New and Experienced climbers over 50 #23

Wendy, I am so sorry. 

Trying a grade 23 (5.11d) I reckon I can get this soon.

https://youtu.be/CKTL4yef6-4

Based on Randy’s stats about cats humans should not be allowed to roam free either

Carl Schneiderwrote:

Based on Randy’s stats about cats humans should not be allowed to roam free either

I believe the wilderness wants to keep humans inside too!

Had a good day at New Jack City yesterday with Larry Cote, an old friend that I met in the 80's but hadn't seen in many years. When we first got out of the car we were hit with a very cold blast of wind, but we found a sunny, protected area right near the car to do three routes. By that time it had warmed up a bit and was much nicer. We went to another area where I hadn't been in a few years. It's called the Cliffs of Insanity, but today I re-named it Cliffs of Stupidity, due to a couple of bonehead mistakes on my part. I took us up the wrong approach and ended up at a route that I mistook for one I had done a few times in the past. In my defense, it did resemble the start of the route I meant to do. Larry led on up, and kept saying that what I had told him about the climb didn't fit what he was seeing. All the time I kept thinking nothing was wrong. When I did it after him, it became clear that we were on a different route. We both felt it was hard 5.8 or easy 5.9, not the 5.7 I had told him. We finally figured out it was a route about 40 feet up and right of where I meant to be, and was rated 5.10+! We had climbed just left of the first couple of bolts; we guessed that right of the bolts would have been the 5.10+ moves. Anyway, it was quite a good route and seemed natural to follow the path we took, so in the end all went well.

Larry starting up Red Headed She Devil, the (so-called) 5.10+ I mistakenly took him to.

Yours truly enjoying a sunny day at the Cliffs of Insanity.

Brandt Allenwrote:

Had a good day at New Jack City yesterday with Larry Cote, an old friend that I met in the 80's but hadn't seen in many years. When we first got out of the car we were hit with a very cold blast of wind, but we found a sunny, protected area right near the car to do three routes. By that time it had warmed up a bit and was much nicer. so in the end all went well.

Good to hear!  Sorry I didn't join you but in the end, less standing around with a party of two than three.  I'm headed there tomorrow with Michael, going to explore those outer areas and see if I can even find those little crags. Record sun/shade aspects for future use.  I don't even care if I climb much I kind of just want a whole day outside with rocks around me.

Llaarrrryy!    A good dude for sure! Made an attempt on Mt. Robson with him one time. Up in the “Mouse Trap” a snow bridge partially collapsed under me! I was hanging on for dear life with one leg and one arm draped over what was left of the bridge. I remember Larry laughing  hard and saying “I got you if you fall in there- do you recall how to crevice rescue?” So I looked down down and you couldn’t see the bottom! That gave me the adrenaline to reset the tools and call up reserves and pull my ass up back onto the crumbling snow bridge. Then we continued our ascent… good times. Brandt good job with the sandbag!
Phylp Phylp… I know how you feel. I’ve been helping my Mother, who is 91, get her home together so she can move, for the last week. With the 2 weeks of rain before that it feels like I haven’t climbed in weeks, going to change that Saturday.
I hope everyone is well.
Later 

I got out for a few hours with Bob today. It feels dicey to be out at all and push some boundaries. Whatever took me out over the last six months has really rattled my confidence but the only way to find out is to do it, right?  We were at brownie Dome and half the fun is how tickled Bob gets over new routes.  

I walked in the front door and there was Tony making me a turkey pie. I feel bad because he still wants me to be OK and this is taking time. But turkey pie helps!

New Jack City. Spent a short day there a decade ago with a SoCal local during a stay in the Inland Empire while visiting our daughter in college. Some strange rock in that place!!! But it was fun climbing and warm, sunny climbing in mid-February is not something a New Englander  normally experiences!!!!

Brandt Allenwrote:

...When I did it after him, it became clear that we were on a different route. We both felt it was hard 5.8 or easy 5.9, not the 5.7 I had told him. We finally figured out it was a route about 40 feet up and right of where I meant to be, and was rated 5.10+! We had climbed just left of the first couple of bolts; we guessed that right of the bolts would have been the 5.10+ moves. Anyway, it was quite a good route and seemed natural to follow the path we took, so in the end all went well.

Brandt, that has happened to me more than once. 

Reminds me of a time in Owens River Gorge when Sarah started up what she thought was Orange Peel (5.10c), but was actually Chillin At The Grill (5.11c). I didn't disabuse her of her mistaken identification. She kept saying that this seemed hard for 10c! John Bachar happened along and was about to speak up, telling Sarah she was on the wrong climb. I motioned for him to not say anything, so as not to ruin Sarah's eventual on-sight. We only told her after she lowered off. 

Sometimes knowing the grade of a route can create a mental block limiting what our body is otherwise capable of doing.

Got up to the Happies yesterday. My body is too destroyed at this point to do much, still had a great time.

I’m still thinking about Nick’s cat.  That is one fat cat!

yay, Brandt, Mark, Carl and everyone who got out to climb.  Good for you! 

Randywrote:

She kept saying that this seemed hard for 10c! 

Yes this has happened to many of us at one time or another, so funny when you get away with it and find out later!  My husband kept saying "This seems hard for 5.8" when he was leading Mighty Crunchy (11a), on nuts and hexes back before cams, when he thought he was on Mojo Tooth (5.8). I was a brand new climber, I'm not sure I had ever caught a lead fall. Belaying with a sticht plate on a 2" webbing waist loop!  I somehow realized what he was on while he was up there.  Can't remember if I said anything or not.  I was so prepared for him to go flying.  What a relief he didn't!

Lol! Yeah, not knowing grades can be interesting! I'm just on a rope already anyway, so I usually just eyeball everything in range, see what looks interesting, and wander on up. If it's bolted and I want to record it, I'll stay in the bolt line, but there's probably more than a few "ticks" (that's my note taking go to) that say "more or less" in the comment, lol!

I do have one legit boulder tick though, that was harder than I should have been able to do. It might actually be the highest grade I've climbed clean. I just walked by this one side, said, "is that something? Looks interesting!" "Yes, go for it!" He did generally tell me where the problem went, I cruised it, and he told me after that he was very surprised I did so well, lol! I'm thinking it must have had stuff that favored dinky hands and feet. 

Cats, I've lived with about 14ish over the years, all pretty different from eacb other. The first, was so devoted to doing nothing but sleeping, I coukd dress him up and roll him around in the baby buggy, lol! The one my parents had when I left home, though, was a semi feral calico rescued from an abandoned cherry orchard. She was a superb huntress! Squirrels now and then, a bat, a mole, and I saw her make a blind jump over a 2 foot wall and nail a robin. 

All the other cats? Some "hunted" now and then, bug mostly it didn't amount to much. And, the few who did hunt were catching house mice, fine by me.

The interesting thing, though, is they have different "specialties". A very few are gifted, diligent generalists, like that calico, but most are stalkers, or aerialists. Even when playing. Some, like to leap for things, and others don't. 

One, enjoyed chasing himself in a mirror, if I got on the ground and zinged it around and around for him. Another loved rides around the yard in the wheelbarrow, as fast as I was willing to trundle her along.

Goofiness. 

My cat philisophy was outside in the daytime, inside at night, unless there's reason to change that. In the years when the red fox was on our side of the canal and started jumping the back fence, everyone got to be inside cats. But I built them an elaborate multistory thing they could access from 2 sides of the house, through 2 windows with cat doors.

As to climbing? I can't even remember what month it was when I last climbed. Surgery kinda bolloxed things up for a good stretch. Weather sucked balls this winter (it's going to be arctic again), and I've just not been stoked for the climbing gym, probably because I'm at least supposed to be trying for workouts in the gym gym. 

Best, Helen 

Hey Guy, Your name came up in the conversation yesterday (only in a good way of course.) Larry might join the City of Rocks get-together in June and we're hoping you could make it too.

A turkey pie Lori! Nice! My wife got given a Breville electric pie maker thingy from the 80s I think (but it's near new) it's cool.  

Some pics from climbing the other day on Australia day (Jan 26) and at the gym today. One of my climbing parters had a baby, she's coming back to climbing after a year off.

Mark Frumkinwrote:

Got up to the Happies yesterday. My body is too destroyed at this point to do much, still had a great time.

That's a weird landscape.

Randywrote:

Brandt, that has happened to me more than once. 

Reminds me of a time in Owens River Gorge when Sarah started up what she thought was Orange Peel (5.10c), but was actually Chillin At The Grill (5.11c). I didn't disabuse her of her mistaken identification. She kept saying that this seemed hard for 10c! John Bachar happened along and was about to speak up, telling Sarah she was on the wrong climb. I motioned for him to not say anything, so as not to ruin Sarah's eventual on-sight. We only told her after she lowered off. 

Sometimes knowing the grade of a route can create a mental block limiting what our body is otherwise capable of doing.

Great story Randy. And full of truth.   

Carl Schneiderwrote:

That's a weird landscape.

Thats a great pic of why the climbing in the western US is so good year round, 14,000' peaks with 10' of snow a few miles from perfectly warm and dry desert. Go ski in the morning, go climb in the afternoon.

That's exactly what I'm doing today. On my way to Mammoth in a few minutes & bouldering later today.

On the cat thing, I'm allergic to the little monsters & my eyes are swollen this morning.

 Anyone on Hwy 395 should stay out of my way.