Every January the editors at Climbing begin scouring the records, recollections and rumors for the most impressive ascents of the past year.

Climbing Categories range from bouldering to high-altitude mountaineering and are not very strictly defined since ground breaking climbs often bend the old definitions.

In February’s Climbing magazine (issue 255)


Cover page of Climbing

Solo climbing:

Chris Sharma (USA)
for his new route (deep-water-solo)  El Pontas (20 m, classification VS V Sharma) Cala Santanya, Mallorca, Spain.

Big Wall climbing:

Topher Donahue, Tommy Caldwell and Erik Roed (USA)
for the first ascent of classic route Linea Di Eleganza  (VI 5.12+ M8 1200 m) at Fitz Roy (3375 m) Patagonia, Argentina.

Bouldering:

Dave Graham (USA),
for sending many problems (24 problems within V12 and higher round the globe)

World Alpine climbing:

Marko Prezelj and Boris Lorencic (Slovenja)
for their new route along the north west pillar of Chomolhari (7326 m) in the Himalaya, Bhutan, 4 days climbing up and 2 days descent, length 1800 m, diff. M6+ more pitches. 

Sport climbing:

Patxi Usobiaga (Spain)
for the whole year's performance- 30 routes about 5.14 and harder, including 7 routes On sight

Trad climbing:

Dave MacLoed (Great Britain)
A first free ascent of the route Rhapsody  (E11 7a) Redpoint, situated in Dumbarton near Glasgow, Scotland. Probably the hardest route on trad lead.

North America Alpine Climbing:

Maxime Turgeon and Louis-Philippe Menard (Canada)
for their new route Canadian Direct (6 5.9 M6 Al4 2100 m) south face of Denali (6194 m) Alaska.

Source:
Magazine Climbing