This was my first full year post-ACL rehab so I looked at this list with excitement as well as caution. My rehab program left me stronger than I’d ever been, but I wanted to avoid another injury. Somehow I ended up injuring myself in mid-July doing an exercise that tore a groin muscle during the peak climbing season. Unlike with my ACL, there was no lesson to learn so it was purely demoralizing. I’m making a decent recovery, but for yet another year I failed to have my epic climbing season. Still, I got a lot done.
This year, I used ChatGPT to demystify the complex maze of permits, which helped tremendously when paired with up-to-date beta on trail conditions from local facebook groups.
Skiing
❌ Ski lessons at Snoqualmie Pass - When I drafted the 2024 goals list, I assumed I’d be a lot worse off in terms of my skiing technique given knee operation last year. It turns out that not only I was able to pick up where I left off, I also had far more strength than ever before due to extensive physical therapy. I also balked at how expensive lessons were and opted to just work on the things I knew I was doing incorrectly.
⚠️ Ski touring 30,000ft ele - It was a pretty weak snowpack this past 23/24 season, so my plans to get “fitness laps” at a nearby ski resort hill (Hyak) weren’t fully fulfilled. I did get 4,300ft from three visits at Hyak, but most of my touring came from skiing on the volcanos. In total I got 17,000ft of ski touring this season. The goal of 30,000ft was arbitrary and intended to force me to learn about my layering systems, work on my kick turns, and dial in my transitions. I still learned a lot this year!
❌ XC skiing Methow Trails - The weak snowpack really hit the Methow Valley hard so it wasn’t worth the long drive up to experience XC skiing. I’d like to carry this over to 2025.
✅ Backcountry skiing Muir Snowfield on Rainier (9.5mi, 5000 feet desc) - I did this with my friend Cliff in mid-May after a failed attempt (too windy) with Leah earlier in the month. I had one of the best and longest ski runs of my life, enjoyed incredible views, and learned a lot about timing a descent for optimal snow conditions and the unreliability of a forecast for Mt Rainier.
✅ Backcountry skiing Worm Flows on Mt St Helens (11mi, 5500 feet desc) - I got this one done with Paul on March 30, just two days before the permits would be required. The mountain was were incredibly crowded because of the spectacular weekend weather window. Watching hundreds of other people struggling to make basic kick turns and carrying themselves inefficiently confirmed that hours of YouTube helped me out a ton.
I had a spectacular ski season even though it was a short one. I was fully expecting that skiing would be nearly impossible given my knee surgery on May 2, 2023, but I was back on snow 9 months after and was ready to ski on some volcanoes!
Surfing/swimming
I’ve always been averse to water activities given my poor swimming skills. Leah has been encouraging me to improve and I also feel I need to get better before I have kids. I made very little progress on this front in 2024.
⚠️ Swimming once each month - I started out the year strong, heading to the indoor public pools once or twice a month, but as soon as it became warmer I gave up on this goal. It’s a shame because I had a moment where the technique of swimming finally clicked and I probably would have leveled up if I got more reps in.
❌ Kayaking and camping on Blake Island - Kayaking requires a great weather weekend, and I realized quickly that I don’t enjoy kayaking enough to prioritize it over doing any of the other things I do when it’s nice out. I’d still like to someday do it, maybe when I have a kid. In the meantime, I’ll have a kayak that collects dust.
⚠️ Surfing in Mexico - I mostly have written off surfing (I have too many activities) but it’s something Leah loves and I want to make an effort to share in her passion. She booked a bunch of lessons for herself with Zack Howard a pro-surfer instructor in Maui on a December trip. I decided I’d tag along for the five days of practice. Initially I was wrecked paddling out, but by the third day I was fine. I wasn’t scared of being out in the ocean anymore. By the last lesson, I was catching 4ft waves on 9’6” In the Pink board.
Cycling (road & gravel)
I’ve always done more cycling than I’ve wanted to because it’s so easy to just get on my bike alone compared to finding climbing partners. It’s also been good to me no matter what injury I’m recovering from (e.g., ACL rehab, sprained wrist, groin strain, etc). This year Leah and I had an unexpected bike ride around Mont Blanc for a week following a friend’s wedding in France!
✅ Car-free Highway 20 cycling (50+ mi, 6k ft ele) - In mid-April, WSDOT announced that Highway 20 was fully plowed and for only one weekend it’d be available to bike without cars. The weather was spectacular and I didn’t have any plans yet, so I went for it. Getting everything to line up perfectly requires a lot of luck so I was really happy to have gotten this one.
❌ Car-free Mt Rainier Sunrise Road (30+ mi, 3k ft ele) - I really wanted to do this ride with Leah to show her how great it was, but the weekends this was possible with weather and openings conflicted with plans we already made.
❌ Crater Rim ride at Crater Lake (32mi, 4k ft ele) - We had plans to do this but a concert and a wedding ended up taking priority. It would’ve been a very long drive and I’m not sure it’d be worth it. I’d love to go to Crater Lake again though.
✅ San Juan Island road ride (45mi, 3800ft ele) - In late-March, Leah and I invited Kara and Woody to join us on San Juan Island to do a bike ride that would take advantage of the rain shadow. Initially, I had planned to bike this in the summer so we could spot the orca migration. This was my first time on San Juan Island and I was amazed at how bucolic and scenic it was. It was only a day trip but it felt like we had gone on a mini vacation, especially since it was nearly winter still.
❌ 2-day bikepack Olympic Bridges (39mi, 3k ft ele) - The more I looked into this, the more I thought this wouldn’t be a good use of a weekend. It looked too easy and too graffiti’d. This won’t carry over to next year.
✅ Darrington box loop ride (105mi, 3k ft ele) - This was the most regrettable of all of my goals. It was the most boring and miserable gravel riding I’ve ever done and it tested my mental fortitude for hours. It was mostly flat, straight, and lonely. It was the kind of ride that makes you hate cycling. I’m glad I got it done and so I can at least tell others to avoid it.
✅ 2-day bikepack Olympic Adventure Trail (66mi, 8k ft ele) - We did this trail one way as a happy group of eight and had the good luck of perfect riding temps, an excellent campsite, and the ability to ride light because someone was shuttling our overnight gear. It was pure riding bliss!
❌ Lone Butte gravel ride (54mi, 5200 ft ele) - This never happened because it was such a long drive, injury recovery, and there were other things I wanted to do instead. I don’t think I’d carry this over to 2025.
❌ 2-day bikepack Teanaway River (42mi, 4.5k ft ele) - I still would like to do this loop someday, especially now that I have a hardtail bike that I’m setting up for bikepacking! I don’t think it would’ve been much fun on my gravel bike.
⚠️ Tour de Whidbey route (50mi, 4k ft ele) - On a mid-July Friday I set out for a ride on Whidbey Island, unsure if I had the stoke to do a 100-miler I initially drew out for myself. I had fun doing a 50mi loop around the southern end of the island and ended up having an amazing lunch at Goldie’s in Coupeville.
❌ Cowichan Valley 8 bikepacking (118mi, 6k ft ele) - Getting to Victoria, BC is an ordeal and I felt like this trail followed too many logging and mining roads to make it worthwhile. I don’t think I’d carry this over to 2025.
Mountain biking
I would have never guessed that mountain biking would play such a large role in my free time, but it has. It’s become the default activity for after work and last minute weekend plans.
✅ Fluidride clinics - Getting lessons from Simon Lawton absolutely leveled up my riding abilities. It was like getting physics lessons from Einstein.
❌ Orcas Island (shuttled) - I thought I could force this to be an autumn tradition but it’s hard getting a group together for shuttling and overnighting, especially when several of us are traveling during the rainiest part of the year (the fall). I’ll think of this instead as a spring-time activity: warmer weather, longer days, more reliable sunshine. Biking on Mt. Constitution is open until May 15.
❌ Darrington (shuttled) - Shuttled riding means I need to get a crew together, and a specific group of people who would be stoked to do this. We couldn’t align on schedules so it didn’t happen. Also, the road leading up to the summit was in need of serious repair.
✅ Methow Valley riding - I came here with Leah to mountain bike for a day. The Methow is my favorite place on earth and we came through before the trails got dry and dusty. We had incredible views of the surrounding mountains and got to sample some of the local dirt!
✅ Sunset descent of Olallie (18mi, blue/black) - I decided to test out my new hardtail on this trail one afternoon. I found it to be mostly uninspiring, lacking of views, and having to keep an eye on people coming up the trail you’re going ripping takes away from the flow. It could be good for a fitness lap, but I’d much rather do that with Flow State and Poppin Tops.
❌ Angel’s Staircase (23mi, 5k ft ele) - I’ll have to prioritize this for next year. We had a great weather weekend during larch season to experience this but Leah thought it was a bit too burly. Hopefully the stars align next year!
✅ Port Gamble - It was a relatively dry winter, so I was able to get out to Port Gamble early in the season with friends and had an absolute blast, especially having lunch halfway at Butcher and Baker Provisions.
⚠️ St Edwards laps - I was a bit too ambitious with my goal of 100 miles of riding, but it pushed me to get out and familiarize myself with the park by going here whenever I had a free afternoon. I ended up with 45 miles after 9 days of riding. Not bad. The real goal was to get familiar enough with the trails that I could work on challenging sections, which I was able to do successfully.
✅ Post Canyon, OR riding - Leah and I visited for our 2 year anniversary and coincidentally our friends also happened to be in town. I did three days of riding and enjoyed how different the softer volcanic dirt is compared to what we’ve got closer to Seattle.
❌ Whole Enchilada, Moab (27mi, 8,000ft descent) - This was very close to happening but Leah couldn’t get the time off work. Instead I ended up going to Boise to ride with Luke, which ended up being even more fun. Some of the trail sections in the sandstone quarry that we rode even had a very Moab-feel! I’d still like to do the Whole Enchilada and will try to arrange this as a group trip at some point.
Backpacking & day-hiking
Although I accomplished none of these, I still got some October trail hiking miles in thanks to Leah as well as some incredibly scenic hiking in the Sierras and near Squamish. I remembered what I appreciated about hiking, despite how slow it is.
❌ Mount Ellinor hike (6mi, 3,300ft ele) - Patrick and I made several planning attempts but the weather never quite lined up as we were hoping to do it in the winter. It’s a fairly big drive so we wanted to ensure we wouldn’t be socked in with clouds.
❌ High Divide Loop day hike in Olympic NP (19mi, 5k ft ele) - The day before I was slated to do this epic hike, I had my groin strain which took months to recover from. Bad timing.
❌ Enchantment Peak day hike (21mi, 8k ft ele) - I could’ve made this happen if not for the groin strain that wrecked my plans for the second half of the summer. All I can do is commit to trying again next year.
Mountaineering
Anything that required roping up for glacier travel, I didn’t do. This was a failure on my part despite having an eager and capable partner in Patrick. We never prioritized the glacier rescue skills practice and never set aside the several days required to appropriately do one of these objectives. We both agreed it’d be a lot simpler if mountaineering was our only focus.
❌ Eldorado Peak glacier climb (10mi, 7k feet ele) - I’d still like to do this one (will be my third summit if successful), so it’ll carry over to next year.
✅ Colchuck Peak glacier scramble (13mi, 6k feet ele) - I did this snow scramble in late-May on a bluebird day on my own and it was a refresher in using crampons efficiently on firm snow. I wish I had brought my skis for the descent of Colchuck Glacier instead of resorting to glissading. I didn’t feel tired by the end of it all despite the 6,000ft of ascent but I noticed the altitude left me short of breath.
❌ Fisher Chimneys on Mt Shuksan (4th class, 7k ft ele) - I’d still like to do this one, so it’ll carry over to next year.
❌ Ruth Mtn Glacier climb (12mi, 4k ft ele) - I’d still like to do this one, so it’ll carry over to next year.
❌ Snowking Mtn snow scramble (18mi, 8k ft ele) - I really tried to make this one happen. The idea of cutting some mileage out by introducing a mountain bike, and then adding skis to speed up the descent really appealed to me as a multi-sport adventure. I couldn’t find anyone else who shared the stoke of multi-sporting and camping in the snow. I didn’t feel comfortable solo-ing this. I considered dropping this one for good. I’ll still keep it on for next year and likely recruit someone from the Internet.
Climbing
Just as climbing season was peaking in the PNW, I had the groin injury that took months to recover from. Fortunately, I was still able to get some climbs in (even my hardest ever sport lead) but none of them were the big climbs I would’ve liked to be doing in the late summer and early fall.
✅ Climbing in Red Rock - This climbing trip I did in April with Patrick is exactly what I needed to get back into the trad leading mindset. It reminded me about what I love about multi-pitch climbing: the adventure, the problem solving, and the camaraderie high up on the wall. We hit up some classics like Birdland and made some excellent memories.
❌ Trad: S Face of the Tooth (5.4, 4 pitch) - I don’t know if I still have interest in this given how easy and crowded it is. Doing it in mountaineering boots might make it worthwhile as practice for alpine rock climbing. I don’t think I’d carry this over to 2025.
✅ Cragging: Index - Patrick invited me to join him for some trad climbing at our local crag. I was nervous at first since it had been years since I led on trad but I was able to calmly lead one of the moderate classics (Senior Citizens in Space). It’s exactly what I needed to give me the confidence that I still know what I’m doing.
❌ Guided: Third Pillar of Dana (5.10 III, 3 pitch) - We took a trip down to the Sierras for my guided rock climb with Peter Croft. He was incredibly flaky and I lost a lot of trust in him based on inconsistencies in his excuses for delaying. A friend confirmed that he has this reputation. Ultimately, the climb ended up not happening and I still have credit to climb with the guiding company he works with. At this point, I think I’d rather climb the Third Pillar with a friend and use the credit to possibly climb The Hulk with another guide if I can work my climbing skills up to that level.
❌ Trad: West Ridge of Prusik Peak (5.7, 4 pitch) - Didn’t make this happen because of injury. I also think having a camping permit would make this a whole lot more pleasant.
❌ Trad: Ragged Edge of Vesper Peak (5.7, 6 pitch) - I was close to making this happen with Patrick late in the season. I even scoped it out on a day hike with Leah on September 30. From the summit, I peered over the north-facing rock and could see ice crystals clinging to the holds. I’d probably enjoy it more if I plan for earlier.
❌ Sport: Tooth Fairy (5.9, 6 pitch) - See below.
❌ Sport: Voie de Chaise of Chair Peak (5.9, 7 pitch) - I was planning to do Tooth Fairy and Voie de Chaise with Patrick once my groin strain had mostly healed but he had already done em, noting “Tooth Fairy climbing isn’t super interesting until crux pitch which is substantially harder than the rest and Voie de Chase had lots of loose rock on first two rappels.” I’m not sure I’ll carry these over as goals but I’d be interested if the opportunity presented itself.
❌ Sport: Prime Rib (5.9-, 11 pitch) - I was close to making this happen, committing to even taking time off. Patrick had just driven back from the Methow and was in no mood to drive back there so it didn’t happen.
❌ Trad: Outer Space (5.9, 6 pitch) - Patrick and I were thinking about doing a climb in October and we floated the idea of doing this. I hadn’t climbed outdoors for a few months and neither of us felt 100% confident in a 5.9 trad lead. Next year, it’ll happen.
I didn’t rigidly stick to this goals list and instead used it as a rough guide. Even though I didn’t make a dent in my goal climbing routes for example, I nailed down a reliable climbing partner (something I didn’t have last year). I couldn’t complete the long hikes I set out to do here, but Leah and I were able to explore some incredible trails in Squamish, the Sierras, and backpacking below Mt Stuart. There are a lot of red Xs on this page, but it doesn’t reflect all the unplanned things I got done (e.g., a cyclocross race, bike touring around Mont Blanc, mountain biking in Boise).
