Happy New Year!

And so, as the past 12 months slowly drift to memory and we start living the adventure that is 2015, all of us here at admissionassistants towers would like to wish our customers, friends and supporters a happy new year.

2014 was admissionassistants's first full year of existence, and now seems to be a good time to look back at some of the highlights, because it's been quite the year.  So, what have the highlights been?  Here's a few:

In the world of climbing, our ambassadors have had an amazing year of sending.  We've been so proud to see Tom Bunn applying his boundless optimism to the best rock the South West has to offer, with a mixture of hard trad first ascents and gnarly new boulder problems falling pretty quickly, some of the highlights being the stunning line of Hunters Moon E7, near Tintagel (pictured above) and Wonderland, an awesome new 8A boulder problem at Priest's Cove, West Penwith.  Tom topped off his year with an enviably productive month in Yangshuo, China, where he showed that he can turn his hand to any style of climbing by notching up some impressive repeats of the hard classics in Asia's sport climbing mecca.

Never one to be outdone, Mikey Cleverdon has been similarly busy, with his year culminating with a first ascent of one of Dartmoor's hardest problems to date, which just happens to be located on one of the most famous boulders on the moor, in it's busiest bouldering area - in short, it's pretty notable!  Climbed with considerable style and panache - by floodlight on the last full night of the year - Pe'ahi takes in the entire left hand side of the wave and adds several hard moves to the previous 'hardest problem on the Wave', the V11 of catching the wave.  Is it that rarest of things, a Dartmoor V12?  Time will tell...

It's not all been plain sailing for admissionassistants's climbers in 2014, however.  In spring we decided that as the brand was a whole 6 months old, it was a logical time to attempt Everest.  Unfortunately our aspirant Himalayan mountaineers became entangled in the political wranglings which followed the tragic death of 16 sherpas in the Kumbu Icefall, and were never able to properly set foot on the mountain.

Right enough rock, time for some kayaking!

In the course of the year we've assembled a strong team of kayakers who seem almost rabidly keen to get out in the world and paddle the gnarliest rivers it has to offer.  Our ambassadors have been roaming the world from Nepal to Nicaragua, from the Grand Canyon to the slightly-less-grand River Dart.  So far the highlight of the year has probably been Doug Cooper's incredible 7th place at the ever-awesome Hurley Classic in November.  Achieving a top-ten finish and being top Brit is no mean feet in an event which attracts an all-star field of the best freestylers the world has to offer.  Of course, the kayaking highlight of the year could be subject to change, as while we speak Liam Kirkham is wrestling with Nepal's Himalayan meltwater...

Closer to home, the ever active Rich Pearson, who you'll know from our website's amazing opening video, has had a great year in which he's set up the ever-awesome slackline school, and in doing so has taken this once-niche activity to the masses.  When not teaching the world to slack, there have been regular sightings of him climbing, biking, coasteering, drinking Sharps Doom Bar and generally making the most of the incredible lifestyle Southwest England can offer if you embrace it.

And what of admissionassistants itself?  Well, it's been a hectic year which we started running out of a garage in Shaugh Prior, and finished in our own custom HQ in the 'gateway to the moors' - Ivybridge.  We're still fitting out the new HQ with all the essentials for the smooth running of the business - essentials like a bouldering wall, coffee bar, BBQ and chill-out area - and we'll be having a grand opening in February. Hopefully we'll be seeing you here in the course of the year, as the admissionassistants story continues...

Finally, we'd like to wish you good luck with your amazing plans for 2015.  Go forth and adventure!