diff --git a/bincio/render/merge.py b/bincio/render/merge.py
index 7c82308..bdc8fc6 100644
--- a/bincio/render/merge.py
+++ b/bincio/render/merge.py
@@ -155,8 +155,7 @@ def merge_one(data_dir: Path, activity_id: str) -> None:
     activities.sort(key=lambda a: a.get("started_at", ""), reverse=True)
     activities.sort(key=lambda a: 0 if a.get("custom", {}).get("highlight") else 1)
 
-    index["activities"] = activities
-    (merged_dir / "index.json").write_text(json.dumps(index, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False))
+    _write_year_shards(merged_dir, activities, index)
 
 
 def merge_all(data_dir: Path) -> int:
@@ -267,11 +266,57 @@ def merge_all(data_dir: Path) -> int:
         activities.sort(key=lambda a: a.get("started_at", ""), reverse=True)
         activities.sort(key=lambda a: 0 if a.get("custom", {}).get("highlight") else 1)
 
-        index["activities"] = activities
-        (merged_dir / "index.json").write_text(
-            json.dumps(index, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
-        )
-    elif (merged_dir / "index.json").exists():
-        (merged_dir / "index.json").unlink()
+        _write_year_shards(merged_dir, activities, index)
+    else:
+        # Remove any stale year shard files if the source index disappeared
+        for f in merged_dir.glob("index-*.json"):
+            f.unlink()
+        if (merged_dir / "index.json").exists():
+            (merged_dir / "index.json").unlink()
 
     return len(sidecars)
+
+
+# Fields only needed for athlete.json aggregation at extract time — they add
+# bulk to every summary entry but are never read by the feed UI.
+_FEED_STRIP = {"best_efforts", "best_climb_m", "source"}
+
+
+def _write_year_shards(merged_dir: Path, activities: list[dict], index_meta: dict) -> None:
+    """Split activities by year and write index-{year}.json shards.
+
+    Replaces merged_dir/index.json with a shard manifest so the feed can
+    load only the most-recent year on first paint and fetch older years lazily.
+    """
+    from collections import defaultdict
+
+    # Remove stale year shard files from previous runs
+    for f in merged_dir.glob("index-*.json"):
+        f.unlink()
+
+    by_year: dict[str, list[dict]] = defaultdict(list)
+    for a in activities:
+        year = (a.get("started_at") or "")[:4] or "unknown"
+        # Strip aggregation-only fields to keep shard files small
+        slim = {k: v for k, v in a.items() if k not in _FEED_STRIP}
+        by_year[year].append(slim)
+
+    years = sorted(by_year.keys(), reverse=True)  # newest first
+    shards = []
+    for year in years:
+        shard_doc = {
+            **{k: v for k, v in index_meta.items() if k not in ("activities", "shards")},
+            "shards": [],
+            "activities": by_year[year],
+        }
+        fname = f"index-{year}.json"
+        (merged_dir / fname).write_text(json.dumps(shard_doc, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False))
+        shards.append({"url": fname, "year": int(year) if year.isdigit() else 0,
+                        "count": len(by_year[year])})
+
+    root_doc = {
+        **{k: v for k, v in index_meta.items() if k not in ("activities", "shards")},
+        "shards": shards,
+        "activities": [],
+    }
+    (merged_dir / "index.json").write_text(json.dumps(root_doc, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False))
diff --git a/site/src/components/ActivityFeed.svelte b/site/src/components/ActivityFeed.svelte
index e486e33..f292dbf 100644
--- a/site/src/components/ActivityFeed.svelte
+++ b/site/src/components/ActivityFeed.svelte
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   import { onMount } from 'svelte';
   import type { ActivitySummary, BASIndex, Sport } from '../lib/types';
   import { formatDistance, formatDuration, formatElevation, formatDate, isUnlisted, sportIcon, sportColor, sportLabel } from '../lib/format';
-  import { loadIndex } from '../lib/dataloader';
+  import { loadIndexPaged, loadShardActivities } from '../lib/dataloader';
 
   /** Render preview_coords as an SVG polyline path string. */
   function trackPath(coords: [number, number][] | null, w: number, h: number): string {
@@ -41,8 +41,10 @@
   let sport: Sport | 'all' = 'all';
   let shown = PAGE_SIZE;
   let loading = true;
+  let loadingMore = false;
   let error = '';
   let mounted = false;
+  let pendingShards: string[] = [];
   /** Logged-in handle — resolved async via bincio:me event. */
   let me: string = '';
 
@@ -58,7 +60,33 @@
   });
   $: filtered = sport === 'all' ? withPrivacy : withPrivacy.filter(a => a.sport === sport);
   $: visible = filtered.slice(0, shown);
-  $: hasMore = shown < filtered.length;
+  $: canShowMore = shown < filtered.length;
+  $: hasMore = canShowMore || pendingShards.length > 0;
+
+  async function loadMore() {
+    if (canShowMore) {
+      shown += PAGE_SIZE;
+      return;
+    }
+    if (!pendingShards.length) return;
+    loadingMore = true;
+    const url = pendingShards[0];
+    pendingShards = pendingShards.slice(1);
+    try {
+      const fresh = await loadShardActivities(url);
+      // Merge avoiding duplicates (IDB activities may already be present)
+      const existing = new Map(all.map(a => [a.id, a]));
+      for (const a of fresh) if (!existing.has(a.id)) existing.set(a.id, a);
+      all = [...existing.values()].sort((a, b) =>
+        (b.started_at ?? '').localeCompare(a.started_at ?? ''),
+      );
+      shown += PAGE_SIZE;
+    } catch {
+      // shard load failed — don't block the user
+    } finally {
+      loadingMore = false;
+    }
+  }
 
   $: if (sport) shown = PAGE_SIZE; // reset pagination on filter change
 
@@ -84,12 +112,9 @@
       const indexUrl = profileIndexUrl
         ? `${base}data/${profileIndexUrl}`
         : `${base}data/index.json`;
-      const index = await loadIndex(base, indexUrl);
+      const { index, pendingShards: pending } = await loadIndexPaged(base, indexUrl);
+      pendingShards = pending;
       let activities = index.activities;
-      // filterHandle only applies when loading the root manifest (multi-user feed).
-      // When profileIndexUrl is set we already loaded the right user's shard directly —
-      // activities from a direct shard fetch have no handle tag, so the filter would
-      // remove everything.
       if (filterHandle && !profileIndexUrl) {
         activities = activities.filter(a => (a as any).handle === filterHandle);
       }
@@ -230,10 +255,17 @@
   {#if hasMore}
     <div class="text-center mt-8">
       <button
-        class="px-6 py-2 rounded-full border border-zinc-700 text-zinc-300 hover:border-zinc-500 hover:text-white transition-colors text-sm"
-        on:click={() => shown += PAGE_SIZE}
+        class="px-6 py-2 rounded-full border border-zinc-700 text-zinc-300 hover:border-zinc-500 hover:text-white disabled:opacity-40 transition-colors text-sm"
+        disabled={loadingMore}
+        on:click={loadMore}
       >
-        Load more ({filtered.length - shown} remaining)
+        {#if loadingMore}
+          Loading…
+        {:else if canShowMore}
+          Load more ({filtered.length - shown} remaining)
+        {:else}
+          Load older activities ({pendingShards.length} more {pendingShards.length === 1 ? 'year' : 'years'})
+        {/if}
       </button>
     </div>
   {/if}
diff --git a/site/src/lib/dataloader.ts b/site/src/lib/dataloader.ts
index a19dc87..032c8b8 100644
--- a/site/src/lib/dataloader.ts
+++ b/site/src/lib/dataloader.ts
@@ -55,6 +55,22 @@ function emptyIndex(): BASIndex {
   };
 }
 
+// ── Helpers ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+function isYearShardUrl(url: string): boolean {
+  return /(?:^|\/)index-\d{4}\.json$/.test(url);
+}
+
+function rewriteActivityUrls(a: ActivitySummary, shardBase: string): ActivitySummary {
+  return {
+    ...a,
+    detail_url: a.detail_url && !a.detail_url.startsWith('http')
+      ? `${shardBase}${a.detail_url}` : a.detail_url,
+    track_url: a.track_url && !a.track_url.startsWith('http')
+      ? `${shardBase}${a.track_url}` : a.track_url,
+  };
+}
+
 // ── Public API ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 /**
@@ -87,14 +103,8 @@ async function resolveShards(
       // Rewrite relative detail_url / track_url to be absolute so they can be
       // fetched correctly regardless of where the root index lives.
       return activities.map(a => ({
-        ...a,
+        ...rewriteActivityUrls(a, shardBase),
         ...(shard.handle ? { handle: shard.handle } : {}),
-        detail_url: a.detail_url && !a.detail_url.startsWith('http')
-          ? `${shardBase}${a.detail_url}`
-          : a.detail_url,
-        track_url: a.track_url && !a.track_url.startsWith('http')
-          ? `${shardBase}${a.track_url}`
-          : a.track_url,
       }));
     }),
   );
@@ -150,6 +160,97 @@ export async function loadIndex(baseUrl: string, indexUrl?: string): Promise<BAS
   };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Like loadIndex but only fetches the most-recent year shard immediately.
+ * Returns the first-page activities plus a list of remaining shard URLs that
+ * can be fetched on demand (e.g. when the user clicks "Load more").
+ *
+ * Falls back to full eager loading for non-year shard manifests (multi-user
+ * combined feed) so the behaviour is identical to loadIndex in those cases.
+ */
+export async function loadIndexPaged(
+  baseUrl: string,
+  indexUrl?: string,
+): Promise<{ index: BASIndex; pendingShards: string[] }> {
+  indexUrl = indexUrl ?? `${baseUrl}data/index.json`;
+
+  const [serverResult, localResult] = await Promise.allSettled([
+    fetchJSON<BASIndex>(indexUrl),
+    listLocalActivities(),
+  ]);
+
+  const server = serverResult.status === 'fulfilled' ? serverResult.value : null;
+  const local  = localResult.status  === 'fulfilled' ? localResult.value  : [];
+
+  if (!server && local.length === 0) return { index: emptyIndex(), pendingShards: [] };
+
+  const base = indexUrl.substring(0, indexUrl.lastIndexOf('/') + 1);
+  const allShards = server?.shards ?? [];
+
+  const yearShards  = allShards.filter(s => isYearShardUrl(s.url));
+  const otherShards = allShards.filter(s => !isYearShardUrl(s.url));
+
+  // ── Year-sharded index (single-user or profile page) ───────────────────────
+  // Load only the first (most-recent) year shard; return the rest as pending.
+  let yearFirstActivities: ActivitySummary[] = [];
+  let pendingShards: string[] = [];
+
+  if (yearShards.length > 0) {
+    const sorted = [...yearShards].sort((a, b) => b.url.localeCompare(a.url));
+    const firstUrl = sorted[0].url.startsWith('http') ? sorted[0].url : `${base}${sorted[0].url}`;
+    const shardBase = firstUrl.substring(0, firstUrl.lastIndexOf('/') + 1);
+    try {
+      const first = await fetchJSON<BASIndex>(firstUrl);
+      yearFirstActivities = (first.activities ?? []).map(a => rewriteActivityUrls(a, shardBase));
+    } catch (e) {
+      console.error('[bincio] first year shard failed:', sorted[0].url, e);
+    }
+    pendingShards = sorted.slice(1).map(s =>
+      s.url.startsWith('http') ? s.url : `${base}${s.url}`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  // ── Non-year shards (multi-user manifest) — loaded eagerly as before ───────
+  let otherActivities: ActivitySummary[] = [];
+  if (otherShards.length > 0) {
+    const otherIndex: BASIndex = { ...(server ?? emptyIndex()), shards: otherShards };
+    otherActivities = await resolveShards(otherIndex, indexUrl);
+  }
+
+  // ── Own activities (legacy flat index with no shards) ──────────────────────
+  const ownActivities = allShards.length === 0 ? (server?.activities ?? []) : [];
+
+  // Merge: server + local (local overrides server for same id)
+  const serverActivities = [...ownActivities, ...otherActivities, ...yearFirstActivities];
+  const merged = new Map<string, ActivitySummary>();
+  for (const a of serverActivities)           merged.set(a.id, a);
+  for (const a of local as ActivitySummary[]) merged.set(a.id, a);
+
+  return {
+    index: {
+      ...(server ?? emptyIndex()),
+      activities: [...merged.values()].sort(
+        (a, b) => (b.started_at ?? '').localeCompare(a.started_at ?? ''),
+      ),
+    },
+    pendingShards,
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Fetch activities from a single year shard URL (absolute).
+ * Used by ActivityFeed to lazily load older years when "Load more" is clicked.
+ */
+export async function loadShardActivities(shardUrl: string): Promise<ActivitySummary[]> {
+  try {
+    const data = await fetchJSON<BASIndex>(shardUrl);
+    const base = shardUrl.substring(0, shardUrl.lastIndexOf('/') + 1);
+    return (data.activities ?? []).map(a => rewriteActivityUrls(a, base));
+  } catch {
+    return [];
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Load a single activity detail, checking IndexedDB first so locally-converted
  * activities are available offline.
diff --git a/tests/test_merge.py b/tests/test_merge.py
index e3dbd4c..ff286dc 100644
--- a/tests/test_merge.py
+++ b/tests/test_merge.py
@@ -9,6 +9,18 @@ import pytest
 from bincio.render.merge import apply_sidecar, merge_all, merge_one, parse_sidecar
 
 
+def _load_merged_activities(merged_dir: Path) -> dict:
+    """Load all activities from year-sharded merged index. Returns id→dict map."""
+    root = json.loads((merged_dir / "index.json").read_text())
+    all_acts = list(root.get("activities", []))
+    for shard in root.get("shards", []):
+        shard_path = merged_dir / shard["url"]
+        if shard_path.exists():
+            sub = json.loads(shard_path.read_text())
+            all_acts.extend(sub.get("activities", []))
+    return {a["id"]: a for a in all_acts}
+
+
 # ── parse_sidecar ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 
@@ -176,8 +188,7 @@ def test_merge_all_private_filtered_from_index(data_dir):
     (edits / "2024-01-01T080000Z-morning-ride.md").write_text("---\nprivate: true\n---\n")
     merge_all(data_dir)
 
-    index = json.loads((data_dir / "_merged" / "index.json").read_text())
-    activities = {a["id"]: a for a in index["activities"]}
+    activities = _load_merged_activities(data_dir / "_merged")
     # unlisted activities are kept in the index; filtering is client-side
     assert "2024-01-01T080000Z-morning-ride" in activities
     assert activities["2024-01-01T080000Z-morning-ride"]["privacy"] == "unlisted"
@@ -191,8 +202,11 @@ def test_merge_all_highlight_sorts_first(data_dir):
     (edits / "2024-01-01T080000Z-morning-ride.md").write_text("---\nhighlight: true\n---\n")
     merge_all(data_dir)
 
-    index = json.loads((data_dir / "_merged" / "index.json").read_text())
-    ids = [a["id"] for a in index["activities"]]
+    # Highlighted activity must be first within its year shard
+    merged_dir = data_dir / "_merged"
+    root = json.loads((merged_dir / "index.json").read_text())
+    shard_path = merged_dir / root["shards"][0]["url"]
+    ids = [a["id"] for a in json.loads(shard_path.read_text())["activities"]]
     assert ids[0] == "2024-01-01T080000Z-morning-ride"
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_pipeline.py b/tests/test_pipeline.py
index 3e0e87d..1c52036 100644
--- a/tests/test_pipeline.py
+++ b/tests/test_pipeline.py
@@ -83,10 +83,15 @@ class TestPipeline:
         merge_all(data_root / "brut")
 
         for handle in ("dave", "brut"):
-            merged = json.loads((data_root / handle / "_merged" / "index.json").read_text())
-            assert len(merged["activities"]) >= 8, (
-                f"Expected ≥8 merged activities for {handle}"
-            )
+            merged_dir = data_root / handle / "_merged"
+            root = json.loads((merged_dir / "index.json").read_text())
+            # Root index now has year shards; collect all activities across them
+            all_acts: list = list(root.get("activities", []))
+            for shard in root.get("shards", []):
+                sp = merged_dir / shard["url"]
+                if sp.exists():
+                    all_acts.extend(json.loads(sp.read_text()).get("activities", []))
+            assert len(all_acts) >= 8, f"Expected ≥8 merged activities for {handle}"
 
     def test_root_manifest(self, data_root):
         from bincio.render.cli import _user_dirs, _write_root_manifest