New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #7

Lori! That’s what I’m talking about!!!!!!!  And large thick pasta!

Todd..... welcome back! I live in California but have climbed in the Gunks a little- sometimes I envy you East Coast people- but not in February.
You will find that 5.5 in the gunks is like 5.9 sport at the newer spots.... 

You will find that 5.5 in the gunks is like 5.9 sport at the newer spots..

How many times have I heard people claim that the Gunks have sandbag ratings? Its not how I look at it. If you're weened on climbs of a certain grade, then all others are just easy.

Lori Milas wrote: I'd sure like some feedback from others here who are on the climbing journey.  Maybe I'm actually asking about how you perceive time and aging, at this time of your life.  How are your decisions different, knowing that increasing age and/or injuries will be forcing some choices on you sooner or later.  

I've got a lot of competing interests.  I still haven't quit my job.  There's family, and relationships.  When plotting out the next year/decade there's so many paths to choose... but for sure, the choices narrow down as we age.  I'm looking at this weekend... playing with my precious grandkids, or packing a rope and gear and heading out alone.  I have that Black Wall on my mind.   

A lot of climbers here hit their peak years ago, maybe you have had years of hard climbing and can just enjoy the ride now.  Maybe you've 'been there, done that'--tested yourself to the max, seen what you can do... now it's just purely enjoyable fun.  But I was on hold during those decades.  I didn't expect to emerge in my 60's, when my best friend Mal cannot peel out of her Lazy Boy... with some kind of strength and vigor and yearning to head outside and clmb hard, find wilderness, and laugh with friends under the stars.

There are mountains to climb.     Ropes, anchors, rigs, cams, nuts, and sport routes... edging, chimneys, cracks... sandstone, granite (I don't like limestone!) I want to see where it goes.  There is something SO satisfying about knowing I have at least some of this under my belt.  

I was raised to create balance, never go to excess.  I'm good at including everyone and multi-tasking.  Today I have the impulse to make totally unbalanced and selfish decisions... to give this (climbing) my total attention (with, yea, all the things that go with it... community, laughter, diet, yoga, workouts, bone broth   ).   Probably little chance that I would totally bail on my grandkids... but I'm sure not looking like 'grandma'.  

EDIT:  I attended a business meeting yesterday for a client of mine, an 87 year old doctor, who is on hospice with pancreatic cancer.  He has maybe a week to live and we were there to decide how to close his practice.  Yet he had a stack of unsigned medical reports, which he had just dictated over the weekend.  He wants to get those signed before he goes.  It's like that...    

Balance is overrated.  Overdo everything.  I do. One thing I do find as I get older is that I'm almost manic (well, not almost manic, more like actually 100% manic) about squeezing in more and more in to my life.  My recent shoulder injuries made me very depressed, but now I'm healing I'm almost frantic abut getting back to climbing. 

Wet weekend ahead so it's indoor top roping easy stuff so I get a lot of volume in with no hard moves to exacerbate by injury.  I'll wear my new beanie (do you call them that over there) as I climb just for laughs...

Carl Schneider wrote:

Balance is overrated.  Overdo everything.  I do. 

Maybe think a bit about where that's got you?

Lori Milas wrote:
I'd sure like some feedback from others here who are on the climbing journey.

 LOL, My journey is more like a walk around the block as compared to the others.  But it is my climbing journey and I enjoy it. It is either part of your life or not. There is not a right answer here, each of us must make decisions in our lives, each decision will lead us down a different path.  

So I had an unnerving experience belaying.  My lead climber was all geared up and went to take her first step off of the ground, she suddenly shrieked and jump off the rock. She was not clipped into any protection and was only a foot off the ground.  No injury, what the heck?

She pointed to her first hand hold, took me a minute to figure it out. The hand hold had this little lizard on it and he  wasn't giving up his perch, in stead up grabbing rock she had grabbed a hand full of lizard.

rgold wrote:

Maybe think a bit about where that's got you?

Yeah true, I am :-) Slowing down a lot now...

A lot of what I say is just jokes, and I know that doesn't come across well :-)

Well, I made it to 62 before I had to retire from climbing.
A 52 year climbing career isn't too bad.

Just for fun...

Cosmiccragsman AKA Dwain wrote: Well, I made it to 62 before I had to retire from climbing.
A 52 year climbing career isn't too bad.

You started at 10?  Well done---in 1967 that was kind of unusual no?  Nowadays not so much...

I started at 13 in 1957, so my "career" has run for 62 years and counting.

It would be nice to claim some sort of credit for lasting this long, but the reality is I am just lucky to still be at it.  Most of my climbing friends and acquaintences have been felled by injuries and/or the indignities of aging, many simply moved on to other pursuits, and a few have died, as have most of the heroes of my generation, among them Royal Robbins, Chuck Pratt, Tom Frost, Layton Kor,  Bob Kamps, and Fred Beckey.

rgold wrote:

You started at 10?  Well done---in 1967 that was kind of unusual no?

I started at 13 in 1957, so my "career" has run for 62 years and counting.

It would be nice to claim some sort of credit for lasting this long, but the reality is I am just lucky to still be at it.

Actually, 1964/65. I am almost 65 now,

  I grew up in 29 Palms and lived right outside Indian Cove.
My Dad was a lifer Marine and he is the one that taught me the ropes.
I was scrambling in the rocks at Indian Cove and the rest of the Monument for 4, 5 years before that.

 I had to retire because of too many injuries. Most of all from burst discs in lower back resulting
in partially numb feet and toes and lots of pain. Add to that 2 bad shoulders, knee and a few other things.
I would just be a danger to myself and my partners to keep on climbing, not to mention slowing them down.

rgold wrote:
It would be nice to claim some sort of credit for lasting this long, but the reality is I am just lucky to still be at it. 

In my mind, you're a Legend.  I remember reading your discussions of drop tests on spectra vs. nylon for slings and personal pro.  That was 8 or 9 years ago, I think.  Maybe 10.  I've been using the Sterling personal pro ever since.

Reflecting on progress as a climber: last night at the gym, climbing with my little buddy Kim, I spotted an 11a and thought I'd give it a go.  It was so very easy strength-wise, however, it wore me out and I had to rest for a minute.

I have been clueless about Ryan's method for turning me into a climber, indoors and out.  I know it's been a luxury... to ask for help, to not go it alone.  But I started late. I had read most of the books and tried to sketch out my own program. I just didn't know if I could figure it out alone. (and I couldn't).  Like a little kid, it's been so helpful to have someone cheering, high-fiving, and charting a course for me while all I have to do is play.  

So in every respect, I've been a willing and humble student.  "Just mold me."  Now I'm beginning to understand 'cycles'... 4-6 weeks of strength and power climbing, and then 4-6 weeks of endurance... repeat.  I've just gone along, without trying to manage the gameplan.  Suddenly we're in the bouldering room, working on easy bouldering problems (V0-V2).   The 45 degree wall.  Some hangboarding, but easy.  So, now while I CAN see routes and climb in the low 11's, I run out of steam. (not so with the 10's)  Next week, we'll go back to endurance... that thing where you climb easier routes until you appear to be about to pass out, downclimb, and then do it again.     During those sessions I am thinking "This can't be a good thing."   but where it works the most magic is outside where that endurance is really needed. 

If you handed someone the mission of taking an older person, with some physical liabilities--a total non-athlete, and helping them to climb... without sacrificing for injury, that's a pretty tall order.  I'm just full of gratitude for the opportunity to do this very strenuous and amazing thing, at this time of my life.  
----------------------------

Meanwhile, I'm watching the youngsters.  I got a little note from Jeremy yesterday... how very sweet... he's up for more climbing in Josh.  I'm wondering what you veterans, rgold, JeffC, and others who have been around for awhile, think of this new bunch.  I have nothing to compare to, I wasn't there 'back in the day'... so all I can do is laugh and clap at their antics, admire their skill and athleticism, enjoy their playfulness.  They do seem to know who came before.  They do want to follow in some footsteps.  But they also march to a new drummer...    

( Have signed up for a weekend of Wilderness Medicine and a weekend of navigation in July.  I will probably be the token diabetic for the Wilderness group... which is fine.  I hold no hope for the navigation weekend, but you never know... the lightbulb may one day go on.) 

Cosmiccragsman AKA Dwain wrote:
Actually, 1964/65. I am almost 65 now,

  I grew up in 29 Palms and lived right outside Indian Cove.
My Dad was a lifer Marine and he is the one that taught me the ropes.
I was scrambling in the rocks at Indian Cove and the rest of the Monument for 4, 5 years before that.

 I had to retire because of too many injuries. Most of all from burst discs in lower back resulting
in partially numb feet and toes and lots of pain. Add to that 2 bad shoulders, knee and a few other things.
I would just be a danger to myself and my partners to keep on climbing, not to mention slowing them down.

So glad you wrote!  Just putting this out there... I'll be in Joshua Tree/29 Palms late September for two or three weeks.  Might be an opportunity to just visit your old haunts, take some little walks, have breakfast in town, or even pull up a lawn chair and watch some climbing.  You never know how you might feel about it... it would be great to meet.   

Lori Milas wrote:

So glad you wrote!  Just putting this out there... I'll be in Joshua Tree/29 Palms late September for two or three weeks.  Might be an opportunity to just visit your old haunts, take some little walks, have breakfast in town, or even pull up a lawn chair and watch some climbing.  You never know how you might feel about it... it would be great to meet.   

That would be cool, I am near Jt/29 every month for a week or 2 with my window washing business in Apple Valley/ Victorville.
The rest of the time I am in Vegas operating my business there.

Shoot me a message @ cosmiccragsman@msn.com

Dwain, as you say, a 52-year run is pretty damn good.  And my observations about my friends is that, whatever their level of engagement, once a climber, always a climber.

Lori Milas wrote
Meanwhile, I'm watching the youngsters... I'm wondering what you veterans, rgold, JeffC, and others who have been around for awhile, think of this new bunch.  I have nothing to compare to, I wasn't there 'back in the day'... so all I can do is laugh and clap at their antics, admire their skill and athleticism, enjoy their playfulness.  They do seem to know who came before.  They do want to follow in some footsteps.  But they also march to a new drummer...    

Well of course they are, in general, far better than we ever thought possible---but that's the way it should be.  I try to pay close attention in the gym in the hope of learning some things from them.  They are operating in environments vastly different from the scenes of my youth, so marching to a different drummer is de rigeur.  But well beyond the differences in equipment, technique, styles, and what climbers insist on calling "ethics," I see myself as a youth in them.  I think that if I were just starting my journey in the current environment, I'd be embracing with enthusiasm most of what they're doing. 

I'm proud to have fought some fights whose outcome left challenges we really weren't up to for the generations to come, and hope they too will attain the perspective that they are simply passing through, but the hills endure, and some of what resides there properly belongs not to them, but to those who will come after and surpass them, even as they have surpassed us.

Tropical photo intermission

Nice day climbing near these tunnels 

Amazing day today at Donner. Not the climbing part...I just had no energy and climbed a few hours and called it quits. So instead we went sightseeing.  Chris knows I’ve been pining for the desert... he wanted to get me stoked about the Sierras.  Look what we found!  This is Star Wall and the route is Fathers Day... a 5.14.  Around the corner is a 5.8 crack and chimney for me. On another rock is 100 foot 5.6 crack with 5.10b and 11.c slabs adjacent.  The more we walked and talked the more that love feeling grew.   Magnificent. 

All I can not recall if it was in #6 or #5. Someone posted a reply about water bottles that can collapsed and carried on your harness,  As a recent throat C survivor a outcome was loss of all salvation glands which leads to dry mouth,  in many situations I need to keep water close hand and saw the information in the post but lost site of it,  if so,e could possibly send the info it would be greatly appreciated,