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New and Experienced Climbers Over 50 #26
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Maybe it's the shortening days; but, this thread lately seems like a "stream of [un]conscientious..." Keeping with that theme (and Nick's great photos...):
 Some sort of Meadowsweet (Steeplebush???) that's had a rough season. That plant was under 4 ft of torrential flood water back in July... I think it's praying for the first hard frost.  Scout's new cousin...  Doug-ah, Moi, and Phreddy; back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. (The problem with "fashion" is, that there's always photos of yourself being "fashionable..."  Scout and his "uptown girl" going "woodchuck..."  Scout and his "cougar" being domestic...  Hours before the first killing frost.... The foothills of Mount Tom (Woodstock's version of Japan's Mount Fuji) are in the left of the photo. (On any holiday weekend: it's a "conga-line to the summit...") ed "after fall comes the winter..." e ps.Switching from Daylight Saving to Standard Time sucks. pps. Helen- Can "meetup site" and "bowling" actually co-exist in the same universe? Almost seems like a "matter" and "anti-matter" thing... (Whatever, good luck...) |
 Lori, Yes the desert is beautiful! Especially when it’s been rainy for a week in idatucky! |
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Ed, I think of this thread as being that virtual campfire – – that place where climbers share their “life after 50“. And a total surprise to me that climbers from all over the world have checked in, sometimes daily, and sometimes occasionally with what’s going on in their lives. Here in Joshua Tree I feel like I missed out on a big part of the climbing culture – – that being the community who got together in hidden Valley and probably talked about whatever was going on including great climbs. Honestly, I could never have quit my job and sold my home and moved here on this crazy adventure without the incredible support of this group. I didn’t know it at the time, but this just couldn’t have happened. There’s perspectives from the Left and the Right, Good common sense advice for living in this place amongst some surprisingly dangerous people and how to grow a tomato. I feel so close to so many people here and that’s a total gift. So I don’t know if there’s any “on topic“. I love your pictures, and all the pictures Nick posts, and Colden, Helen’s goings on – – Jan and Guy’s trout fishing. News from the Gunks. Australia. Just wow.
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this thread is like a polite version of the taco. no rules, no direction just a rambling conversation. |
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Had a visitor last night  |
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Another long time lurker here. Lori and Helen have had a wonderful journey through this forum thanks for letting us join you and help. Just wanted to say hello. Hi Nick. I have a new hip and thinking about ice climbing if you’re interested this winter? Your photos are always great. Have fun and stay safe as life is too short |
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WOW. long time no see. I live about 35 min from the lake now but am also getting creaky enough that once or twice a week is about all i can manage... my email is still the same. shoot me a line Jim. going to have to get you to ditch those leashes ;) |
Tom Hickmannwrote: Hey Tom, yeah probably in the middle of the pack for this group. I turned 71 in August. Climbing updates: yes lot's of climbing, but I don't take many pictures so I don't post a lot. Yesterday I tried for a Joshua Tree TR 5 card straight (5.8, 5.9, 10a, 10b, 10c), but I failed miserably on the 10c. Was feeling quite relaxed yesterday, too relaxed to put in much effort ( excuse #1). And I was quite stiff- I think my normal height of 5'3" & 3/4" might have been reduced to 5'3" & 1/4" (excuse #2). I did have more than enough protein, with my trusty box of the senior's friend, Ensure Max Protein, for lunch, so that sadly can't be used as an issue ;). By the time we got to climb 5, it was getting a bit too cool for my delicate constitution (excuse #3). And we can also mention the shoes, can't we ( excuse #4)? I have had variable success over the years on the last climb of the day, Right Mel Crack 10c (the left one). I've TR'ed it clean when wearing Katana velcros and Mocs, and failed previously with Mythos, and yesterday with rather stiff Kataki's. So maybe it really is the shoes? Anyway, I bow to people who lead (or solo) the thing. That bottom part is quite devious. Picture for the hell of it:  Cool little cave near Alabama Hills.  Two crow friends who came and had lunch with us at a crag in Alabama Hills. |
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I am having a chuckle this morning. I have relied upon a lot of encouragement when things get hard on the rock or when I am working hard through a crux move. This morning I saw some of the signs that were roadside at a recent New York Marathon. Imagining what if this was the support we gave each other when Climbing.   
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This finally showed up in my newsfeed today:
TL;DR: dermatologist started climbing at the age of 69 and has been climbing ever since. It's not clear to me whether he lead climbs, but no matter, kudos. He had a hip replacement 40 years ago, to boot. OTOH he was a gymnast who was in the Olympics, so maybe the cards are stacked in his favor. The footage where he's being interviewed with Betty (at the Gunks) in the background is where we were dropping our ropes, and one of the crew rather frantically waved up at us to hold off for a bit... I personally think it would've been a nice touch to see ropes dropping down in the background and us rapping down. Missed our 2 seconds of fame. |
Lori Milaswrote: Obviously you were never exposed to the MHU (Mobile Harassment Unit) in all its glory. I've seen them bring climbers to tears... |
Jan Mcwrote: No I never have. But I've had fun this morning picturing Bob yelling "YOU SUCK. And no... YOU DON'T HAVE THIS. And you're NOT almost there." I've heard stories about the MHU. That bad, huh? ----- I just have to digress for a moment. For some reason, I'm getting photos of kangaroos on Facebook and they are distressing. I always thought of them as sweet little hopping marsupials. This was of a video of a kangaroo holding a man's DOG underwater, and the dog's owner had to swim out and fistfight the kangaroo to get his dog back. This is one very buff and dangerous kangaroo. There were over a thousand comments, many from natives of Australia stating that this was very common. Male Kangaroos especially are known to grab any domestic animal, drag it out to water, and hold it under... not to kill it but to weaken it so they can then shred it. This isn't the Disney channel.   If this asshole had your dog would you swim out and punch him in the nose? |
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I am certain the back story on that one was the dog ran over there and tried fcking with the roo and was just learning the hard way. . some dogs are really stupid that way. friend of mines Husky killed a porcupine and brought it home. cost him a massive Vet bill and lost an eye. |
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Kangaroos are rough hombres. If I lived in the Aussie bush I'd keep a herd of Rhodesian Ridgebacks around, for starters. |
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TRing a hard 21 at the gym tonight which it seems might make it a 5.11a in your grades. Anyway, a hard consistent route on quite small holds. Second time on it after a try Tues night. Also tried a crimpy 23 and a cool 22; only got half way up them but it’s important to try stuff that’s too hard for you I think.  |
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I got bit by a kangaroo on the ankle once. We were walking across a paddock to some boulders and we startled it and it got entangled in a fence. My mate wanted me to ‘distract it’ while he tried to disentangle it. I was concentrating on keeping away from its powerful back legs when it turned around and gave me a nip. |
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Yes Australia is probably much safer than where I am presently. A few nights ago I let my border collie out for a late night pee when he stopped suddenly and made a mad dash for the door -- about 100 ft.away was what looked like a very hefty black bear eager to put on weight.for the winter. That's the fastest sprint I've seen Riley ever do--- he was a blur!I and to be fair, wherever you are it is the human predators that are the worst, and always the scariest. I know that sounds a bit hackneyed but unfortunately it is true nevertheless. |
Lori Milaswrote: F**k yeah. Bank on it!! |
Greg Oplandwrote: Well, this whole story has deeply traumatized me. I had no idea that kangaroos were so massive or that the males were built for combat. You’d have to see the video to watch how this kangaroo absolutely squared off with that dog’s owner and thrashed it out with him and kept standing even after the dog was released and made threatening gestures. So all I can figure is Carl is a manly man and so are Australians in general. Yet in other parts of the world, they are endangered. My Google search revealed that roos are edible and approximately 1.5 million are killed for meat which has 2% fat and a lot of nutrition, which does bring the question how do you catch 1.5 million kangaroos. There has rarely been a death by kangaroo, but apparently this is one of their favorite things – – to abscond with pets and farm animals, and drag them into the water, and hold them under – – just because they’re mean. One guy said kangaroos love to drown chickens, but a chicken has more brains. So we’re talking 50 million really dumb huge animals hopping around the continent of Australia. And it just gets weirder because what Carl has mentioned before appears to be true… You have to outfit your car with Roo bars so that when you hit them at night, you don’t damage your car. I mean, are these standard equipment on a new car you might buy at a lot? Does every Australian car have them? And what about motorcycles? I guess my take away is Australia is weird and I’ve lost all faith in nature if it’s producing millions of bullies like the picture that I posted. And it also helps to understand Carl’s great poetry. And maybe his swag. —— Why isn’t anyone talking about what they’ve been cooking lately? Tony made an excellent turkey pot pie for dinner with broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and yellow peppers.  |
