New and Experienced climbers over 50 ##24

Got it in 3 today. yesterday sucked. we were trying to take out 70 something friend for his first ever rock climb. isa slipped in a boulder field , caught her foot between two rocks and fell badly wrecking her knee. we did the self rescue thing.

 its seems pretty bad but as usual they can't tell much from the xrays..  sunset at the catholic church in newport after we rescued isa from the ER

  Red and Blue Bessie worked hard today

another killer sunset at the lake. 

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

Got it in 3 today. yesterday sucked. we were trying to take out 70 something friend for his first ever rock climb. isa slipped in a boulder field , caught her foot between two rocks and fell badly wrecking her knee. we did the self rescue thing.

 its seems pretty bad but as usual they can't tell much from the xrays..  sunset at the catholic church in newport after we rescued isa from the ER

Healing thoughts to Isa.

Lori Milaswrote:

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

Some select photos (none taken by me) from just a few of the many places that I get stoked over -
New River's Endless Wall - https://mountainproject.com/assets/photos/climb/111470719_large_1494363674.jpg - literally miles of cliffs
EPC - https://mountainproject.com/assets/photos/climb/118736606_large_1586199225.jpg - I hope to make it there soon
Kalymnos - https://mountainproject.com/assets/photos/climb/117868607_large_1570853402.jpg - heaven on Earth

Edit to add - https://gearjunkie.com/climbing/verdon-gorge-birth-of-sport-climbing-video - I am not worthy of its famous blue limestone!

Idaho Bobwrote:

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

I was wondering if the ‘cool vintage car’ was a Holden and it is!
This is my Holden Statesman I had years ago. You can’t see much of it as it was ‘decorated’ on my wedding night. It was cool. Had a 308, which by Australian standards was a big engine  

I’ve been having an argument with my wife about Wordle. I gave it a go and immediately hated it, one, because of all the fucking pop ups and, two, because of the element of luck, in that you may identify a valid word but it’s not the one they’re thinking of. So I told her it was stupid and she retorted that I was stupid. But she spends HOURS playing crap like Candy Crush, while I watch documentaries on the Cuban economy, how to restore fire extinguishers from the 30s, walking tours of Kalymnos (climbing reference to keep it honest) and other esoteric delights. 

Lori Milaswrote:

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.

Hi Lori! Nice muscles! It’s been a stressful year. Some good (major house remodel, work), some bad (family crisis that’s required me to be in Seattle a lot). I’m recovering from a (horse) riding accident. But I did get out to climb a couple times this week - gotta climb at least a little before COR - and felt pretty good, although I get super tired easily. Post-concussion stuff. Not leading anything yet, don’t quite trust my vision (I get some vertigo with eye movement). Probably too much information- sorry!

New addition - designed by fellow over 50 climber David Houston. Hope to be finished by end of July. 

Leonard - he didn’t mean to hurt me. We are rebuilding our trust but I’m not riding yet.

Yesterday in the South Platte with Jim, David Houston and his young friend Ruben. Felt good to get out for a bonafide long day. 

Carl Schneiderwrote:

I’ve been having an argument with my wife about Wordle. I gave it a go and immediately hated it, one, because of all the fucking pop ups and, two, because of the element of luck, in that you may identify a valid word but it’s not the one they’re thinking of. So I told her it was stupid and she retorted that I was stupid. But she spends HOURS playing crap like Candy Crush, while I watch documentaries on the Cuban economy, how to restore fire extinguishers from the 30s, walking tours of Kalymnos (climbing reference to keep it honest) and other esoteric delights. 

Has she hit you lately?  I like your wife SO MUCH.    She’s the perfect woman for you.

—-

I’m at one of those junctures where I need to stand back and see what’s behind me and consider whether what I’m currently doing all still works. A trusted advisor said “Time to pivot!”  IS IT?  I was so fresh from the deaths  of my mother, my best friend, and my son when I made the decision to move here – – I walked away from my business and my home and family and said “Time to go climbing!“ This number 70 coming up in September just feels huge.  I want to know that I am still here and still climbing for all the right reasons. Does anyone else feel the same?

So this morning the first thing I saw when I woke was this picture of Chris Sharma, and in the waking fog a key piece of my own climbing struggles just snapped into place. For all the talk about “hips to the wall“ I’ve never really gotten the hang of it. Chris here doesn’t just have his hips to the wall. He has an iron core strength from head to toe that can hold that posture. I don’t believe I own an abdominal muscle!    So I can make every effort to hold my hips to the wall, but my whole body just sags. I just couldn’t figure it out until now. 

This is probably nothing new to you, but it’s big news for me. As far as training goes, core training is about a lot more than just crunches, right? (Hopefully because I hate sit ups).  Maybe some of you here have some training suggestions for core strength. Now I totally understand what the holdup was on Dog Day Afternoon. If I can’t hold my body steady on an overhang then I can’t climb it. It was never gonna happen on pull strength alone. A lightbulb moment.

The other thing I so enjoy about Sharma is the joyful vibe he has, and how well he has chosen his life, including the spiritual. It’s  a good metric to go by – – joy.  it’s so easy to lose. But it also takes some discipline to keep one’s thoughts and heart elevated and stay aligned with your intentions.

Hope that isn’t too much woo woo. 

Yes Carl I’m with you. No longer a big Wordle fan.

Erika.., our posts crossed. So glad to see you and get an update.  I didn’t know you hadn’t ridden again yet. And I thought your fatigue was still the post COVID stuff. Oh gosh… I’m so sorry but knowing you, you’re smart, and you pace yourself so well, and you’ll have it all back in a little time.  Please don’t be a stranger. 

Erika, that's rough. Hope you're okay for COR.

Lori, I'm gonna do some planks for my core right now.   

I am an equine photographer and some of my clients think I am crazy for climbing but seriously i have way more friends with life threatening injuries from horses than i do from climbing... 

ErikaNWwrote:

Erika, so sorry to hear about your difficult year.  Yes, "life happens" to all of us but some years are just more difficult than others.  Post-concussive syndrome is no joke.  Take it easy!  Good idea to stay away from leading for a while.  

Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks at CoR.

Leaving for Maple Canyon Wednesday at zero dark 30… I have always liked “cobble” climbing. I love it when you look up and see hundreds of holds- but nothing is a hold! Except for that one little positive edge- that works- but only if your foot is over there and your hip is turned in.

I’m going to die! My hit list is short. But I’m inspired by OLH’s Trip Report of a certain 3 pitch 5.6…. I think I can pull it off, seriously.

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/107669530/tachycardia     This is the one- I think? 

Lori- the whole subject of “hips in”. Most who only climb granite don’t learn about it really. I never really learned how to do it when all I did was climb in California, for 15 years. But when sport climbing started and I went and climbed way overhanging stuff- with big jugs- I was blown away! Turns out that one needs to use your feet even more then when slab climbing. True! Your feet and legs (largest muscles in your body) move ya around to change the pressure on your fingers/hands. For me it was eye opening. Not much in the way of steep stuff in the Monument at all.

But heck you’ll be 70 soon! I was sitting with the Wife the other day, she was complaining that she was tired and sore… from all the Grandma  stuff she has been doing lately. I informed her that “that feeling is Old Age” … “nobody tells you it’s coming, if they did, you wouldn’t believe them”. ….

Erika- best of luck with recovery! Will be at City till the 11th … I hope to see a bunch of the peeps that inhabit this thread.

Carl- Keep on cranking! 

.

Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend.  Great weather here on the East Coast; warm but the humidity is still mercifully manageable.

OK, I'd bite; I contend that even tho Mr. Sharma the wizard does not have his hip to the wall in this pic, he is very likely in the most energy efficient pose given what he has to work with for feet and hands. If you were to draw a straight line from his forehead to his right toe, you will see that most of his upper body, torso and upper legs are nicely bisected by this imaginary straight line. He using his core strength to drive a majority of his body weight on to that all-important right foot/toe. If he is to then make a move to the right from here (which I do not think he is setting up to do), I'd bet he would pivot on his right toe and 'throw' his right hip to the wall in order to make the reach right efficiently.

Altho very few things are absolute in climbing, getting your hip to the wall/rock is good advice most of the time. I know I did a bunch of that Sat and today while climbing fairly steep stuff. Men generally have less hip flexibility than women so the advice is even more approriate for men.

For me, the best core strength training is with steep bouldering and making a point not to cut the feet anywhere. About half the time it might be more energy efficient to jump or pop to a better hold and let one's feet cut but one just gave up one's chance to work the core by keeping at least three points of contact. There are now "systems" wall for targeted core training. I know Ward does a bunch of it. So it must work!! :)

S. Neohwrote:

Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend.  Great weather here on the East Coast; warm but the humidity is still mercifully manageable.

OK, I'd bite; I contend that even tho Mr. Sharma the wizard does not have his hip to the wall in this pic, he is very likely in the most energy efficient pose given what he has to work with for feet and hands. If you were to draw a straight line from his forehead to his right toe, you will see that most of his upper body, torso and upper legs are nicely bisected by this imaginary straight line. He using his core strength to drive a majority of his body weight on to that all-important right foot/toe. If he is to then make a move to the right from here (which I do not think he is setting up to do), I'd bet he would pivot on his right toe and 'throw' his right hip to the wall in order to make the reach right efficiently.

Altho very few things are absolute in climbing, getting your hip to the wall/rock is good advice most of the time. I know I did a bunch of that Sat and today while climbing fairly steep stuff. Men generally have less hip flexibility than women so the advice is even more approriate for men.

For me, the best core strength training is with steep bouldering and making a point not to cut the feet anywhere. About half the time it might be more energy efficient to jump or pop to a better hold and let one's feet cut but one just gave up one's chance to work the core by keeping at least three points of contact. There are now "systems" wall for targeted core training. I know Ward does a bunch of it. So it must work!! :)

Wait just a gosh darn minute!  If this isn’t hips to the wall then what is?  I mean relative to what I’d be doing if I were on that wall which is fold in the middle and slide into oblivion. But I think your analysis is right about what he’s doing there. I know we’ll get to see this 15c Sleeping Lion FA one day soon.  

My challenge is to dumb it down to apply to my 5.10 routes.  Come to think of it this is probably why I was so miserable on Double Cross 5.7.  I couldn’t hold myself in on the slightest overhang. 

I took a different hike this morning out to visit Headstone.  It’s been a few years since I climbed SW Corner but what a thrill that was. I couldn’t remember the whole approach so I just hunkered down halfway and enjoyed watching the climbing 

Popcorn and Amadeus this afternoon.  I know I’m pushing my luck here.   

edit: I want to do this. We can agree hips can’t get much closer? 

Guy Keeseewrote:

Leaving for Maple Canyon Wednesday at zero dark 30… I have always liked “cobble” climbing. I love it when you look up and see hundreds of holds- but nothing is a hold! Except for that one little positive edge- that works- but only if your foot is over there and your hip is turned in.

I’m going to die! My hit list is short. But I’m inspired by OLH’s Trip Report of a certain 3 pitch 5.6…. I think I can pull it off, seriously.

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/107669530/tachycardia     This is the one- I think? 

Guy

Tachycardia is a blast. It has only one hard move on it. I believe the start of the 3rd pitch. You go out left and then you will a encounter immediate exposure below you. It is similar to climbing at the Gunks.

Another one you should do is also a 3 pitch climb is The Great Chasm. Bring a lot of draws for the 1st pitch or skip bolts. When Jean and I did it we used the full 60 to get to the ledge. I believe that they did move the belay to make it easier now. The 2nd pitch is a walk 30 feet across the ledge. The money pitch is the 3rd pitch. It is like climbing a ladder. So much fun. 

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105914358/the-great-chasm

Both of these routes has a great view of the canyon below.

When we did Tachycardia years ago, we could not find the rap station. They since have put up a new one that is easier to locate. Jean down climbed and clipped the bolts to the 2 station. I then down climbed and pulled out the quick draws. From the 2nd station we rapped down into the gulley on the left. Short walk around the front to the start.

If you have never been there before and you want to climb 5.6-5.8s, I would recommend hitting the Schoolroom, Road Kill Wall and the Engagement Alcove areas. The Schoolroom and Road Kill Wall are to the right of the Pit Toilet parking area. All of those climbs are fairly short and very close together. You can bang a lot of climbs in a short amount of time. The Engagement Alcove is across the road to the left. These climbs are 50-100 feet.

If you need additional info contact me.

John

Edit: Jean reminder me that we also did 3 climbs on the Pipeline years ago when we were in good shape. The Angry Inch 11b, Dyna Bone 10b and Liquid Zipper 10d. The Angry Inch had big holds and is very overhanging. At that time we were climbing a lot at the Gunks so we were used to climbing overhangs. 

Lori Milaswrote:

Has she hit you lately?  I like your wife SO MUCH.    She’s the perfect woman for you

No, but she often tells me to stop being a poofter when I complain about things like the cold, or how I’m too fat or I can’t decide what to wear climbing. 

Oldtrad…. Much thanks for the hit-list.

I hope we get stellar weather

We saw the Jimmy Chin movie Wild Life this evening, about Doug and Kris Tompkins and their incredible conservation work in Patagonia. I  very much recommend it. Had two good climbing days this weekend in the beautiful weather that Soon mentioned in his post. Looks like summer is on the way though, with hotter and more humid weather by the end of the week.

Guy Keeseewrote:

Oldtrad…. Much thanks for the hit-list.

I hope we get stellar weather

Guy, there is some easy climb in the City, maybe 3 or 4 pitches, slabby, fun... We did it on some fucked up simo thing a while back.  Susan lead the whole thing in one push with like 35 draws, no stopping till the top.  Me and Greg Opland were following on the same cord as she was leading on, but we sorta screwed it up... we were tied in about 40 feet apart, but pretty much climbed side by side for the entire 3 pitches.  Not the best system, we realize.  The route was Big something...  Big Time?  Big...  I'll try to find it.  It was really good though.

Edit:  It is at Castle Rock, mountainproject.com/route/1…

there is s a nice long 5.6 on Jacksons thumb at COR and another one on this feature but they call it an 8 . Both heavily bolted spurt

now i am not sure what Jacksons thumb is but it  must be in this photo? we did an easy slab 

with a 5.8 finish

up the right side of the dome in the center. then did a single pitch 7 right near the base of the rappel route? then we hiked along the base of the dome climbers left and around the corner to Jacksons thumb and climbed another long bolted route, Theater Of Shadows? that felt sixish?

  i think it was pretty close to 1500 ft of climbing that day?

Theatre of Shadows was really fun - I thought the climbing was better/more consistent than Tachycardia which is mostly 5.3 with a couple 5.8 moves. Jim and I had a fun day last year where we simulclimbed both of those routes for some enjoyable mileage. Too Much Fun is a fantastic 5.8 jug haul that’s super long. Big Time (5.7?) is fun too - I climbed that with Dallas and Barb on my first trip to the City.  So many great moderates there. Have fun!!!!

Edit to add: Nick - just looked at your photos more closely and yes- those routes are Tachycardia and Theatre of Shadows. We did a similar day with the exception of the single pitch by the rap route, so you beat us on mileage! Great views and a nice hike up there.