New and Experienced climbers over 50 #23

Old lady Hwrote:

I have no idea if or when I might get there, but I think I'll like the starkness of Joshua Tree. 

Best, Helen

My wife's comment about the Joshua trees. "The more they look  like a normal tree , the more peculiar they are".

C Miller wrote:

Helen - City of Rocks is just Joshua Tree with cows.

Buenos Aires (5.10a R), Lori?

That’s it!    

I finally took the plunge and had a trial morning out with Bob on Turtle Rock. This route was called Rehab, appropriately, and this pic was of a big step over to the left while holding onto a tiny sidepull.

Lori Milaswrote:

I finally took the plunge and had a trial morning out with Bob on Turtle Rock. This route was called Rehab, appropriately, and this pic was of a big step over to the left while holding onto a tiny sidepull.

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!

I shall eat a celebratory "pumpkin"/chocolate chip muffin in your honour!

Truly, happy for you. Shit gets hard sometimes. 

Tonight's dinner. A perk of living alone, lol!

I tried to post up a separate thread, but copy and pasting from this one to that one, was totally uncooperative. Been thinking about Frank Minunni.

Best, Helen 

Old lady Hwrote:

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!

I shall eat a celebratory "pumpkin"/chocolate chip muffin in your honour!

Truly, happy for you. Shit gets hard sometimes. 

Tonight's dinner. A perk of living alone, lol!

I tried to post up a separate thread, but copy and pasting from this one to that one, was totally uncooperative. Been thinking about Frank Minunni.

Best, Helen 

Me, too, Helen.  Any word? 

Lori Milaswrote:

Me, too, Helen.  Any word? 

No idea. We met, back a few years, chatted a bit, but that's all. I'll try to get a post up again, maybe.

H.

“ … thinking about Frank Minunni”

My recollection is that several months ago, in a previous iteration of this thread, Frank posted that he’d decided to stop treatment and to enter Hospice. He hasn’t posted since, which suggests, though I hope otherwise, that he may have passed away.

Alan Rubinwrote:

“ … thinking about Frank Minunni”

My recollection is that several months ago, in a previous iteration of this thread, Frank posted that he’d decided to stop treatment and to enter Hospice. He hasn’t posted since, which suggests, though I hope otherwise, that he may have passed away.

Yeah, maybe....maybe not. I popped up a thread.

To the rest of you?

You mean a lot to me, from the start when I was a new climber and new to MP, to everyone I've got to enjoy since. So, thanks!

Best, Helen

How common is shingles? I never really hear about it and have never heard of a vaccine. 

1 out of 3 people in the US get shingles in their lifetime. Rates have been increasing for younger people.

I can't get either Shingrix or flu vaccines because I had a bad bout with Guillain-Barre syndrome many years ago (paralyzed from the waist down for maybe a month, full recovery took close to a year). I got a case of shingles the day after my first covid shot (probably coincidental). Compared to what others have experienced, mine would have to be considered mild. Very unpleasant, but basically like a really bad case of poison ivy---itchy, not painful. And around my mid-section, nowhere near my eyes.

Carl Schneiderwrote:

How common is shingles? I never really hear about it and have never heard of a vaccine. 

Don't mess with shingles! At best, it's very uncomfortable. At worst, it can cause permanent damage.

I had it, and was very lucky that my doctor diagnosed it and got me on an antiviral within a few hours of its onset. My case was therefore thankfully mild, but it still kicked my butt for a couple of weeks. My sister-in-law got it in her eye and it permanently ruined her vision in that eye. My daughter got it when she was 30. So it's not just for old people.

If you've had chickenpox, the virus is in your body for life and you can get shingles at any time. You can get it again even if you've had it before.

The newer (Shingrix) vaccine has been shown to be pretty effective. Even if you get shingles, you will likely have a milder case if you've been vaccinated.

Here's more from the Mayo Clinic.

Oh man… This discussion is causing some real consternation on my part. As a small child I was not given any vaccines because I had such severe asthma and allergies and it was not considered safe. I tend not to get sick anyway but when hospital corridors were lining up with Covid patients on respirators I made an exception and got both vaccines and a booster. And now of course I’m left to wonder if six months of illness is a result of any of that. I truly doubt it. I’m just barely getting back on my feet right now and trying to decide how important the shingles vaccine is . I envy Tony and most of you here who can go get all the vaccines you want and maybe just get a sore arm from it.  Praying hard on this.——

Can we talk about slab for a minute? While climbing at turtle rock yesterday I just lost my mind again over parts of the route that were slab. Put me in front of a blank wall where you need good reading glasses just to find a divet  for a toe or some irregularity for a crimp and it is the most exciting and engaging kind of climbing I know of. I was precariously standing on the tiniest spot and the next actual hold was about 12 inches out of my reach—and nothing in between. I yelled down to Bob “I need to do a Dyno here!“ And Bob laughed and said this is not the place for Dyno!  You kind of have to be like a cat and very carefully and smoothly make that next move or you just slide off the whole wall. It takes such strength and control to move up steep slab.  And that was only a 5.9. 

What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the shoulder of Darrell Hensell or Bob or Kris Solem  as they’re climbing 5.12 slab. Like what in the world is that even like? That has to be the most difficult and engaging kind of Climbing there is.

Then again even watching the foot work of Alex Honnold on Freeblast is just mind blowing. There’s no rope!

It’s very frustrating that we can no longer insert pictures where we want them at least when using a cell phone. Oh well!

The nice thing about being elderly is you can climb whatever you want no one holds it against you. It honestly never occurred to me that I only climbed half of billabong. I really wasn’t interested in the top part of that route I just wanted to climb that beautiful face and that was a great experience! I don’t know what’s above that horizontal and I don’t really care – – I got what I wanted, a great lifetime memory.

Nelson, Zack and me were at the base of run for your life and Zack went on ahead to set up the top rope for me. It almost ruined the whole experience because once I watched him belly up Runaway I didn’t want run for your life anymore. 
“i’ll have what he’s having!“  

Lori good to see you got up and out!

Re: slab face climbing. Do you have clean, squeaky clean rubber on your tight fitting climbing shoes? It’s critical you know.
I know ya watch climbing videos, go watch “Moving over Stone”. Lynn Hill demonstrates how boots should stick. ( I’ll save the suspense) … after she cleans her boots, she sticks them to the stone and they stick- no hands.
Also slab climbing is really about balance as much as anything. In the example you gave- the edge is 12 inches away- do you try a 2-3 inch step up? When it’s friction time I find most folks reach to far or try to take a step that puts them out of balance.
Keep it up! 

Thank you, Guy.  "Trust the feet. Trust the feet."  

EDIT: Carl, I know it sounds like a cliché but if you don’t trust your feet you will falter and not commit on moves that seem kind of outrageous. Yesterday there was a short sequence on the last route I was on that I would not have tried had Bob not given me specific direction and at some point I just shrugged my shoulders and say OK, I’ll do it! And then do it and trust the feet! 

Lori Milaswrote:

Thank you, Guy.  "Trust the feet. Trust the feet."  

With all due respect I think that’s one of the silliest climbing statements. I say this only in reflection of my own experience. Every single time I’ve fallen on slab it’s because my feet have given way. So why would I trust them?
Good foot placement, and then NOT shuffling the feet, small ‘dancing’ foot movements and good balance are key.
I did some indoor bouldering on Sat as it was near 40 degrees (flashed a few Purple (rated as hard) problems, did some laps on some easier problems and had fun. Sunday I did some sports climbing, did a 21 and a 22 nicely and cleanly no probs. Tried a 23 and failed.

Carl Schneiderwrote:

With all due respect I think that’s one of the silliest climbing statements. I say this only in reflection of my own experience. Every single time I’ve fallen on slab it’s because my feet have given way. So why would I trust them?

Carl… I’m not familiar with the climbing down under so excuse my ignorance. Do you guys have big expansive slabs that are glacial polished? Water polished? In California we have it in spades. Climbing that stuff is a art. You really don’t trust your feet- you need to trust your whole body. Joshua tree has no real “friction slab” to speak of. Some small spots may be.
I find that one needs to develop the “correct posture” that enables one to stay in place - it is way more then trusting your feet. That’s what you tell noobs when they have a tiny edge to stand on. This posture keeps your boots gripping the stone, loose the proper posture and you slide, it’s quite possible to get the right posture back quickly and you stop - it’s quite unnerving really. This is a very hard to learn skill and it helps to have the right sort of stone to make you get it right. Maybe some day you could come to California and see for yourself. I think you would enjoy the experience.
Later all 

Guy Keeseewrote:

Carl… I’m not familiar with the climbing down under so excuse my ignorance. Do you guys have big expansive slabs that are glacial polished? Water polished? In California we have it in spades. Climbing that stuff is a art. You really don’t trust your feet- you need to trust your whole body. Joshua tree has no real “friction slab” to speak of. Some small spots may be.
I find that one needs to develop the “correct posture” that enables one to stay in place - it is way more then trusting your feet. That’s what you tell noobs when they have a tiny edge to stand on. This posture keeps your boots gripping the stone, loose the proper posture and you slide, it’s quite possible to get the right posture back quickly and you stop - it’s quite unnerving really. This is a very hard to learn skill and it helps to have the right sort of stone to make you get it right. Maybe some day you could come to California and see for yourself. I think you would enjoy the experience.
Later all 

I think my first overseas climbing destination will be Kalymnos. I don’t know America and it’s unfair of me to judge it by the news and TV shows etc but there’s not a lot that appeals to me other than the natural aspect.
I used to be shit at climbing slab but I’ve improved. Some of the slab I’ve climbed is smooth granite down by the sea. Other than that a little bit of water polished rock at Araps.
Give me overhanging roofs with jugs any day! My motto is ‘if you can cut your feet do it because it looks better in the photos!’   

Guy Keeseewrote:

Carl… I’m not familiar with the climbing down under so excuse my ignorance. Do you guys have big expansive slabs that are glacial polished? Water polished? In California we have it in spades. Climbing that stuff is a art. You really don’t trust your feet- you need to trust your whole body. Joshua tree has no real “friction slab” to speak of. Some small spots may be.
I find that one needs to develop the “correct posture” that enables one to stay in place - it is way more then trusting your feet. That’s what you tell noobs when they have a tiny edge to stand on. This posture keeps your boots gripping the stone, loose the proper posture and you slide, it’s quite possible to get the right posture back quickly and you stop - it’s quite unnerving really. This is a very hard to learn skill and it helps to have the right sort of stone to make you get it right. Maybe some day you could come to California and see for yourself. I think you would enjoy the experience.
Later all 

Carson talked about using your whole body like a four fingered hand. 

Crap weather here, so indoors on the Tension and Kilter Boards.  Ella is 11 and likes to make up her own problems.  Daddy is working on his shallow mono hangs.