ll just try it once more” is part of getting better.

So whatever you’re chasing in 2026, we hope it gets you fired up to walk through the doors, tie in, chalk up, and try something new. Here’s to a year of stronger sends, cleaner movement, and climbs that keep you coming back for more.

See you on the wall.

‍