New and Experienced climbers over 50 #21

Todd Berlier wrote:

i was tortured by your pics from that beautiful boulder you posted over the winter! was that new mexico or arizona?

Arizona, my friend who died of COVID’s secret area. At 8000 feet with a long four wheel drive road approach.  I’m going back in November to complete the two pitch 10c dihedral he was working on. Might do some bouldering too!

So this is how it’s done!? I was looking up fisticuffs on mountain project and this picture of John yablonsky really caught my eye. I would like to have met him. Is he still around?

I never had the opportunity to meet "Yabo" but by John Long's account he was a very bold and capable climber.  And fun guy to hang out with.
But Yabo was a tortured soul (my interpretation of the events) and eventually took his own life.  Another who left us way too young.  RIP.

S. Neoh wrote:

I never had the opportunity to meet "Yabo" but by John Long's account he was a very bold and capable climber.  And fun guy to hang out with.
But Yabo was a tortured soul (my interpretation of the events) and eventually took his own life.  Another who left us way too young.  RIP.

For some reason this brings to mind the debate we all had in college: Could you produce the poetry of Dylan Thomas without descending into a personal hell? Can you express yourself as an artist or athlete or a human being but stopping short of that razors edge. Well I would think that question was asked and answered decades ago for me but actually it is still alive. That desire to go right over the edge is still strong and then you have to engage that thing called common sense. I’m guessing many of you climbers still go right to that limit. There was another climber I saw in Kris’ book of the Needles Who died by suicide and for some reason it was devastating to read about.

Sadly a disturbingly significant number of climbers gave taken their own lives, including several of my friends. Each one leaves so many unanswered questions and ‘what if’s’.

But Yabo was definitely a very impressive climber. During my first visit to JT, my partner ( a very capable climber) and I failed on a route on either Old Woman or Intersection, an 11, if I recall correctly. Soon thereafter, probably after witnessing our abject failure, Bacher and Yabo both soloed the route, Yabo stopping mid-climb to take off his shirt. We were suitably humbled.

Alan Rubin wrote:

Bacher and Yabo both soloed the route, Yabo stopping mid-climb to take off his shirt. 

This brought a smile to my face, I can picture it.  Many of the people who post to this thread knew him well.  I only knew him the last year or so of his life.  He was very sweet to me whenever I saw him - beautiful man.

Alan Rubin wrote:

Sadly a disturbingly significant number of climbers gave taken their own lives, including several of my friends. Each one leaves so many unanswered questions and ‘what if’s’.

But Yabo was definitely a very impressive climber. During my first visit to JT, my partner ( a very capable climber) and I failed on a route on either Old Woman or Intersection, an 11, if I recall correctly. Soon thereafter, probably after witnessing our abject failure, Bacher and Yabo both soloed the route, Yabo stopping mid-climb to take off his shirt. We were suitably humbled.

And Yabo came ever so close to dying on that 11 by the way so don't make that a hero move.  It was a tortured soul that led to those heroics, not a visionary.  As much as I liked John I always felt bad with the way he was treated by our community.

Jan Mc wrote:

And Yabo came ever so close to dying on that 11 by the way so don't make that a hero move.  It was a tortured soul that led to those heroics, not a visionary.  As much as I liked John I always felt bad with the way he was treated by our community.

I want to be clear, I was not trying to make the double solo and shirt 'stunt' a "hero move", I was just describing something I witnessed, that, whatever the inner motivations of the practitioners,  was both an impressive 'performance' and definitely humbling for me. That was the only time I ever saw or interacted, however indirectly, with Yabo.

Personally, as a very cautious climber, I have have always been troubled by 'competitive soloing'. I recall a story by John Long, The Only Blasphemy, I think, about that JT soloing scene and how he almost came off following Bacher on a solo circuit. During roughly the same time period, there were several top climbers  doing 'group solos' in the Gunks. That activity ended after a similar close call.

Soloing is risky and challenging enough without adding in overt competitive pressures.

I got out to climb with Bob this morning on a new route.  It’s a challenge to climb on a wall full of tiny granules that act like ball bearings underfoot  and it definitely adds to the interest.  It’s a route where every tiny knob is critical… if one should break off it would be a whole different grade, so we climb “carefully”.    

I wanted to share a picture of my crop.  This is it.    

Meanwhile, our new electrician - general contractor has been a real blessing here at our house, and mentioned that he is building a greenhouse for himself at his house.  It will have double French doors, a swamp cooler for summer, heater for winter, perfect shade, and aisles so he can sit and read with his dogs.  

Oh, man.  What I could grow in that!  Maybe it's worth giving up a new kitchen for a real greenhouse.  Jan, how did your tomatoes do this year? 

Bob and Tony comparing surgical stories.  Really nice morning out climbing and this time Tony did not complain.  

Lori, tomatoes were kind of weird.  Fruited early and then many of my plants died.  I did get plenty of tomatoes and ate the last of my sauce today for lunch.  I am just starting to harvest these.

And I have a LOT of this, in various varieties.

I harvested and dried thyme and oregano last week and filled spice jars with each.  Need to harvest thyme again already.  I also have a ton of rosemary but only ever use it fresh.

Jan Mc wrote:

Lori, tomatoes were kind of weird.  Fruited early and then many of my plants died.  I did get plenty of tomatoes and ate the last of my sauce today for lunch.  I am just starting to harvest these.

And I have a LOT of this, in various varieties.

I harvested and dried thyme and oregano last week and filled spice jars with each.  Need to harvest thyme again already.  I also have a ton of rosemary but only ever use it fresh.

Is this basil, Jan?  Tony makes a mean pesto.  We use it by the bushelful.  Nice work on the garden!  I'm trying to make peace with just not having a garden, at least a vegetable garden, but having a greenhouse would be nice.  

WHERE'S CARL? 

Mark E Dixon wrote:

Everyone gets inspired in different ways.
But I would suggest you also find a way to make your training enjoyable. You are much more likely to continue if you actually have some reason you want to do it.
This could be finding a personal trainer you like chatting with as you rest, finding a place to train that is entertaining (eg watching other folks at the gym), listening to podcasts, doing high weight/low reps vs low weight/high reps…

Just have to find something that will keep you going back.
Consistency is vastly more important than anything else. 

Sorry, youngster crashing in here, but I do find that general topic super interesting, and I'd like to complement Mark's comment which is spot on I think. I'm late 30s, but I am already thinking at least a little about  what being active at all ages may look like and I came across a few person I found super inspiring. Maybe that can help Helen too find inspirations for training (and finding that rip 60/70 yo to train hard & crush with).

Meet Gene Dykes, the sub-3 hours 70 years old marathoner who's personal metric for long-term performance is to be "the oldest known finisher" of an event. He gives off a vibe of "I just love running", and seems to have found a genuine love for the process of training itself which is apparently serving him really well. I particularly like his approach to what performance means as he gets older, and fully intent on re-using that for myself in a few decades.

Or (the late) Ed Whitlock, the 85 yo who Gene Dykes apparently looks up to for his inspiration. Comes off more as a "I train to compete" kind of vibe, which I related less to (but to each their motivations).

And (perhaps more on topic) some random japanese 80yo crusher who started out in his 50s, including an honest conversation about motivation & performance.

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The one above I personally identify most with is Gene, as what he describes really fits what my relationship with running is. I trained for track & field BITD with a coach and a team, and I also train now for ultras & marathons. Today, I don't really follow a plan - I just do what feels good, when it feels good. And I probably never have been in as solid a shape now in my late 30s as I had been in my early 20s, even though I probably had a stronger body to work with back in university.... The consistence that comes from just doing things for the sake/love of them, as opposed to too rigid a plan that we do to "follow a plan", brings over the long run results that I find are really hard to match.

Random respite from the heat and humidity. Who's Who In Outer Space. a stunning line @ Lac Willoughby that is quite fickle. 

Welcome, Frank!  Nice post!  You can be a junior honorary member of the over-50 club if you like.  

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I wanted to update on my health/fitness journey.  I had no idea how intense this endeavor would be, nor how deep it would go.  It's definitely a peeling the onion kind of thing.  I share this only as topic of discussion for those interested in making this party (climbing) last a little longer--not because it matters my own personal stuff.  

I just knew I felt horrible, and was gaining and then losing weight rapidly, and almost hung over after any exercise.  It has really felt like curtains for me.  But I have a background in nutrition and 'functional medicine' as well as some allopathic experience so it seemed there was no choice but go deep.  

I started with the plastics, phthalates, parabens and other environmental endocrine disrupters, which were high in my body. (97th%).  I got rid of them ALL... even my prescription drug, and as of this week they are all 'undectable' by lab measurement.  There is not a phthalate in my body.    

I was also sent to a Gastroenterologist, had a CT scan of my pancreas, and got those results yesterday.  Everything imaged looked great which doesn't make sense.  The doctor was wondering if my pancreas had shrunk and disappeared altogether--it's all there, full size and looks fine.  The best news was 'no atherosclerotic calcification'  of major arteries.  So, where it comes to my specific problems, "EPI", we have to look somewhere else besides chronic pancreatitis.  We are currently exploring SIBO. 

However, along the way it was found that I have high levels of lead and cadmium in my system, particularly cadmium--one point shy of 'urgent'.  It turns out that heavy metal accumulation occurs even in organic food... sometimes more.  Arsenic and mercury are there as well.

I guess I'm curious, for those of us here, and for Tony... especially for me right now, as to the role accumulating toxic metals and chemicals plays in 'aging', feeling increasingly lousy, weak, feeble. Is it possible that a lot of aging is just an ongoing accumulation of junk in the body?   Tony spent 35 years breathing diesel fumes as his regular diet, with truckstop coffee and donuts.  It does not compute for him that he would now have so many problems, all attributed to 'aging'.  I understand that diesel gasses remain in the fat for decades.  

Anyway, short of submitting to chelation treatment... how to unload at least a percentage of heavy metals that I have acquired over a lifetime.  I feel like they may have tipped me over the breaking point.  The shocker was cadmium, which I never gave a thought to.  These toxins do not leave the body quickly or voluntarily.  They need a patient shove. 

So.... this will have been the summer of learning and healing for me.  Climbing season starts in just a few weeks!  

Lori Milas wrote:

Welcome, Frank!  Nice post!  You can be a junior honorary member of the over-50 club if you like.  

Thanks! I'll keep it until I'm legally able to trade it for full membership in 4489 days. I'll be closing on 3 decades (!) of climbing by then, so I'll apply for the experienced membership.

I just had to see what the fuss was about for welcome to Joshua tree. Couldn’t quite figure out what the warnings were for but now I’m guessing it’s a half hour hard scramble  just to get to the route. But it looks pretty cool and I would love to try to climb it. There are so many beautiful herbs and shrubs and the whole place smells wonderful.

So why is Bottle In Front of Me billed as an also-ran?It looks every bit as fun and could be its own destination. I’m really looking forward to coming up here and doing some climbing one day soon.  Besides I think this is one that’s on the Houser list!

Lori, I haven’t climbed either of these, but the comments on MP are explicit. Herb Laeger’s “Welcome To…..” routes are well known for their variety and pucker factor.  Read Richard Shore’s comment about how run out Welcome to Jtree is. Bottle in Front is described as bolted like a sport climb.