New and Experienced Climbers Over 50 #6

Don't know where the heck everyone else is climbing without snow. Here is Smith Rock yesterday. Warming up and melting fast. Added a whole new element of difficult with wet rock.

Wayne Grakowsky wrote:As a first post to this forum.  I just want to say that I have following it for about a week.  I see a lot of advice, Ian’s inspiriation.  As a novice and in the high 50s I can see that attempting that first climb alswsys seems the hardest this week I had a chance to learn the basics through a local guide service in Joshua tree. My guide Jeremy was confident and opened this new world to me.  I figure if I can attempt to beat the big c at my age then what challenge is left. I look forward to posting from time to time to share my triumphs or lessons learned that will make me a more confident climber. Maybe one day some of our paths will cross as I am pretty settled here in so cal.

---------------------
Copied over from #5! Welcome, Wayne, you closed the last thread, seems only fitting to get you on here, so you can have replies.

Tom, it's the elevation and amount of snow that needs to get melted. Boise sits at about 2500, but it's drier here, so not as buried as you were. Even COR is (MAYBE) close to climbable. A reminder to eager new to COR folks, the  dirt roads over there  are worse than snow or ice when wet. Be extremely cautious. The City of Rocks and Castle Rocks Facebook pages have photos and updates almost daily. That's the best source for off season info. Later, post in the Utah/Idaho forum, as someone will have been there recently and folks are great about replying.

Best to all! I'm sorting through tons of stuff, but a real priority is getting my roped gear ready. If all goes well, I'll be out Thursday, with my best friend getting me back at it. That boulder trip Friday really helped me start getting my head back together for climbing, too.

H.

Welcome to climbing, Wayne.
May I ask, are you retired? Or still working a Mon - Friday job?

I walked over to Bilabong today and looked it over carefully. I can’t see a reason in the world why I couldn’t climb it to the first or second bolt.  Looks do-able.   

Lori Milas wrote: I walked over to Bilabong today and looked it over carefully. I can’t see a reason in the world why I couldn’t climb it to the first or second bolt.  Looks do-able.   

Billabong is tricky you do a lot of down climbing out Rt and up! Foot work level must be spot on Lori

Barb is doing better, chest pain is nearly gone.  She has been taking short walks without trouble.  We are thinking that by next Wednesday we will be able to do some climbs with short approaches.  Probably going to bail on Breck ski week, too high, too cold for her lungs, not to mention it's been raining there.  So we are going to climb RR for few days, talking about heading to Phoenix/Mcdowell for a week or so.  Up in the air, got some RV repairs in the works that unfortunately are being held up because of parts compatibility issues, life.

In the mean time we went to the Fremont Experience here in Vegas for St. Patty's day and studied some rope management techniques.

I didn’t know there was another route on this rock!   (The Cutting Edge). I guess I was on the smooth round side.   

Jeffrey Constine wrote:

Billabong is tricky you do a lot of down climbing out Rt and up! Foot work level must be spot on Lori

Thank you Jeff. That’s what I like about this route. I am drawn to routes that are precise...even if they’re not flashy. This is taking so much time!  (Building these skills). 

I went to visit my friend Nelson yesterday and play with his baby. He guides here in Josh, but suddenly he has a girlfriend and a kid and a room he rents out and he’s BUSY.  We’ll go out a day or two this week.

I can’t get over the irony that many of us here are just now able to run free and roam (or moreso) while excellent fit climbers have to stay behind...we’re in a sport/lifestyle really built for teenagers and young adults. We are extraordinarily blessed...

Dallas R wrote:Happy St. Patrick's Day ya'll.

Lori Milas wrote: I didn’t know there was another route on this rock!   (The Cutting Edge). I guess I was on the smooth round side.   

Oh THAT looks bloody cool! 

Carl Schneider wrote:

Oh THAT looks bloody cool! 

Photo is of the second ascent of the climb went undone for many many years just like Scott Cosgrove’s other route New Deal 14b 20+ years without a repeat, till now, Scott was way ahead of his time.

Jeffrey Constine wrote:

Photo is of the second ascent of the climb went undone for many many years just like Scott Cosgrove’s other route New Deal 14b 20+ years without a repeat, till now, Scott was way ahead of his time.

Well what I want to know is why you never mentioned this to me, Jeff!  There I was dinking around on SW corner when there was THIS!  After all my gym going I’m pretty sure I could send it now. I just wouldn’t want to make anyone jealous.!  

Jeffrey Constine wrote:

Photo is of the second ascent of the climb went undone for many many years just like Scott Cosgrove’s other route New Deal 14b 20+ years without a repeat, till now, Scott was way ahead of his time.

Oh 14b. That's Ike a grade 33 in my lingo, in other words impossible.

Carl Schneider wrote:

Oh 14b. That's Ike a grade 33 in my lingo, in other words impossible.

Carl!!! So much negativity!  If it’s been done before it can be done again!  Besides this kid (Jeremy...the best climber here) is a 20 year old punk. He’s got nothing on any of us here...well, except youth, vigor...a little bit of skill. We have WISDOM.

Lori Milas wrote:

Carl!!! So much negativity!  If it’s been done before it can be done again!  Besides this kid (Jeremy...the best climber here) is a 20 year old punk. He’s got nothing on any of us here...well, except youth, vigor...a little bit of skill. We have WISDOM.

Ha ha. It was a joke. Of course it's not impossible, just impossible for mere mortals :-)

Beautiful crazy wind and probable rain tomorrow...just warm and sexy weather.    Cracks, cracks and more cracks. Yesterday I really thought I was done with climbing forever... misery all night long head to toe. (I was actually moaning through the night.) But today the hand and foot jams went like magic.  Only remaining problem is I am SHREDDING the rubber off the sides of my shoes.  Is it me, or is this just part of the baggage of crack climbing? (Chris up there in the sky.) 

Carl Schneider wrote:

Ha ha. It was a joke. Of course it's not impossible, just impossible for mere mortals :-)

Well I have been thinking about this problem of difficult climbs and I think it should be a community project.  For instance I have as a goal climbing all the Poodle climbs in Joshua Tree.  (All the climbs with the word Poodle in the name).  The problem is...some of those climbs are 5.11 and up. So it just seems to me that as a community of climbers we could knock this one out as a group.   ”Some” very selfish people could come and send the hard Poodle routes, if only they would...and some of us could tackle the easier Poodle routes—voila it makes a whole. You know “It takes a village”. Or maybe you don’t know because you are in Australia and haven’t read Hillary Clinton’s book. Pretty sure she was talking about sending all the Poodle routes. 

 The hardest poodle route I have done is called Igor prince of poodles 11cR