New and Experienced Climbers Over 50 #12

jay steinke wrote:

Buck, thank you for your service. I served a gazillion years ago. I was in Germany. Artillery. Just curious, what’s your MOS. What do you do. Sounds like you are transferred alot. 

I'm a surgeon and have 24 years in the Army at this point (20 active duty, first four were Reserve).  We have moved 9 full times in the 20 years of active duty and deployed three times (1 Afghan in 2006 and twice to Iraq-2009 and then again in 2010).  

Still having a lot of fun but looking forward to getting out in 3 years and trying something different!

Where were you in Germany?

Talking about soldiering...  
And you're going to say "but, but... That's a SHIP!" and "What's that soldier doing with all those girl soldiers?" 

Buck Rogers wrote:

I'm a surgeon and have 24 years in the Army at this point (20 active duty, first four were Reserve).  We have moved 9 full times in the 20 years of active duty and deployed three times (1 Afghan in 2006 and twice to Iraq-2009 and then again in 2010).  

Still having a lot of fun but looking forward to getting out in 3 years and trying something different!

Where were you in Germany?

Thank you for your service, Buck. Are you able to climb in Germany?  What do you think you'll do when you get out?  Bucket List of things you've put off until now?  Will you go into private practice?  

Lori Milas wrote:

Thank you for your service, Buck. Are you able to climb in Germany?  What do you think you'll do when you get out?  Bucket List of things you've put off until now?  Will you go into private practice?  

Lots of great climbing in Germany.  Tons of 1-3 pitch trad climbing with the odd bolt here and there within one hour of me.  The Sandstone towers around here are crazy awesome.

I plan on working part time and climbing/hiking/traveling as much as possible when I get out in three years.  Not sure where I'll live at this point but should be based out of Vermont where my wife and I are from originally.

Writing here has spared my relationship with Tony, I believe.  If I couldn't share this amazing adventure here, he'd have to listen to it all day.    The pillow talk is already weird--Tony loves betting horses and always has, so he wants to tell me what happened with today's Exacta, how the horses did in past races, and how happy/bummed he is depending upon the outcome.  And to assure me these are $2 bets.  And I want to tell him about my latest rock or knot or hike.  All this takes time.

It was an amazing day out yesterday because I felt the beginnings of competence.  I used the Garmin! and the Earthmate!  I found Gunsmoke.  And we had an incredible windstorm!  
This Earthmate is kind of amazing.  My walk back to my car was maybe 10 yards different from the walk to... and it's that accurate.  It could practically pinpoint a bush.

It's an eerie thing I'm still getting used to, to walk into a desert area where there is not a soul, it's too quiet, and in every direction there are more enormous rocks. I feel the beginnings of panic.  I'm getting better at identifying trails, remembering general directions and waypoints and larger landmarks in the distance.   But I have no idea what I would do if I ever ran into a harmful person...

(Brandt, I do have a guidebook.)   Thank you Brandt and Randy for the low-down on Hunk Rock.  A good example of something that looks pretty cool from a distance, but your thoughts on it were more helpful. 

It would be fun to head over to Gunsmoke with a person who knows the route and could spot and/or coach me. I know in the Fall I can just watch the crowds and see how it's done.  But it was fun just playing on it alone.  The higher crevice looks like it has better holds, but I wouldn't want to take a spill from there.  

Early mornings have just been fun out alone while I'm trying to gain some skills so I won't be a helpless partner.  I'm taking this time (when the season is really over) to try to catch up a bit.  Hiking and scrambling, building anchors on various rock formations, rappelling, working on my traverse project (30 solid feet so far), now Gunsmoke.  And getting comfortable out alone, exploring.  This Earthmate is something I can set up on Tony's computer so he can see where I am.  And I thought yesterday it's time for me to start leaving notes on my dash.  
Aside from dragging wasteful plastic bottles around, what do you all do for hydration?  How do you carry your water?

Seems a good idea also to carry paper map and compass.  Does anyone have a preference and/or source for a JT map?

Who's climbing what out there?  What's everybody doing?  Any adventures coming up?

Buck Rogers wrote:

Lots of great climbing in Germany.  Tons of 1-3 pitch trad climbing with the odd bolt here and there within one hour of me.  The Sandstone towers around here are crazy awesome.

I plan on working part time and climbing/hiking/traveling as much as possible when I get out in three years.  Not sure where I'll live at this point but should be based out of Vermont where my wife and I are from originally.

Hey Buck. I hope you'll post pictures of your adventures in Germany.  Would love to see them!

Lori Milas wrote:

Hey Buck. I hope you'll post pictures of your adventures in Germany.  Would love to see them!

I've got tons.  I'll try to post just a few.

Sitting on top of the tower in the next photo belaying up my second.

Belaying my 11 year old daughter up a different tower.

First led the tower with the wind direction flag on it and then rapped down and walked over and led up to the top of this tower.

Buck Rogers wrote: All of my climbing partners are at least a decade younger than me.  They all climb much harder than I do (my top is 5.10-easy lead on sport and 5.8 on trad) but they are still willing to climb with me.  

Granted, none of them lead trad so that helps me find partners but they still go on sport with me as well.

But I love hanging out with them.  They make me stay, and feel, young and i love that!

 I wish my partners were only 10  years younger  than me. Last year I had a partner  40  years younger, its like  climbing with  the grand kid I never had.  I have been rope gunning a lot.  This years  partner  swings leads with me.(more   fun) Problem is I teach them all this stuff  then they ditch me for some hot young  chick.

Lori Milas wrote: 
Aside from dragging wasteful plastic bottles around, what do you all do for hydration?  How do you carry your water?

Camelbak.  https://www.camelbak.com  Get a big one, fill it with mostly ice and it'll be cool for long enough even in the hot desert.  Plus, the packs a re big enough to carry other stuff.  They also work well for some on long multipitch, but that's personal preference because they can get in the way.

Lori Milas wrote:
Who's climbing what out there?  What's everybody doing?  Any adventures coming up?

     For the last month I've been focusing on friction climbing, seeking out easy slab routes that I can lead, or slightly harder ones that I can top-rope. Annoyingly persistent dizzy spells have been an additional challenge to my natural lack of skill, but I have seen some slow improvement. Last week I lead one moderate but run-out route that required a bit of steady concentration, then from that anchor I attempted two other routes which were more difficult. Couldn't do either - the first one I pulled through the crux by grabbing a draw, and the second I just gave up on after many falls. Then two days later I went back, led a different easier (but still challenging) route, set up our TR and tried the same two harder routes. This time I was able to get the first route after skittering off a couple of times, and did the second one on my first try.  This whole process has been very satisfying and a lot of fun.

Today is unseasonably cool and I'll be going out this afternoon to another spot with three more good friction climbs. Slab Ho!

dragons wrote:

Buck, I'm a "she" but if you are ever in the area, just shoot me a PM and I will do my best to make it happen! Bill (my bf and main climbing partner) usually doesn't like climbing in a party of 3, but maybe he can be convinced.

It's funny, but after being here a few years and still not really getting beyond 5.7, I definitely started to take the routes that I can do for granted. Well, a little bit. But every time we get to the top of Beginner's, Cormier-Magness, Beginners Easy, etc., I think, "dang this is one of the best places to live for climbing". I just wish there was more of it.

Daniel Joder, you'd said:Yup, that applies to me. You also said:Yup, I also think that applies to me - there's enough of that out there to occupy the rest of my time on earth. I will keep thinking of a way to make this happen, although it might involve going it on my own, since my bf doesn't seem inclined that way. Logistically, it will not be easy, but perhaps there's a way to make it possible.

Problem is, as much as I love these local easy multipitches, I just lose my psyche going up Beginner's Easy for the 5th, 6th, 7th... time each season. I want to onsight something new, try something different - maybe something that's a little more of a challenge. The only way to do that in my area is to move up the grades. There are still some areas we can climb that take multi-hour hikes to get to, but I don't think either me or my partner are in shape for that right now.

Very interesting to hear people's perspective on getting better past 50. Almost 30 years ago I got terrible elbow tendinitis and had to take a couple years off of climbing. When I started climbing again I just loved getting out and not longer felt like I had to be improving to find climbing satisfying. I have essentially climbed the same grades since the mid-80's. Years ago I read Eric Horst's book on how to climb 5.12 and closed the back cover and laughed realizing that I was never going to prioritize climbing to that level. I have my little projects (known to others as "warm-ups") and I get a thrill when I finally send. 

I really resonate with Dragons' comment above about doing the same routes over again. I hardly ever go to Eldo any more because I have done every route that I can (that has reasonable pro) several times over the years. I am incredibly grateful for all of the sport climbing development that has happened around here over the last couple of decades; when I started climbing no one climbed in Clear Creek and now there are hundreds of nice routes. This gives me plenty of new routes to try.

I'm back climbing outdoors now after a couple of month long Coronabreak. June has been very busy, almost 40 pitches which may be a personal record! I've been trying to hit up more remote crags or climb at less popular times with mixed success. Getting back to climbing made me re-appreciate how much I love this game.

Buck!   Thank you for your service. I grew up a “Airforce Brat”  a long time ago! Those towers look fab, always been a dream of mine to go back and go Rockclimbing
Lori.... I’m happy you took the - unasked for advice with a good attitude. So you got 30 feet of a traverse down, great! And Gunsmoke is the place to meet people in JT and get strong.  
If “Jon the Birdman” is still living there he can do that one 101 ways!! He will Pass ya going both ways. It’s nice to have that around- use it
Brandt- Maybe talk to Kris about it, it’s all in your ears. He got cured. Slabs- Have you been to the climbing North of the hospital? Todd and crew did some climbs on some huge split boulders- one of those is a mid ten. The crux is just mounting the stone- 100% friction. It took me more then a few tries to “get it In the right gear”! There is a “walk the dike” climb next door. Good to see new- OLD- climbers chime in.
Old Trad - I hear ya about the “Grand Kids” feeling. Sometimes I don’t even know how young they really are. I took “Joe” into the bar at Piute Pallace.... in Bishop, they don’t check or look for ID. He looked at me after 2 drinks, while pigging down on prime rib and said “thanks for being the first person to take me to a bar” ...... I just told him- don’t tell your Dad. 

    Thanks for the advice, Guy. Would love to hear any suggestions Kris can offer. The vertigo started in January - since then I've had three different diagnoses and treatments. So far nothing seems to be the sure cure. I slowly got better for a couple of months but now I just seem to live with this low-level dizziness all the time. I keep hoping I'll wake up some morning and it will have magically disappeared!  
    Any routes I do this time of the year need to be fairly close to the car, since walking through the sun either coming or going to the crag is a major crux of any outing.

Brandt..... Kris had some sort of “stone” in his “ear”... effected his balance, big time. He was sent to a specialist who took him on a wild ride... spun him around, upside down, and got the stone to move. Getting old is hell, it’s not for the young.  Good luck 

Brandt Allen wrote:     Thanks for the advice, Guy. Would love to hear any suggestions Kris can offer. The vertigo started in January - since then I've had three different diagnoses and treatments. So far nothing seems to be the sure cure. I slowly got better for a couple of months but now I just seem to live with this low-level dizziness all the time. I keep hoping I'll wake up some morning and it will have magically disappeared!  
    Any routes I do this time of the year need to be fairly close to the car, since walking through the sun either coming or going to the crag is a major crux of any outing.

Hey Brandt... will you let me know if there’s anything I can do or bring to you?  Now that I’m this close I can be a good neighbor. I hope you get the vertigo thing resolved. Let me know if you need groceries or anything from town.   

It’s been a little breezy!    Yesterday as the wind picked up and things started banging up against the house Tony yelled “What the fuck was THAT?”  The neighbor’s trash can from two doors down flew onto our front yard. Apparently this is not the norm in Chicago.  Paint jobs are taking a beating. 

We have a rabbit issue now that is turning me from a bleeding heart liberal into a 2nd Amendment militant.  They’ve chewed through my peppers and squash. Tony wants to shoot em and make stew. Lady down the street begged the neighbors to treat them kindly. And I guess a virus is killing local rabbits  (but not mine. My rabbits are strong and hearty from all the food they STOLD).

I can’t say what a joy it is to have the time and liberty to finally go play, without putting anybody out or making anybody wait. Time on the rock...

Lori Milas wrote:

Hey Brandt... will you let me know if there’s anything I can do or bring to you?  Now that I’m this close I can be a good neighbor. 

Ditto on getting the issue worked out Brandt. That would suck.

I'm now curious as to where you're located now... close to Brandt... which direction?

It’s been a little breezy!    Yesterday as the wind picked up and things started banging up against the house Tony yelled “What the fuck was THAT?”  The neighbor’s trash can from two doors down flew onto our front yard. Apparently this is not the norm in Chicago.  Paint jobs are taking a beating. 

Devils winds. Pretty common. And they can be pretty horrendous.

We have a rabbit issue now that is turning me from a bleeding heart liberal into a 2nd Amendment militant.  They’ve chewed through my peppers and squash. Tony wants to shoot em and make stew. Lady down the street begged the neighbors to treat them kindly. And I guess a virus is killing local rabbits  (but not mine. My rabbits are strong and hearty from all the food they STOLD).

Give the rabbits a break and put in some chicken wire or something to protect your plants.
They're already dying off from the hemmorhagic rabbit fever, so they could probably use a friend.