New and Experienced Climbers Over 50 #19

Jan Mcwrote:

While Bob is correct, if I was picking a place to solo easy routes, I would be in Red Rocks every day and not Josh.  I've done so much more climbing in Josh but I've probably done more feet of soloing in Red Rocks and there is a really good reason for that.  One place has more positive holds and it isn't Josh.

Only problem with Red Rocks is that some of that positive hold sandstone can break without warning. Not ideal soloing territory. But, then again, I gave up soloing for Lent a few years back and haven't looked back.

How’s everybody doing today?

I’ve been down for about a week now with a very painful knee that I was hoping would just go away on its own. I saw a doctor on Wednesday who told me I have a “lateral collateral ligament tear”. Never heard of it before but it hurts. The thing is I wasn’t doing some heroic dyno, I just over-torqued my knee a little on a high step and that was that. (I’m still not sure if it’s an actual tear or a strain).  Between a brace and a cane and ice and rest I’m getting around. 

Last night I received a call from my daughter, the one whose husband was in the motorcycle accident some months ago. He’s had multiple surgeries now and my daughter has had her hands full, but she had the opportunity to join the Fire Academy and train to be a fire person and she grabbed it.  She’s strong and she’s capable and she’s bullheaded but she got pretty overwhelmed with this first week. Each day they have to put on a 50 pound suit and they have 15 minutes worth of oxygen strapped on as they run up and down four flights of stairs, chop down doors and do rescues— mainly to practice not panicking when they run out of oxygen. She realized that her entire team was of younger extremely fit men with no families waiting at home for dinner.  After eight hours of training they have three hours every night of physical exercise, and she doesn’t want to be a quitter, but she was asking if this is really right for her.  I just let her sort it out with me on the phone.  

I couldn’t really compare our two experiences except to recognize that I would love to be able to keep up with young climbers or extremely experienced climbers and that will never be. We have to know who we are. We have to find joy and where we are at this minute.

All that aside I was thinking about my daughter’s love of the outdoors and her many climbs of Mount Shasta, her years of volunteer with Search and Rescue and I know she wants to find her place.  I’m wondering about working as a park ranger. At least here in Josh I know they have big jobs.  I’d love to see her blossom the way I know she can.

S. Neohwrote:

Wow, Shuteye Ridge has some sweet looking long 1-pitch routes.  Being a NE bum, I have never even heard of the place before now.

It has stuff like this also 

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/109474509/wing-feather

S. Neohwrote:

Wow, Shuteye Ridge has some sweet looking long 1-pitch routes.  Being a NE bum, I have never even heard of the place before now.

It's runout, scary, sandbagged, and there are no holds. 

Thank me later, I just cut down the crowds because they heard it on the interwebs.

Shuteye is an amazing place (sorry, Greg), but the approaches, both on the 'roads' and then on foot, were often quite daunting, and at times demoralizing, for a couple of us no longer young newcomers from 'away', without local guidance (now you can thank me, Greg).

Greg Oplandwrote:

It's runout, scary, sandbagged, and there are no holds. 

Thank me later, I just cut down the crowds because they heard it on the interwebs.

Wait, this sounds way too much like Lori's JT.  :) 

S. Neohwrote:

Wait, this sounds way too much like Lori's JT.  :) 

God, you have no idea how much worse it actually is...

Guy Keeseewrote:

It has stuff like this also 

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/109474509/wing-feather

Nice!!!

I am OK with longish approaches (if I do not get lost) but seeing that this place is at 8000+ ft elevation, I will need to acclimatize for 5 days at attitude first before attempting.
I once went on a mid length approach shortly after landing in CO and was shocked by how winded I got. The body, well at least mine, needs some time to adjust to the 6000+ ft increase in elevation over the span of 6 hr!

Edit: Wait, slinging chicken heads?  Hmm.  I might to reconsider.  Never attempted it before.  Slinging chockstones?  Check.  Tree roots?  Check.  Knobs?  No.  Not yet at least.  How large of a chicken head are we talking about?

Once chicken heads get to about the width of your thumb they are as good as a bolt.  Just remember to cinch the sling up on them or they might fall off when you need them the most.

Jan Mcwrote:

Once chicken heads get to about the width of your thumb they are as good as a bolt.  Just remember to cinch the sling up on them or they might fall off when you need them the most.

OK. Got it..  A bit thinner than what I would consider a worthwhile "thread" which I have slung before too.  

The most silly thing I have ever slung was the thickest stem of a bush growing out of the cliff face at The Gunks.  I was about 25 feet up first time on the climb, above bad landing, no gear in, and with about another 5 feet to go before the crack which I absolutely buried a pink Tricam into when I got to it. 

S. Neohwrote:

OK. Got it..  A bit thinner than what I would consider a worthwhile "thread" which I have slung before too.  

The most silly thing I have ever slung was the thickest stem of a bush growing out of the cliff face at The Gunks.  I was about 25 feet up first time on the climb, above bad landing, no gear in, and with about another 5 feet to go before the crack which I absolutely buried a pink Tricam into when I got to it. 

I had to laugh about slinging shrubs. Jean and I have done it more than once. I out weigh Jean by 50-60 pounds. I will sling a shrub and back it up with a cam and then rap off. If the shrub holds my weight, then Jean pulls the cam and then raps off.

I also remember doing a hanging belay on the Wasteland in Cochise Stronghold. It is a 6 pitch climb. When Jean saw the belay, she told me to give her the rest of the rack and just started to climb without organizing any of the gear for her pitch.

I found a nice photo on someones photo doing a belay on the Wasteland.

https://www.mountainproject.com/photo/120123424

We also did Moby Dick another 6 pitch climb at Cochise Stronghold. Here is a photo of a tied off chicken head. 

https://www.mountainproject.com/photo/107475663

John

S. Neohwrote:

OK. Got it..  A bit thinner than what I would consider a worthwhile "thread" which I have slung before too.  

The most silly thing I have ever slung was the thickest stem of a bush growing out of the cliff face at The Gunks.  I was about 25 feet up first time on the climb, above bad landing, no gear in, and with about another 5 feet to go before the crack which I absolutely buried a pink Tricam into when I got to it. 

My son and I built top rope anchors off of sagebrush, and anchored a top rope off his Tacoma once, too! SAR guys learn how to work with everything available. 

Of course, most of us don't have the military helo  dudes in our list of go to solutions.   

Lori, hope you heal up fast, or at the very least, heal faster than your patience runs out!

Too cold here for anything outside, yet, for me at least. I'm having fun working on house projects, for now, and have a little trip to PDX area in March. Don't expect to climb, though. That's sog season there!

But, my first jaunt to COR just got scheduled, for late May, no matter what the weather is doing. Got the bunkhouse, so that means it's doable as a trip, even if it's crap for climbing. Being inside for eating, sleeping, etc makes it a lot more doable, than being outside, trying to camp, in shitty weather. It truly sucks when it's so windy a jet boil... won't. I'm okay on the sleeping part, I have the CRV. But a huge fight to make coffee in the morning? That's getting serious, lol!

This trip is hosting a crew from MI! 5 from there, I think, plus myself and my climbing partner Paul, and only one of the MI bunch has been to COR before. That first time, is truly a fun thing to gift people!

It's also encouraging to start smelling the scent of climbing in the air, and watching the days get longer!

Best, Helen

Okay, it's elsewhere, but? 

Chickenheads have a different meaning for some of our climbers now.   

S. Neohwrote:

er attempted it before.  Slinging chockstones?  Check.  Tree roots?  Check.  Knobs?  No.  Not yet at least.  How large of a chicken head are we talking about?

Stop talking about chickens and chicken heads. (A joke for those who get it.)

The Shuteye (SoYo) area is killer.  And much more than Shutup Ridge itself.  And without intending it as a scare tactic, there are honestly routes in the area that do qualify as runout, scary, sandbagged, and without holds.  Oh wait, there are holds.  Sort of.

Wednesday is finally the big day for my first post-surgery foray back into climbing.  We'll see how that goes.

Awesome, Darrell.  Hope all goes well.  Navigating the dirt roads around Shuteye is a trial.  Don't go expecting to get anywhere quickly!  4x4 helps for some approaches.

Out climbing again this morning at 8AM, back to Thorn Buttress. The blackberries (hence the name) are ripe so it's nice plucking them from the bushes between climbs. Sesh was fuelled by a mocca pot coffee (2 sugars) and a 'Voost' energy tablet (74 mg caffeine and 60mg guarana extract as well as thiamin, magnesium and shit and stuff).  
Led 'October' (21) again, red point this time. Found new nice beta, more direct. 

Back to the same spot tomorrow, with a 0530 start.  I think I'll work the 23 (Japetus). Stick clip the first bolt but then try to go from bolt to bolt (or lead it of course!)

Old lady Hwrote:

My son and I built top rope anchors off of sagebrush, and anchored a top rope off his Tacoma once, too! SAR guys learn how to work with everything available. 

What the BLOODY hell is a 'Tacoma'? It's not a Mexican dish is it?  I can just imagine a TR setup on a burrito...

Carl Schneiderwrote:

What the BLOODY hell is a 'Tacoma'? It's not a Mexican dish is it?  I can just imagine a TR setup on a burrito...

LOL! It's a Toyota pickup like a Hilux.

Carl Schneiderwrote:

What the BLOODY hell is a 'Tacoma'?