New and Experienced Climbers Over 50 #11

djkyote wrote:

yes, everything in that photo is a thing : )

Oh boy. :) A new smartass (to this group)!  

Is it a CLIMEABLE thing?  (That spelling just looks wrong). 

Lori Milas wrote:

Oh boy. :) A new smartass (to this group)!  

Is it a CLIMEABLE thing?  (That spelling just looks wrong). 

Don't climb Joshua Trees, Lori. They break. 

Now I’m fully intrigued.  I didn’t realize I had climbed a few routes on this rock with Bob a few years ago. Alzheimer’s!!  MP shows a number of routes on the North Face but I’ll have to study it when I have my computer up tomorrow. Guide book is still packed away. It just jumped out and said hello when we were taking a drive this afternoon.  

This one looks worthy of driving back at an early hour and hiking up close.  I love that amphitheater.  The traverse probably not a good idea on TR. (?) But look at that smooth slab and crack... 

First of all, it's spelled "climbable."

Cap Rock has a number of good routes. Some of my favorites: Circus, a 5.2 thin crack that leads up to the right edge of the Cap; False Layback, 5.6, goes up quality rock in a corner; Catch a Falling Star, 5.8, a somewhat unique rising traverse to a short slab finish; Event Horizon, 5.10b, fun climbing to a difficult top-out; Slim Pickings, a great 5.10b crimpy face climb; The Ayatollah, the thin crack/seam in the middle of your photo, involves fierce 5.11 tips laybacking that I've never been able to pull off but would be willing to try again on TR. Finally, there is Dunce Cap, 5.13, which has seen very few ascents. I'd be happy to give you a belay on it.

Brandt Allen wrote: First of all, it's spelled "climbable."

Cap Rock has a number of good routes. Some of my favorites: Circus, a 5.2 thin crack that leads up to the right edge of the Cap; False Layback, 5.6, goes up quality rock in a corner; Catch a Falling Star, 5.8, a somewhat unique rising traverse to a short slab finish; Event Horizon, 5.10b, fun climbing to a difficult top-out; Slim Pickings, a great 5.10b crimpy face climb; The Ayatollah, the thin crack/seam in the middle of your photo, involves fierce 5.11 tips laybacking that I've never been able to pull off but would be willing to try again on TR. Finally, there is Dunce Cap, 5.13, which has seen very few ascents. I'd be happy to give you a belay on it.

Thank you, Brandt!  Wow, this feels good.  SO glad you are there (and some others)... summer is not lost, and we don't have to pack everything into the next week.  I've been worrying that we got here just in time to see everything shut down for the summer.  

I stared at that word for the longest time on my cell phone... climbable... I just couldn't see it!  Thank you.

I'm sure my eye went right to the Ayatollah, which is way out of my league, but could be in yours.  I'll swap belays!  Let's find a time to get out there and see what's happening at Cap Rock.  

djkyote wrote:

yes, everything in that photo is a thing : )

Is there a traverse on that? L to R looks cool... 

How tall is that anyway? Are there possible climbs on that face or slab on the L?
That's just begging for some carrot bolts at the top for a TR setup, and it looks like you can just walk up from the L.

I tried the 24 I'm trying on TR lately and got basically nowhere, maybe a move further with slightly more of a vague idea. My friend almost has it done, she'll get it next time, she makes it looks easy. 

Carl Schneider wrote:

Is there a traverse on that? L to R looks cool... 

Yes, it's called Horror-zontal Terror-verse.  : )   mountainproject.com/route/1…

Senor Arroz wrote:

How are you factoring "tall?"

The altitude at the summit is about 8,000 feet. Routes from top to bottom range from about 3 pitches to about 6 or 7. It's definitely a sea of granite when you're up there a few pitches. 

I wanted to know how long the routes are. Looks wonderful!

dragons wrote:

I wanted to know how long the routes are. Looks wonderful!

I think the longest I've done there is 6 or 7 pitches. We did the classic Fingertrip last weekend which is 4 pitches but the last pitch actually used my ENTIRE 70 meter rope. Things tend to wander a bit up there, too, at least at the level of what I can climb.

Here's a sample.

Brandt Allen wrote: First of all, it's spelled "climbable."

Well, to be honest,  people would be more likely to ask, "Does it go free?"  To which the answer would be, inevitably,  "It goes, boys".  Or being the extremely cool senior citizen that I am, I might ask Brandt, "Can I shred the gnar on that?"   I'm not sure what he would answer, but I can imagine the look I might get.  

phylp phylp wrote:

Well, to be honest,  people would be more likely to ask, "Does it go free?"  To which the answer would be, inevitably,  "It goes, boys".  Or being the extremely cool senior citizen that I am, I might ask Brandt, "Can I shred the gnar on that?"   I'm not sure what he would answer, but I can imagine the look I might get.  

Sheepishly... my question is STILL “Can it be top roped?” I’m a ways from shredding but you, Phylp, could no doubt shred this one.  :)

Since arriving here I’m coming to realize that I’ve walked into the midst of a crew of long-standing genuine friendships, and I’m feeling extraordinarily blessed and lucky to have been allowed in even a little.  It appears everybody knows everybody, has old stories to tell and shares a lot of love going way back.  I don’t know what I have to offer here except perhaps the wide-eyed joy of someone seeing things fresh for the very first time. 
We’re unpacking still here. The learning curve is STEEP. I don’t want to bring city ways to a rural desert... so I’m trying to be patient.  Tony is afraid I’ll let flies into the house. He has NO IDEA what I’ve just seen outside while attempting a garden. :)  It didn’t occur to me that carrying in many cubic yards of soil would bring out cockroaches, fire ants and other residents who are delighted. I don’t know who it’s ok to kill and who I leave alone.
But it’s a beautiful day... and the Park is RIGHT OVER THERE.  :) 
We have a fugitive outlaw in our midst.  He should stand forth now before I call him out. :)
EDIT: I know I drew a line at scorpions before even arriving here, but I’ve changed my mind: I’ll swap out cockroaches for scorpions any day. There are many here and they are gross.  

Phyl - If you asked me that with other people around, I would pretend that I didn't know you.

Lori - I would recommend putting some wire cages around those plants, or they may not last very long.

Brandt Allen wrote: 
Lori - I would recommend putting some wire cages around those plants, or they may not last very long.

LOTS of bunnies in the area. 

Might as well get used to bugs. They're pretty much everywhere. And we've had some odd swarms of bugs we'd never even seen before show up now and then. It happens. And the ant fight is an ongoing battle too. Play for keeps!

Edit to add: Just saw this, so avoid these vampires!
http://z1077fm.com/kissing-bugs-return-to-the-morongo-basin/?fbclid=IwAR2zEZQ9voo8v4kZahOtufQp4dGqeF4sQ_kZd58OWCdIaDhUVqsTDyYhR_Y

Lori Milas wrote:

Sheepishly... my question is STILL “Can it be top roped?” I’m a ways from shredding but you, Phylp, could no doubt shred this one.  :)

Since arriving here I’m coming to realize that I’ve walked into the midst of a crew of long-standing genuine friendships, and I’m feeling extraordinarily blessed and lucky to have been allowed in even a little.  It appears everybody knows everybody, has old stories to tell and shares a lot of love going way back.  I don’t know what I have to offer here except perhaps the wide-eyed joy of someone seeing things fresh for the very first time. 
We’re unpacking still here. The learning curve is STEEP. I don’t want to bring city ways to a rural desert... so I’m trying to be patient.  Tony is afraid I’ll let flies into the house. He has NO IDEA what I’ve just seen outside while attempting a garden. :)  It didn’t occur to me that carrying in many cubic yards of soil would bring out cockroaches, fire ants and other residents who are delighted. I don’t know who it’s ok to kill and who I leave alone.
But it’s a beautiful day... and the Park is RIGHT OVER THERE.  :) 
We have a fugitive outlaw in our midst.  He should stand forth now before I call him out. :)
EDIT: I know I drew a line at scorpions before even arriving here, but I’ve changed my mind: I’ll swap out cockroaches for scorpions any day. There are many here and they are gross.  

There are no Fugitive Outlaws here.

Lori Milas wrote:

Yes, it's called Horror-zontal Terror-verse.  : )   mountainproject.com/route/1…

Cool. I tried my grade 24 (5.12a) project again today. Slightly more progress. One more move, and the bottom few moves feel easier. 

Lori Milas wrote:

Sheepishly... my question is STILL “Can it be top roped?” I’m a ways from shredding but you, Phylp, could no doubt shred this one.  :)

Since arriving here I’m coming to realize that I’ve walked into the midst of a crew of long-standing genuine friendships, and I’m feeling extraordinarily blessed and lucky to have been allowed in even a little.  It appears everybody knows everybody, has old stories to tell and shares a lot of love going way back.  I don’t know what I have to offer here except perhaps the wide-eyed joy of someone seeing things fresh for the very first time. 
We’re unpacking still here. The learning curve is STEEP. I don’t want to bring city ways to a rural desert... so I’m trying to be patient.  Tony is afraid I’ll let flies into the house. He has NO IDEA what I’ve just seen outside while attempting a garden. :)  It didn’t occur to me that carrying in many cubic yards of soil would bring out cockroaches, fire ants and other residents who are delighted. I don’t know who it’s ok to kill and who I leave alone.
But it’s a beautiful day... and the Park is RIGHT OVER THERE.  :) 
We have a fugitive outlaw in our midst.  He should stand forth now before I call him out. :)
EDIT: I know I drew a line at scorpions before even arriving here, but I’ve changed my mind: I’ll swap out cockroaches for scorpions any day. There are many here and they are gross.  

Unless they're poisonous and in something where you will get bitten kill nothing that lives outside. If you don't want insects IN your house OR outside your HOUSE where CAN they live? 

Sometimes it amazes me that people kill spiders and destroy their webs outside and then complain about the flies... 

Carl Schneider wrote:

Unless they're poisonous and in something where you will get bitten kill nothing that lives outside. If you don't want insects IN your house OR outside your HOUSE where CAN they live? 

Sometimes it amazes me that people kill spiders and destroy their webs outside and then complain about the flies... 

Carl, Usually, I try not to kill anything. However, we've got wasps that want to build nests under the roof eaves over the deck where we walk to our front door, right above our heads. We wound up spraying with poison to remove them. I wish there were some way to get them to go elsewhere without killing them, and I really hate using poison, in particular. If anyone knows a better technique to prevent them from nesting there, please share.

Also, it's open season on black flies, mosquitoes, and ticks. If they get near me, they're fair game.

I try to never kill a spider, indoors or out. Just shoo them and they'll get out of your way really quick.

Carl Schneider wrote:

Unless they're poisonous and in something where you will get bitten kill nothing that lives outside. If you don't want insects IN your house OR outside your HOUSE where CAN they live? 

Sometimes it amazes me that people kill spiders and destroy their webs outside and then complain about the flies... 

I learned an important lesson in my peace/love hippie days.  In one of our first apartments I saw a cockroach cruise across the top of my sofa... and I decided to leave it alone.  The next day, several... but I figured I could live with a couple.  Before long, when I turned the lights on at night, literally hundreds of cockroaches would scurry everywhere--they were in beds, the bathroom... they had taken over and won.  I packed part of my stuff, grabbed my small daughter, and told my husband we were moving... that day... and I never went back.  I have not so far surrendered another home or garden to insects...  

Carl.. it is so helpful when you translate your grades to ones we (I) recognize.  I didn't know you were climbing in the 12's!  I know there are translation charts around, but I don't always do the math.  So do you have a regular partner?  

I'm still thinking about tranverses and wondering if there is any way to minimize damage in a fall.  I've taken some hard pendulum swings, bumped into some things... it didn't bother me a bit.  That traverse on Cap Rock does look a little dicey... 

Watching Honnold this week on Free Solo he said something that could be very helpful: he said he practiced scary moves over and over until he had them down and felt no fear.  I guess that's desensitization.  I think that's part of what I wanted here in Joshua Tree, to be able to climb repetitively things that provoke anxiety until it feels good, and then move on to the next thing.  I think that takes frequent exposure and honing of skills....  

   

Lori Milas wrote:

I don’t know who it’s ok to kill and who I leave alone.

You always kill fire ants.  When we lived in Florida the where quite the nuisance. Once I got them killed out of the yard I built a poison barrier around the edge to keep them out.  They migrate.

Once we found out that cockroaches eggs where attached to paper bags we got from the grocery store we finally got the invasion curbed.  We didn't keep the bags around long enough for them to hatch.  But for a couple of months we had Borax spread around the house.  

Don't you all know that cockroaches are edible and packed with protein? :) It's either that or soylent.