New and Experienced climbers over 50 ##24

I hope everyone is having fun at COR. 

I’m thinking about the climbs I did yesterday. They were vertical to slightly overhanging face climbs at (or around) Brownie Girl Dome. I had been preparing to try something entirely different so I didn’t know what I was in for at Brownie Girl.

It’s amazing to me  how just a slight shift in angle changes everything about how we climb. I use my legs and feet to get around on most rock.  This rock required more upper body, arms, forearms and fingers, pull strength .. “hips in”, hard crimps. By the end of 4 hours I just had no more strength or power.

Although watching Bob.. he somehow found hands-free rests even on dead vertical and overhanging rock. 

For you boulderers, my hat’s off.  For everyone else I suppose this is what you’ve been doing all along?  

(shoe cam did a shitty job on this one.)

Garden-wise… the squirrels have left my stuff alone and my sunflowers are now 4 feet tall. All 6 tomato plants have tomatoes.. I think it must have been the sex talk we had. Every flower was properly “vibrated”.    I don’t know if there will be a bumper crop but given the non-stop winds we’ve had I feel lucky to still have the plants in my yard.  Basil is growing good. I wish I could risk it and plant squash and pole beans.  I think I’ve pushed it far enough. 

I'd be very interested in knowing the names of the routes you did at Brownie Girl Dome. I spent some time there earlier this spring and don't remember any overhanging routes. Bob's new route, Brown Eyed Girl, was the highlight for me. I tried Hole in the Wall but couldn't get through the thin crux.

Brandt Allen wrote:

I'd be very interested in knowing the names of the routes you did at Brownie Girl Dome. I spent some time there earlier this spring and don't remember any overhanging routes. Bob's new route, Brown Eyed Girl, was the highlight for me. I tried Hole in the Wall but couldn't get through the thin crux.

Hi Brandt.  So this route was actually on New Jersey Dome, a little beyond Brownie Girl.  It was a variation of a route called Soccer Mommy (10b) which I believe Bob is posting on MP soon.    

M M wrote:

The City is much like Jtree but much better rock quality IMO. Two of my favorite places to climb.

I agree with your comments comparing COR and JTree, and those reasons are why COR is one of my favorite places to climb, but, JTree, despite it’s attractions, not as much ( too grainy and abrasive) though I have definitely done many good climbs there.

Lori - Ahha! Soccer Mom, yes it's pretty good I thought, despite a few spots of seemingly untrustworthy rock. We thought it was more like 10a.

Trying a boulder problem at the gym yesterday. Couldn’t finish it. I’ll go back today to see if I can get it done.
https://youtu.be/W7r-8h8Fz64

Jan Mc wrote:

A couple years ago, before my knees started going, I was routinely hiking 20 miles on a weekend and had an EKG.  My resting heart rate was 56.  Now it is around 64 because I am only good for about 10 miles a week hiking, and no climbing at all.

Mine is 56 to 58.  I time it for 30 seconds.  Not that long ago it was 52.

Carl Schneider wrote:

Trying a boulder problem at the gym yesterday. Couldn’t finish it. I’ll go back today to see if I can get it done.
https://youtu.be/W7r-8h8Fz64

Looks burly and techy at the same time.  Hope you send, Carl.
V4? Or 5? I can't really tell how steep it is.

S. Neoh wrote:

Looks burly and techy at the same time.  Hope you send, Carl.
V4? Or 5? I can't really tell how steep it is.

Yeah it’s burly. Steep? It’s a proper roof to the lip which is where I’m getting to. There’s a small pinchy rail at that point you need to match before you make a big move to a jug. The left hook beta really helps, one of my mates only showed me that at the end.
You can tell that with each try I was making progress on the beta.
It’s probs about a V3, but I often downgrade stuff.  I really like roof problems.  

S. Neoh wrote:

Looks burly and techy at the same time.  Hope you send, Carl.
V4? Or 5? I can't really tell how steep it is.

Got it today, the right toe hook at the lip was key (the move from the crimpy rail). The ending wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, almost slipped! And it’s quite high!
Also got the other two I couldn’t get yesterday (one of them another roof problem, I’m quite goodish at climbing roofs). Then I realised another problem I got yesterday was a grade harder than I thought it was. Some middle aged guy watching me said I made it look easy and that I had nice power and style and was ‘nice to watch’. Golly gosh   

Enjoying the discussions about life, gardening, climbing and health. I haven’t been climbing regularly in months for a lot of reasons, so my only humble brag is my resting HR. It was around 48 when I was bike racing in my 30’s. I think decades of aerobic conditioning, genetics, and yoga/meditation practice all contribute.

ErikaNW wrote:

Enjoying the discussions about life, gardening, climbing and health. I haven’t been climbing regularly in months for a lot of reasons, so my only humble brag is my resting HR. It was around 48 when I was bike racing in my 30’s. I think decades of aerobic conditioning, genetics, and yoga/meditation practice all contribute.

Hey Erika! We’ve really missed you around here! I see that you’re resting heart rate shows that you’re barely alive.  I hope you’ll fill us in on what you have been up to you when you feel like it.

I’ve been listening to a podcast called the Struggle. So today’s discussion was on ways to increase performance and get over that 13a hurdle.   But aside from the humor in that (for me)  I kept waiting for something more “inclusive”. The interviewer who was talking about climbing in your 20s, 30s, and like Chris Sharma at 42 – – OMG, climbing in your 40s.! a time or two he mentioned “50s” and I kept waiting for him to stretch himself and mention 60s. I guess 70s aren’t even in the realm of imagination.

And yet here we are.

Does anyone out there really know anything about aging? I think I have four books that take a stab at it. But I started climbing with so many wrongheaded ideas. At the age of 65 I joined the climbing gym and was under the impression that most of my native muscle was gone due to age, and that it was impossible to add anything to my frame. Well, during that couple of years I built a substantial upper body and shoulder and back muscles that were never there before.  I don’t think it was just about “recruitment“. I think I made new muscle.

In September, I will be 70. In terms of strength and endurance. I’ve never been stronger. Had I not been set back over the last year with whatever it was I think I would be that much stronger and surely have more endurance still. I keep thinking of rgold‘s description of himself today in which he just doesn’t push himself to do heavy workouts. I have no desire to go to the gym and do HIIT training either. I am OK with just doing what I’m doing.

Our little local bookstore called Hey There! must’ve been sold because it’s nothing like it was a few years ago, but at that time there was a section of books for almost every issue you could ever be offended by. I mean whatever you were a victim of, they had a book for you. So for sure, I would want a section for topropers, as we are not given the respect we deserve.   And then there should be a big section for age related offenses. I am offended by all of it and I want to be heard.

EDIT:  I did perk up, listening to the conversation about being the best climber you can be and the advice I liked was “stay in your lane“. His suggestion was that Chris Sharma climbs his best when he is in a place that he loves, on rock that he loves, in a style that he’s good at. He would not likely be putting up a new route in Patagonia. I think I know my lane at this point. What’s yours?

“I think I know my lane at this point. What’s yours?”

It seems that mine is the breakdown lane!!!

ErikaNW wrote:

 I think decades of aerobic conditioning, genetics, and yoga/meditation practice all contribute.

For me, add onto that wine, benedryl, crossward puzzles and lighthearted TV murder mysteries.  Yes, there is a type of murder mystery series which is paradoxically blood-pressure lowering.  I've been putting myself and those around me to sleep with Midsummer Murders for years, but I've recently gotten into Brokenwood Mysteries set in New Zealand. Also, listening to my husband talk about archery, but please don't tell him I said that.  I suspect he feels the same blood pressure/heart rate lowering effect from me talking about my climbing day.

phylp phylp wrote:

For me, add onto that wine, benedryl, crossward puzzles and lighthearted TV murder mysteries.  Yes, there is a type of murder mystery series which is paradoxically blood-pressure lowering.  I've been putting myself and those around me to sleep with Midsummer Murders for years, but I've recently gotten into Brokenwood Mysteries set in New Zealand. Also, listening to my husband talk about archery, but please don't tell him I said that.  I suspect he feels the same blood pressure/heart rate lowering effect from me talking about my climbing day.

Yes, Brokenwood is a good series.  Cool vintage car.

Alan Rubin wrote:

“I think I know my lane at this point. What’s yours?”

It seems that mine is the breakdown lane!!!

Oh, stop it, Alan!!
This - "climbs his best when he is in a place that he loves, on rock that he loves, in a style that he’s good at." - is so true.
For me, it is high-angle, featured, and not slick limestone, with looong routes.  New River style sandstone comes close too.  And, as always, frequent + solid pro does not hurt either! :) 

S. Neoh wrote:

Oh, stop it, Alan!!
This - "climbs his best when he is in a place that he loves, on rock that he loves, in a style that he’s good at." - is so true.
For me, it is high-angle, featured, and not slick limestone, with looong routes.  New River style sandstone comes close too.  And, as always, frequent + solid pro does not hurt either! :) 

Nice! I wonder if I’ve ever seen anything like that? Maybe you have a video/picture?

I keep thinking about the Struggle podcast I listened to this morning. His advice to young people was to get as much breadth as possible on every kind of rock and plastic. But as you get older, know yourself. Stay in your lane. Choose what brings you joy.  

There are a lot of places I would love to climb, and hopefully one day will. But I am still on a honeymoon here in Joshua Tree— there are so many kinds of rock in terms of slick, smooth, grainy, painful! And so many kinds of climbing from bouldering to slab to vertical juggy. Now, when I am out hiking and I find a route, maybe it’s not even a route yet but could be a route, I take pictures and start to daydream and try to decide if it’s something I might be able to climb… And then I get my heart set on it. Right now I think that’s the important part of climbing — have your heart in it.

Climbing the other day on a more vertical wall than I’m used to I was laughing to myself because I would never work this hard in a gym. I would quit before I had to do pull ups to failure. I would never work hard enough to get my heart rate to 180… I’d, make an excuse and go shopping. But once I have my heart set on getting to the top of route I have no problem doing the work.

Wordle in 3.  25 tomatoes.  

Dang, Lori! That back looks great! That's the one bit I'm thinking is (maybe) possible to get like that, lol! Maybe.

According to Fitbit, my resting hr is usually 72, 74, around in there, but that's just daytime, not asleep, and I tend to be wiggly even sitting still. So long as it actually pumps, it's good. 

When I went out to retirement places, one of the ladies had a sub 50 hr. But, her heart was failing, and she had to have a cannula and the air thing to do anything at all, even stand up or walk. The numbers for any of us, in this group, do not reflect our peer group for age out there. It doesn't have to be that way, but sadly, it is. I will say, in fairness, my doc knows I climb, and so my pt referral for arthritis was the sports med place at Boise State University. And when I asked the doc office if I should try to get the latest covid booster before my 5k race (with thousands of people), she said if I could be in a 5k, and was vaxed previously, covid should be no worry. I'm way less of an athlete than anyone on here.....yet.....compared to my age group.....here we are. 

Lori? One of your earliest "rants" on these threads was way way back, extolling (quite rightly) the Younger Next Year books. But yeah, there's not much out there. And a heckuva lot of assumptions about "old". I have a new friend (met at the competition I did) who is also turning 70. As of today, she is at around 14,000' on Denali, going back and forth to 13 something ferrying the food cache up. Part of her goal to do the seven summits by 70. Pretty lofty goal!

Wordle is usually in 4, for me, but I like to play with words. So, first word is whatever seems like it should be that day's word. I've used build, plant, many others. Today was climb. Then, word 2 is two other vowels, and try to place letters correctly, if I had more than one first word. That usually gives me something to work with, a little or a lot. Much of the time, it's in 4, 5 if I'm coming up with some fun word instead of the obvious one, lol! 

I also play the spelling bee, get about 10 or 15 words in, then pop up the hints thing, to see where I am at in real time. Get as far as I can, the use the actual hints for the last few. Get all, or close, then. 

Carl! Nice!! That looks thuggy, and fun! Nice setting, too. 

Best, Helen

Old lady H wrote:

Dang, Lori! That back looks great! That's the one bit I'm thinking is (maybe) possible to get like that, lol! Maybe.

According to Fitbit, my resting hr is usually 72, 74, around in there, but that's just daytime, not asleep, and I tend to be wiggly even sitting still. So long as it actually pumps, it's good. 

When I went out to retirement places, one of the ladies had a sub 50 hr. But, her heart was failing, and she had to have a cannula and the air thing to do anything at all, even stand up or walk. The numbers for any of us, in this group, do not reflect our peer group for age out there. It doesn't have to be that way, but sadly, it is. I will say, in fairness, my doc knows I climb, and so my pt referral for arthritis was the sports med place at Boise State University. And when I asked the doc office if I should try to get the latest covid booster before my 5k race (with thousands of people), she said if I could be in a 5k, and was vaxed previously, covid should be no worry. I'm way less of an athlete than anyone on here.....yet.....compared to my age group.....here we are. 

Lori? One of your earliest "rants" on these threads was way way back, extolling (quite rightly) the Younger Next Year books. But yeah, there's not much out there. And a heckuva lot of assumptions about "old". I have a new friend (met at the competition I did) who is also turning 70. As of today, she is at around 14,000' on Denali, going back and forth to 13 something ferrying the food cache up. Part of her goal to do the seven summits by 70. Pretty lofty goal!

Wordle is usually in 4, for me, but I like to play with words. So, first word is whatever seems like it should be that day's word. I've used build, plant, many others. Today was climb. Then, word 2 is two other vowels, and try to place letters correctly, if I had more than one first word. That usually gives me something to work with, a little or a lot. Much of the time, it's in 4, 5 if I'm coming up with some fun word instead of the obvious one, lol! 

I also play the spelling bee, get about 10 or 15 words in, then pop up the hints thing, to see where I am at in real time. Get as far as I can, the use the actual hints for the last few. Get all, or close, then. 

Carl! Nice!! That looks thuggy, and fun! Nice setting, too. 

Best, Helen

Helen, we think alike!  I do Wordle like you, whatever starting word sounds good, that’s where I begin.  Honestly it’s getting a little boring because as Wendy said, it’s 50/50 hit or miss.  Spelling Bee is another story. I peck around on that all day until I hit “Genius” (often with hints) then I’m done.  

“The back”.  Actually I hadn’t seen that picture and when Ryan showed it to me my first thought was ewwwww.  Gross. Like, WWF time. How did THAT happen?  But it did underscore that yes we can build muscles still.  That includes forearms which I never had before, but do now.  And finger tendons and elbows can also strengthen. It does not include toned skin, boobs or butt apparently.   

I mean for all the labs and measuring devices in those sport labs what are they measuring with all that stuff?  Not 70 year olds. Yay for your friend on Denali.  

For reading about the science of aging, I think Beth Bennett's SenescSense is about the best. Unfortunately, it's a little technical for me, at least without putting in more effort than I usually do.