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New and Experienced Climbers Over 50 #14
Lori Milaswrote: Up here in McCall we're just shoveling snow----and skiing fresh powder in the trees! Almost 2 feet the last two days, and it's still snowing. Good to hear that Tony is doing OK.  |
Andrew Ricewrote: Crap. I’d have to create another t-shirt. “Shoot the Poodle”. Or “People Are Poodles Too” or “My Poodle is a 5.10b”. I would ask Carl for his poetic input but I can already guess his rendition would say “F$## the Poodle “ and I’d be thrown out of the Park. The Poodle tradition is ancient and deserves the deepest respect. |
Idaho Bobwrote: Wow!! Boise is just the very edge of this thing. No snow, but it's not very far north of us! I laughed when I realized why that little bit was shoveled off the roof. Lori? How about Poodle for President? Or, I Brake for Poodles? :-) |
Lori Milaswrote: "The poodle is poo"? I'm off climbing (just Top Roping) this evening after work. It's a lovely sunny 27 degrees (80 F) in little old Adelaide so it should be a nice evening for some clambering. We're just going to do laps of the 16 and 21 (5.8/9, 5.10d) that I use for training routes. PS, found the wife had put two cans of this in the fridge last night. I complained that i had only two cans for the night. They're 650Ml (22 Oz)  |
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Twice today I heard something like “If you want something, better do it now.” This really feels like a bucket list time of life. “We don’t know how much time we have left, so if there’s something you want to do, do it now.” That from Chris Sharma. That battle cry is just getting louder for me. This may not hold true for the 50-somethings here who are still mainly earning a living and raising their families and trying to squeeze in climbing. But for me, it’s time to crush some goals. There’s just so much I want to do. Sharma got his 5.15c by working on it for years. Maybe my peak ability will be a 5.10d (maybe!) but that would be an amazing achievement for me and it will take everything I’ve got. Part of the reason I’m thinking about this today is because I’m still here with Tony and aware of how precious and fleeting life is. While I’m nursing him through his recovery, I have received some phone calls asking me if I can take them on as clients in my business. My business has been almost over, almost entirely done... I expecited to permanently shut my doors in a month or two. With COVID it felt like the last nail in the coffin, no calls had come in for a year. Now, for some reasons, they are. A paycheck would be so nice. ”Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” So, big questions right now... am I willing to roll up my sleeves and become a part of my business again—even a tiny bit? Could I bear to work remotely, even a few hours a week... or do I need it to be over? Even if I didn’t personally work but had a few employees... would I feel the weight of responsibility while I’m out climbing? Is it freedom I want, and if so, can I have that freedom while still being tied to a business? This is not how I imagined ‘retirement’. Anyone else faced similar decisions?  |
Lori Milaswrote: I'm not remotely close to retired but I do run my own businesses. At times I get calls from clients when I'm on the fence. One of my strategies is just to name what seems like a ridiculous price for the services -- serious money that would make you not mind taking the gig because it's enough to offset any resulting brain damage. Much of the time the client says, "Oh, I can't afford that." and you get to go on about your life. Other times they say, "Oh, sure, that's fine." In which case you make a pile of money. |
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I WANT to retire, and almost could but I'd have to be on unemployment benefits until the pension kicks in a 65. But I'd be using too much of my superannuation to pay what we have left on the house. It's a crappy house but in a nice spot. Lori, I don't know how you climb but a 5.10d should be achievable on TR to most climbers within a few years of starting to climb. As you know, you need to choose the right route for you and work at it. In 2016 I was able to do Extra G (5.10d/grade 21) but was still falling on some attempts. Now I can do 22 laps of it. I was thinking the other day about 'trying hard'. One needs a reason to try hard, it's too easy not to. I was thinking I climb (and try hard) because I'm competitive, competing for my ego, battling against age, the odds, arrogant. But today, when trying a route I realised that SOME of the reason I try hard is because I HATE falling. I'm a real sook. Fear of falling makes my try harder to not fall. I've been thinking about mortality most of my life, life seems so tenuous. Afterlife by Arcade Fire sort of says it all... [EDIT] I can't resist linking to a couple of songs, the Arcade Fire song I referenced and another. Just move on up! https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=iN3KsbnQZxU&feature=share https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=z_Mu1RNG0fc&feature=share Today I did these: https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/australia/morialta/route/13542397 https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/australia/morialta/route/13542445 |
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I have had my paint business for 24 years and am old enough to retire but the phone keeps on ringing and it is hard to say no to money. But I have no employees and work by myself and can pick and choose what I want to do. I never had a real goal to be a rock jock or aspire to climb big things with big numbers I just wanted to have fun. Climbing 5.14 or whatever requires too much work. |
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I almost never get hung up on grades. For me its all about the line. climbing cool formations and cool features. Obviously the stronger climber that you are the easier and more achievable it is to get up those cool features. When I see a new cliff I am always hopeing that there is a stellar 5.7 right up the middle :) I will settle for anything 10 and under but damn is it nice when you find a 5 star 5.7 :) This thing was super cool!   Amazingly enough this spire is only 5.7  Ice climbing is the same it's all about the line. I am much more satisfied to lead s a stunning line up a mountain side at 4+ than I am to get up a 5+ in a quarry. Going here today.  |
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I agree with that, entirely, Nick. Some of my favorite climbs are beautiful, long moderates. For me it's a focused form of "vertical hiking." About the company, the natural beauty and the esthetics of the movement on rock. |
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Well said Nick! Same for me. My favorite climbs are long moderates - bonus points for topping out in a beautiful place. Plans are plans.... hilarious! Have a great day! |
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I agree with all of the last posts. What I was saying earlier was to lay the groundwork (before I let myself get knocked off my line) to say to beginners that have never played sports. This really meant for Lori & Helen So I'll get to the point. If you want to be the best you can be within reason you need to put yourself on a consistent lite workout program. It should be mostly stretching with some very easy strength training. It should be 6 days a week. It can be as little as 20 minutes or as long as you want with the off day for rest or climbing long moderate climbs. Almost all the workout programs I see will get you hurt, they are meant for young cutting edge people. Your strength training should slowly become more of your workout after your body slowly starts to react to the changes it will be going through. There are several people back in this thread that have said really good things for a beginner to think about Russ, Guy, Phyle, rgold, senor all good stuff. Start slow be consistent. Now, this is meant for everyone but really Helen & Lori. The next time you are in line (and I know this happens a lot to you guys) & Brad Pitt taps you on the shoulder to ask a question about the beautiful place you live in. When you turn and see him DON'T SAY OH MR. PITT YOU ARE SO TALENTED I LOVE YOUR WORK. He or any championship-level person's eyes will glaze over and they will look past you. If you turn & say Mr. Pitt, I want to thank you for all the hard work you put in to make it look so easy & natural I love your work. He will never forget you! & may even ask you to show him around. Sorry, this is written so poorly. |
Mark Frumkinwrote: My experience with celebrities (and I live at celebrity central) is that they're usually happy to talk about ANYTHING but their fame and celebrity. I had a classic interaction with Caitlyn Jenner recently at a local Starbucks about her beautiful young yellow lab and our shared love for labradors. I was actually on my way to go climbing when that encounter happened, too. |
Andrew Ricewrote: Nick, Senor, Erika, we're on the same wavelength. My favorite thing to do these days. One of the reasons I love climbing in Red Rock. I've just made my reservations for the Oasis RV resort (like my second home) for 12 days in March. If there's no rain, that's a great time of year for the long "sunny side" routes in Oak Creek and Juniper Canyon/Brownstone Wall. Senor, the "vertical hiking" - is that a quote from Peter Croft? I vaguely remember some article about him a long time ago where he was asked if soloing 5.10 felt like climbing to him. And he said something like, no, maybe more like some kind of crazy hiking. |
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Retirement; you must not retire, you must retire too something. While my career was fulfilling in many ways and provided for my family it was never my passion. My family being my greatest passion, interacting with mother nature a close second. And diversity; the spice of life. Ski mountain claims 9" of new snow but I am only shoveling about 4" off the roof of the RV. Barb is in FL visiting family, the airlines are starting to remove the social distancing policies they have been operating under, flights, airports, all very crowded. |
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Looking back, I realize that I mostly dropped out of aggressively pushing my limits (on trad leading) after about twenty years, went on at the level I had reached for another 20 years, and then started tamping down on the difficulty levels (of trad leading) in the third 20 year period. I'm now starting a fourth period, which has almost no chance of lasting another 20 years, one marked by gratitude for still being able to do what I can do and a deep appreciation for the esthetic and emotional content that climbing provides on routes both big and small. The take-away is that difficulty is intrinsic to climbing, but its not everything, or should I say it doesn't have to be everything... As for retirement, I loved being a professor; it was my main interest and passion, and kept it up until two years ago, when I was 75. I might have gone longer than that, but my job involved a commute that had three hours of driving per day, and that started to wear me down. At the same time, I saw, from the intimate perspective of hiring committees, so many talented young people searching for scarce jobs, and felt I was starting to take up tenure-track space that really should go to a younger person. And so I left the profession, though so far I've continued with its scholarly aspects. It turns out that I left just before the covid crisis hit, and I can't begin to say how glad I am not be teaching by zoom and not interacting with students and colleagues in person. If I hadn't retired at that point, I certainly would have once the realities of covid changed the game. |
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What an amazing group here and how lucky we are to have so many different stories, lives and paths to interact with. rgold thank you for writing what you have here. Phylp, Senor, Dallas, Carl and everyone.. it means a lot to me as I’m trying to figure out what it all means! I’m having trouble understanding my place as a relative beginner. For those of you who had plenty of climbing, plenty of victories and successes, and for whom all the ego and aggression is mostly behind you, perhaps you are on the other end of the spectrm. My world is just opening up. I have no ‘past’ to mourn, no ‘back in the day’ to reflect on. As shitty as I may ever be as a climber, it’s still mostly ahead of me. For a year. Or two. Maybe more. And I feel such desire to choose carefully... set some reasonable goals. But what a fun game this is! As though it was deadly serious and all this work and effort could ever be noteworthy. I am having tshirts made for my big events. I set up the shoe cam. I have to brag about it, and tell my kids. And those routes are ones they, or most of you, could probably do on Day 1. I have to admit to a little despair when Jeremy asked me what my climbing goals are this year, I mentioned Run For Your Life and he said “Oh, that’s wonderful! I’ve climbed that hundreds of times!” Wait! I want it to be special, a real achievement! ——- “If you want to die, do that. But if you want to live, get on with it.” ~ John Lennon While I’ve been focused on cardio fitness lately, I’ve been really thinking about my feet and edging. My big toes and toe joints are sore, and I’m about to talk to a PT about it. I want to focus on edging... on placing that big toe and toe joint exactly along those dime thin edges on harder routes. Thinking about this this morning on my hike, I realized, yea... it’s toes, toe strength, but also ankle strength... leg strength, ability to high step onto that toe, stay balanced. Lots to think about. Does every climbing area have the kind and quantity of edges that Joshua Tree has? Why don’t I hear more about this? |
phylp phylpwrote: No, not a quote because I've never heard Peter say that, but I wouldn't be surprised if he feels the same way. Though hiking for him would be totally hairball for me. |
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New post in fightingcanceragain.com |
