New and Experienced climbers over 50 #23

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

Helen, yes the ice was bulletproof and very funky layers due to all the massive thaws..   Did anyone take the time to click on that bottom photo and see Peter Douchett dangeling from that little icicle up there on the Ragnarock buttress? if you have ever seen that wall for real you realize how crazy that was. when he gave up and lowered he was Way out in space...  that dagger is straight up above my left shoulder about 100ft but its actually behind me because it overhangs so much   I was just desperately trying to get to that desperate looking  (to me) ice up there on the right.

With him wearing orange, and the wall behind having lots of orange, it wasn't at all obvious that there was a person trying to climb that at the size the photo posted.

Todd Berlier wrote:

ok! storytime!

out of nowhere (we had been silently watching in awe as he hiked the route), doug shouts out, "You're gonna want to get that pocket with your left hand." 

dead silence as the onsight was essentially taken from him.

Thanks for sharing a great story!  I am willing to bet $1 Doug was getting back at Jibe for Just Do It.  What a great one tho.  
But come on, Jibe has a long list of .13a onsights. One fewer does not take away anything!  Besides, Euros crave F8a which is .13b so .13a does not really count! :)

Q+ is an awesome looking route. I have put in my share of belay duty down by the tree. LOL. My only regret is not seeing my friend John McL send it. Totally deserving.
WAY too hard for me.

Hank Caylorwrote:

My 1st shingles shot sucked bad.

I took my first Shingrix shot on Dec 26.  Basically nothing except 1 day of arm ache and a few days of itchiness around the site.
Should I ask for my 'money' back?

I did not have a work camera with me  The fact that Peter is such a tiny spot on that wall is what blew our minds.. that and being intimately familiar with what a crazy position he was in... 

Well, on the downside Rattlesnake Canyon was a complete bust for me. On the upside I got out of the house and gave it a go. I was expecting a well manicured “trail” with signs – – there was none of that. If I haven’t learned my lesson by now then I deserve to die. Even with the Garmin and EarthLink on my phone I can be hopelessly lost in minutes. So whatever is back there, I’m going to have to go with a friend.

Did you ever notice that the whole place looks spooky anyway? This is not warm gentle forest landscape – – this is eerie  looking rock landscape.  

This is all part of my 2023 healing journey. I have decided that every day I’m going to do something that I couldn’t do a few weeks ago. It doesn’t matter they’re big or small—It matters that I start demanding my life back.

Lori Milaswrote:

Well, on the downside Rattlesnake Canyon was a complete bust for me.

Surprised that I haven't seen any mention here on Mtn Project of the woman who died after slipping and falling and getting a head injury in Rattlesnake Canyon last weekend.  Probably because she was "just a hiker".

Meanwhile in my neck of the woods 2 hikers have died on after falling on Mt Baldy in the past 2 weeks.  I haven't been able to find too much info with technical details.  It looks like the second one fell 500-700 feet from Baldy Bowl, and I'm guessing she didn't have proper equipment (crampons, axe).  Amazingly people do go up there in winter snow conditions without proper gear, many of them just take trekking poles, or sometimes microspikes. 

phylp phylpwrote:

Surprised that I haven't seen any mention here on Mtn Project of the woman who died after slipping and falling and getting a head injury in Rattlesnake Canyon last weekend.  Probably because she was "just a hiker".

Meanwhile in my neck of the woods 2 hikers have died on after falling on Mt Baldy in the past 2 weeks.  I haven't been able to find too much info with technical details.  It looks like the second one fell 500-700 feet from Baldy Bowl, and I'm guessing she didn't have proper equipment (crampons, axe).  Amazingly people do go up there in winter snow conditions without proper gear, many of them just take trekking poles, or sometimes microspikes. 

A friend mentioned it when I got home.  I can see how it would be so easy to slip there.

I’m watching The Climb tonight with Sharma and Jason Mamoa.  It turns out it’s a competition of amateur climbers set in Mallorca.  Tony totally enthralled… I guess because it’s a competition?  I’m totally not interested, I’d rather watch Sharma climb any day.  My favorite Reel Rock episode was when a handsome magnificent Sharma goes up against a gawky Ondra on La Dura Dura. Ondra all giraffe-neck and funny hair.  But he blew everyone’s mind on that rock.  And he’s a handsome family man now. 

I stop tracking deaths in Angles Forest in the 1990s but up till then it was the deadliest mountain range in the continental U.S.

Lori, that's the way, push forward even if it's a little at a time. 

Both you & Helen, starting at our age & going for it no matter what the outcome is you are BADASS. 

Lori:  Good for you.  A little at a time - that's the way.  And yeah, J-Tree is a spooky place, and easy to get lost in.  Part of its charm, and why those little rocks "punch above their weight".

Nick:  Sorry to hear about the shoulder.  I can't recall, is this a long-term issue, or is this new?

Regarding the Shingles vaccine - both doses I had made me feverish and light-headed for a day.  Not fun.  But way better than the alternative.  A fellow climber who was a prolific poster here (he introduced me to climbing in Utah) - Andrew some of you may know him - got shingles on a trip to China a few years ago.  Totally effed him up, and he hasn't been the same since.  He was scheduled to get his first dose of the vaccine right when he got home.  

GO

Couple of items:

1) Watched the first 2 episodes of The Climb last night.  I was unimpressed.  The good part is the camera work is pretty good, giving a good idea of how steep is steep and a feel for the climbs and holds.  But there is way more bad than good.  

2) Shingles is no joke.  If you don't have the vaccine yet, get it NOW.  Do not wait.  Wife's vision is seriously f*cked forever due to shingles. She waited for months trying to get the Shingrix vaccine when it first came out and was hard to get, then got shingles before she could get the vaccine.

Tim Schafstallwrote:

 Wife's vision is seriously f*cked forever due to shingles.

Yeah, my husband's cornea was damaged by a shingles outbreak some years ago, before this new vaccine came available.  It's a really good product - well worth taking.

Tim Schafstallwrote:

Couple of items:

1) Watched the first 2 episodes of The Climb last night.  I was unimpressed.  The good part is the camera work is pretty good, giving a good idea of how steep is steep and a feel for the climbs and holds.  But there is way more bad than good.  

2) Shingles is no joke.  If you don't have the vaccine yet, get it NOW.  Do not wait.  Wife's vision is seriously f*cked forever due to shingles. She waited for months trying to get the Shingrix vaccine when it first came out and was hard to get, then got shingles before she could get the vaccine.

Oh man. I’m doing a lot of handwringing here. The last thing on my mind right now is going and getting more vaccines. I am so afraid to do another thing that could make me feel worse. Watching Tony in bed all day and on Norco‘s – – no thanks to that. I just wanna leave my body alone and I’m kind of frozen in terms of any treatment for what I have right now. Tony went and got his flu shot and his pneumonia shot and his shingles shot and his Covid vaccines.  I have feet of clay home till I feel a little better and even then not sure what’s best.

I know we’ve kind of mentioned this before and I assure you I do not like conspiracy theories but struggling with this chronic virus I am sure seeing the hidden masses who either had Covid or who fell ill immediately following their boosters. I am just surprised how many reasonable people eventually got a prescription for ivermectin and said it was the one thing that turned their life around and yet they cannot even spell the word in a public forum without having their post expunged. This is a lousy time for me to try to  sort this all out.

Every part of being unwell presents new challenges for me. I wish I had not left Kaiser because I had established  such a great relationship with my endocrinologist and so if I had a question it was a quick message or a phone call away. Now no one will talk to me unless I can make the drive to the facility which is an hour away. It’s a real rock and a hard place situation.

I did not like the HBO Climbing show. First of all I hate that Climbing is a competition sport at all. I hate that speed climbing ever came to be a thing. When I watch Chris Sharma climb I am aware of his life and his history, his spiritual practices and his passion for everything he climbs. Personally I would never step foot on a rock to beat someone’s speed record.

Lori, our views on climbing are worlds apart. For me climbing is a sport, not a religion. I enjoy watching people do it well, whether individually or competitively. I'm somewhat interested in their lives and history (Hey, that guy went to Tufts! These folks are Team ABC!), but not at all in their spiritual practices. And while I don't view speed climbing as climbing at all, I enjoy watching it for what it is as long as it's not coupled to the other disciplines.

As for vaccines, this seems to me to be a clear instance where YMMV. I don't recall having any reaction to my shingles shots. My most recent covid booster was painful enough to interfere with my sleep the first night. At this point, I expect to get some form or other of covid eventually and am just hoping it will be mild, as it has been for most vaccinated people i know.

Last year, I was planning on getting the shingles vaccine.....until they told me it may not be covered by health insurance, is NOT covered by Medicaid, and even if insurance covers it? It might cost $200. 

I can pay whatever for whatever, so it isn't being unable to pay, it's the outrageousness of it not being covered when everything I've ever heard says us old people especially should have the vaccine.

It's back on my to do list, but I will still really really resent me being able to do so.....and others not. 

Our system is sooooo unfair, in so many ways.

Paul had both fly and covid booster at the same time, and got sick. Me, the same, and barely a sore arm. Not much reaction to anything, for me. 

As to Ivermectin, or any other off label thing? Firstly, if you are convinced it will work, it probably will help you, at the very least as a placebo. So if there's no known side effects you'd be concerned with or downsides to consider, go for it. 

The one thing to always remember, is that all of the studies give information that applies to a broad base of people. How it will work for most people may not be how it works for you. Truly, YMMV. 

Best, Helen

Old lady Hwrote:

Last year, I was planning on getting the shingles vaccine.....until they told me it may not be covered by health insurance, is NOT covered by Medicaid, and even if insurance covers it? It might cost $200. 

I'm pretty sure that my wife and I got the shingles vaccine covered by Medicaid.

Victor Creazziwrote:

I'm pretty sure that my wife and I got the shingles vaccine covered by Medicaid.

It's supposed to be, now, in 2023. But that still means the most vulnerable out there may still be out in the cold. 

Hey! NPR at this moment is reviewing a book with rock climbing (gym) as an important piece of it! Fiction. Dunno title or author though, lol! But it's getting a good review. Sounds like a good character driven story. Title is Sam. Got that, anyway.

Best, Helen

shoulder is an ongoing issue but pulling the ropes wed really trashed it... 

I think Medicare part D may be how you get shingles shot coverage.

I can’t find the name of this route but probably Bob knows. I’m thinking it’s something something Argentina in the hall of horrors. 

Thinking  about Wendy’s response… I have gone to watch the kids compete at our local climbing gym and had a good time. I have heard Wendy mention watching various events and I could see where that would be pretty exciting.  Motivation for climbing probably comes in a rainbow of colors. This picture captures what I love about Joshua Tree and climbing here. It’s pretty pared back and it’s just such a simple merging with nature. I’ve never wanted an audience… I just appreciate having those moments to work on something inspirational.

I did go get the shingles vax this afternoon. It's covered now. I didn't even have a copay.

So far, it's just a sore shoulder, but we'll see how it goes.

I have no idea if or when I might get there, but I think I'll like the starkness of Joshua Tree. Idaho still has a lot of empty country with random interesting geology just scattered around.

Best, Helen