New and Experienced Climbers Over 50 #10

ErikaNW wrote:

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105721822/leave-it-to-beaver-aka-the-beaver

Looks like 12a? Beautiful route. Will never be in my paygrade.

That looks BLOODY cool.  Too hard for me too, esp on trad.  Reminds me a little bit of 'Spurting Mildly' for some reason (grade 22 or 5.11a/5/11b) on Taipan Wall that I Top Roped about a year ago.

phylp phylp wrote: I wanted to contribute a video.  So I dove deep into my collection of two videos and selected this one.  It’s an outside video, at a place called The Grotto at Table Mountain in northern CA

Thanks for sharing the video phylp! You looked super confident on that, very nice!

I didn't get any footage at my gym today. There were too many people (esp kids - vacation week). But I got the pink 5.9 clean on the first go, the one that I fell off a couple of weeks ago. That was encouraging.

Lori, I don't have any kind of "bucket list" climbing goals such as "all I have to do is X, Y, and Z, and then I'll be done with climbing". For me, it's a progression. Usually, I have a "next" goal. After I finish my current goal, what can I do next? Indoors, my next goal is to lead; I've never done leading indoors, and I'd like to get onto more overhanging routes. But I have to get stronger first. Outdoors, I want to get more comfortable onsighting 5.6. This coming season, I'm hoping to lead Fun House and Upper Refuse. I'm pretty confident about Upper Refuse, since I've already climbed it (and led the 5.3 pitch). It's Fun House that concerns me. But it looks pretty cool (photo below is not mine, it's from the route page at MP)!

Other goals are vague, like, I want to do more long multipitch routes. That will not be easy, since I don't exactly have a huge travel budget! It's a work in progress.

Dwain, glad to hear that your condition is improving!!

Shawangunks calling

There was a time when all the fish, big fish & smaller ones, all swam in the same pond.
 This is from a few years ago
(& not me,  A few well-known faces: 1st; Scott Franklin, trying  "Cybernetic Wall.  
Next up; "Foops"  (Rich Gottlieb  w/ Paul Hubb! rip)
Then Al Diamond, Slapping for the opening hold on the beautiful white stone of the Sting.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing videos and pictures!  This is so cool!  Carl... yea your picture looks a little like the Beaver route... honestly, I have gone and watched that route many times, and STILL don't get its charm.  

I am having a chuckle this morning thinking about the below chimney.  I wanted to try it (Bat Crack 5.5)... it's the bottom half of a route I'd like to climb some day.  Chris Baumann (my partner that day) told me he HATES chimneys... so I thought what that meant was, he sucked at them.  Not the case!  This stinker took me close to 30 minutes to struggle up and I was an exhausted heap when I finished.  He was up and out in under 2 minutes.      Later he explained: "What I MEANT was, when I hate something, I move through it quickly."  

But when you emerge from this chimney, LOOK WHAT YOU GET TO CLIMB!!!     Now we're talking... (I still don't know whether the route I have been lusting after is Billabong or Shoveling-Cole. Will find out in a month!)

Here's what I mean when I say "what's next" -

Hana's "I'm done" is pretty much what I'd say after clipping the first two bolts    I would normally say that 7a (11+) is pretty much going to never be possible for me. Actually, Hana's hardest climbing prior to this is 10a-ish, which seems maybe within reach for me, at least for certain types of climbs. I've never led anything hard than a sport 8, yet.

But when I watch this video, I think "maybe one day". It does look like a ton of fun, and it's an inspiring (and funny) video!

I recently started recording a lot of my climbing to send to someone for feedback.  It is very cool to see what I am doing good/bad.  My generation Z climbing partner talked me into creating an Instagram account so I figured I can share it here:)

This is my only video so far(tension board bouldering) but I plan on doing more  https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ytR1KH-C-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 

I am glad you guys/gals restarted this thread.

Suburban Roadside wrote:

There was a time when all the fish, big fish & smaller ones, all swam in the same pond.
 This is from a few years ago 
(& not me,  A few well-known faces: 1st; Scott Franklin, trying  "Cybernetic Wall.  
Next up; "Foops"  (Rich Gottlieb  w/ Paul Hubb! rip)
Then Al Diamond, Slapping for the opening hold on the beautiful white stone of the Sting.

Wow! Does that bring back memories!

Lori Milas wrote:

Guy... this is a pic of me belaying Nelson on Leave It To Beaver on top rope while he worked out the beta.  (When I asked him if I could belay him on lead he said "HELL NO!"     I've made it my mission to be a good enough belayer that the next time I ask it will be a  'yes')  I see NOTHING here... not a single thing that would make it worth the pain and effort.  Explain to me please what it is about this route that makes everyone salivate.  I don't get it!  

It's hard, cool moves and great gear.  What more could you ask for?

frank minunni wrote:

It's hard, cool moves and great gear.  What more could you ask for?

Sidewalk. 

Lori Milas wrote:

Sidewalk. 

I'm more likely to hurt myself on a sidewalk.  My legs are so beaten up that walking to the climbs is harder and more painful than the climbing.

Lori Milas wrote:

Sidewalk. 

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!! You sure have a sense of HUMOR, Lori.
I like that

Cosmiccragsman AKA Dwain wrote: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!! You sure have a sense of HUMOR, Lori.
I like that

BTW... has the 'sidewalk' thing ever helped anyone climb better?  Partners will suggest "Just pretend that edge is sidewalk and STAND ON UP!"   That sounds great, in theory.  So far, it's NEVER felt like sidewalk.    

Lori Milas wrote:

BTW... has the 'sidewalk' thing ever helped anyone climb better?  Partners will suggest "Just pretend that edge is sidewalk and STAND ON UP!"   That sounds great, in theory.  So far, it's NEVER felt like sidewalk.   

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sidewalk+climbing+monty+python&&view=detail&mid=3F96B6FF63EC8B7E62BD3F96B6FF63EC8B7E62BD&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dsidewalk%2Bclimbing%2Bmonty%2Bpython%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sidewalk+climbing+monty+python&ru=%2fvideos%2fsearch%3fq%3dsidewalk%2bclimbing%2bmonty%2bpython%26FORM%3dHDRSC3&view=detail&mid=FBD0B15ABA8216AD91DCFBD0B15ABA8216AD91DC&&FORM=VDRVRV

 

Cosmiccragsman AKA Dwain wrote: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sidewalk+climbing+monty+python&&view=detail&mid=3F96B6FF63EC8B7E62BD3F96B6FF63EC8B7E62BD&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dsidewalk%2Bclimbing%2Bmonty%2Bpython%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sidewalk+climbing+monty+python&ru=%2fvideos%2fsearch%3fq%3dsidewalk%2bclimbing%2bmonty%2bpython%26FORM%3dHDRSC3&view=detail&mid=FBD0B15ABA8216AD91DCFBD0B15ABA8216AD91DC&&FORM=VDRVRV

I really needed this Dwain.  Oh gosh that's funny.  Still laughing... thank you so much!    

Nice day out with my out of town best friend! Lots of super fun stuff on this route. Yeah, top rope, but that's a gear one. Surprising variety of moves on this. Up at the anchors, last move was a big ass right foot high step....not yet, but I'm working on it!

Yeah, the crowds were brutal.

Gym has its grand opening tomorrow! I'll try to do the shoe cam thing some quiet morning for y'all, soon!

Best, Helen

Old lady H wrote:

Nice day out with my out of town best friend! Lots of super fun stuff on this route. Yeah, top rope, but that's a gear one. Surprising variety of moves on this. Up at the anchors, last move was a big ass right foot high step....not yet, but I'm working on it!

Yeah, the crowds were brutal.

Gym has its grand opening tomorrow! I'll try to do the shoe cam thing some quiet morning for y'all, soon!

Best, Helen

TRing is OK. I'm going to be doing a LOT of it. No leading for me for quite a while until
I know my newly fixed back can handle it. To tell you the truth, I would be happy TRing or following
from now on. Just being able to climb again  would be acceptable.

Cosmiccragsman AKA Dwain wrote: TRing is OK. I'm going to be doing a LOT of it. No leading for me for quite a while until
I know my newly fixed back can handle it. To tell you the truth, I would be happy TRing or following
from now on. Just being able to climb again  would be acceptable.

Hey, I'm excited for you! Take it easy while everything gets used to climbing again, eh? If you ever meander up my way, even I can lead a few things, here and there. City of Rocks has fun stuff, and is beautiful, too! I also have a rope guns out there I rely on.

Best wishes! Heal up well, sir! Helen

I feel like I've totally lost my mo-jo and it's worrying me.  I'm just putting one foot in front of the other these days, packing, tossing, hauling, and trying to manage my home/job.  I seem to have forgotten about climbing... it seems like distant memory.  And maybe it's the winter, which here as been unusually dry, but also dark.  

I added a Hanah product to my daily supplements, Shilajit, which is an ancient Ayurvedic herb for energy and endurance.  It's time to bring out the big guns.  Hanah is a new company, producing wildcrafted Ayurvedic herbs, and Jimmy Chin is one of its sponsors.  So, in his Bio Chin said: "The not-so-secret secret is that I continue to do something active every day, whether that is just sit ups, push ups and some yoga in my hotel room, or skiing one of the peaks in the Tetons when I am home. Mainly, for me, it’s about consistency. As I’ve heard so many times, it’s not about getting into shape, it’s about never getting out of shape."  So, there you go...

Lori Milas wrote: 
So, in his Bio Chin said: "The not-so-secret secret is that I continue to do something active every day, whether that is just sit ups, push ups and some yoga in my hotel room, or skiing one of the peaks in the Tetons when I am home. Mainly, for me, it’s about consistency. As I’ve heard so many times, it’s not about getting into shape, it’s about never getting out of shape."  So, there you go...

One of my friends refers to it as doing her 'movement hygiene' - I love this description. Just do something active every day - doesn't matter what it is. 

Lori - you will get your mojo back - you have a lot of major life changes going on - it is ok to turn your focus away from climbing for awhile, and likely necessary. My climbing enthusiasm is inversely proportional to my life/work stressors. Hang in there.

Personal updates: 

With our new gym (G1) opening last week, I've been making good use of their fitness area. I'm getting into the routine of doing 15-20 min of cardio every time I climb or lift, and making sure I get that focused strength workout 2 times a week (2x/week to build, 1x/week to maintain strength according to the current literature). I am not a huge fan of working out inside, and last week was the 1st time I've ever run on a treadmill - but it's way better than risking life and limb on the ice which is what I usually do, or I just don't get out.

Finger update - x-ray shows a couple of bone fragments, but they may be old injuries (all that clean living is catching up to me). Still suspecting either a LCL sprain/partial tear or even a tear in the joint capsule, or maybe those fragments are irritating the joint.  Not going to see an ortho doc yet, trying conservative care first. Working with a great certified hand therapist (OT) and she has built me some splints that are really helping to keep the swelling and pain down. That combined with tendon glides for range of motion, pen rolls and rice bucket for strength, and buddy taping for climbing (sticking to 5.7-5.8, but I up/down everything) seems to be working well. I know it is going to take a long time.

Also... Jim and I have registered for an April weekend retreat in Indian Creek with our friends Kevin and Laura Capp (they own Denver Mountain Guiding) to work on/learn crack climbing. It's a little splurge/treat to spend money on something like this. Super excited about that - 2020 is the year for focusing on crack as opposed to always climbing friction slab.

Old lady H wrote:

Hey, I'm excited for you! Take it easy while everything gets used to climbing again, eh? If you ever meander up my way, even I can lead a few things, here and there. City of Rocks has fun stuff, and is beautiful, too! I also have a rope guns out there I rely on.

Best wishes! Heal up well, sir! Helen

I LOVE CoR, Helen. I've climbed there many times over the years.
It's like a Mini JTree..
That sound cool Helen. I've had a few Invites to climb at CoR after I heal up and can climb again.
Maybe we can all get together as a group and Swarm CoR for a couple of days.

COSMetICs by COSMIC