New and Experienced Climbers Over 50 #27

Li Hu,  do you live near Joshua Tree? If so, let’s meet up one morning. Brandt will take you hiking.   or I will. Or we both will. I vote for “go outside“.

I don’t know what has happened to Russ. he’s had every opportunity to say something snarky and he hasn’t so now I’m wondering if someone needs to do a wellness check.

When I’m hiking alone I usually set up my phone somewhere, so if I get et by something— for instance, screeching Caribou    or fall into a cave, someone will eventually find my withered body. So this was my morning hike, and I think pictures speak louder than words.  (Re gym training vs getting fit “in the field”.) 

The trail to.  (About half a mile)

This is where the scrambling begins:

I guess this would be a “lunge”.  

Coming down can be a problem.  

Along the way I can grieve not being able to climb Stargazer.  Not for lack of wanting… 

keeping your footing, dealing with sand and gravel, loose rocks, wobbly boulders, and as soon as it gets warm, maintaining poise when you jump backwards to avoid a rattlesnake.  These all add bonus points. But honestly,, a huge dollop of gratitude here and for this beautiful place.

Absolutely gorgeous day today. Got a nice ride in before having to buckle down and get some work done.

Rode past the famous (infamous?) Blackstar Boulders. The traverse along the dike on the larger boulder is well worth while. 

Lori Milas wrote:

5) Quit eating crap!

Wait... what?  hahahahaha.

In general I agree, but I also think "moderation in all things" is a good way to go.
And they'll have to pry the margaritas out of my cold dead climber fingers.

I was thinking the other day (while playing catchup on this thread)... with your faith in eating X to fix X (e.g. eating heart to fix heart), wouldn't it make sense to just generally eat monkey if you want to climb better? Most monkeys are way stronger than we'll ever be. (is that snarky? standing in for Russ maybe...)

The bike is what keeps me (semi) aerobically fit and definitely sane! 

comparing yourself to wall mart dumpster dumplings is a pretty low bar but rather easier on the self esteem than using guys like Ward and Tut etc as a bar....  

I was thinking today about what a solitary endeavor Climbing is. Even getting out with a few climbing friends this is not the social milieu of a bowling league.  So I am really grateful that we are here to share. How to age gracefully is also a new thing and most of us are just spitting in the dark. So when something works for you or changes your game, it needs to go here.

A few months ago Erika posted some guidelines on strength training and sarcopenia, I believe. Actually, there’s been information exchanged on almost every aspect of Climbing and aging.

At any rate, this has been my main protein drink for a year and I just can’t think about it… I just do it. It tastes OK and it sets well. If they had monkey protein powder, I’d probably try it.  

The healthiest person I have ever known, Lourie, is my office manager and she is a vegan. So when I dropped in the office last week there she was drinking a shake and I knew I would have to add that to my repertoire no matter what is in it.

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

1 Tbsp Flax Seeds

1 Tbsp Hemp hearts

1 tsp Spirulina 

Banana, Pineapple, Blueberries (any assortment of fruit and seeds)

Water or coconut milk.  

It’s great tasting.     Lots of potassium. Lots of vitamins.

I know there are healthy vegan athletes out there. I wish I could be one of them. Lourie is young and not trying to climb rocks.  

Erika NW and I had fun climbing at the BRC this afternoon. We're posing in front of a 5.13- that we definitely did not attempt. Next time we'll meet at her gym.

wendy weiss wrote:

Erika NW and I had fun climbing at the BRC this afternoon. We're posing in front of a 5.13- that we definitely did not attempt. Next time we'll meet at her gym.

Love love love...

wendy weiss wrote:

Erika NW and I had fun climbing at the BRC this afternoon. We're posing in front of a 5.13- that we definitely did not attempt. Next time we'll meet at her gym.

But we picked out a 5.12 that would be a great project for Wendy!! Fun day - thank you Wendy for hosting me! 

Lori Milas wrote:

Li Hu,  do you live near Joshua Tree? If so, let’s meet up one morning. Brandt will take you hiking.   or I will. Or we both will. I vote for “go outside“.

Not far, about 110 miles to Intersection Rock from Pasadena.

Would be nice to meet up!

I don’t know what has happened to Russ. he’s had every opportunity to say something snarky and he hasn’t so now I’m wondering if someone needs to do a wellness check.

When I’m hiking alone I usually set up my phone somewhere, so if I get et by something— for instance, screeching Caribou    or fall into a cave, someone will eventually find my withered body. So this was my morning hike, and I think pictures speak louder than words.  (Re gym training vs getting fit “in the field”.) 

The trail to.  (About half a mile)

This is where the scrambling begins:

I guess this would be a “lunge”.  

You got your “balance bar”.

Good incentive to diet.

It’s all for this: the Marination Station.    A great place to just be. 

Coming down can be a problem.  

Along the way I can grieve not being able to climb Stargazer.  Not for lack of wanting… 

keeping your footing, dealing with sand and gravel, loose rocks, wobbly boulders, and as soon as it gets warm, maintaining poise when you jump backwards to avoid a rattlesnake.  These all add bonus points. But honestly,, a huge dollop of gratitude here and for this beautiful place.

Hahaha, so jealous, the gym looks more like this… (Null)    

Can’t really beat Joshua Tree for sheer beauty.

Li Hu… I thought about this last night and realized I sure wasn’t putting down working out at the gym. It’s great to have a well equipped gym nearby and I was at my gym daily for years. I think what I was really getting at was that it is difficult to replicate outdoor hiking, scrambling, and climbing with indoor equipment.  I was just noticing on yesterday‘s hike all the big and little things that require some extra acuity, most especially gravel and loose boulders. 

Pasadena is just a hop skip and a jump So anytime you feel like coming by just let me know. I know you’d have 210 traffic on weekdays. Weekends might be better or get a very early start to get out of town.

Wendy and Erika… what a gorgeous picture of you two! So happy you got together!  

Lori Milas wrote:

Li Hu… I thought about this last night and realized I sure wasn’t putting down working out at the gym. It’s great to have a well equipped gym nearby and I was at my gym daily for years. I think what I was really getting at was that it is difficult to replicate outdoor hiking, scrambling, and climbing with indoor equipment.  I was just noticing on yesterday‘s hike all the big and little things that require some extra acuity, most especially gravel and loose boulders.

A gym is only good for physical conditioning, and as some others have mentioned my strength is likely a grade higher than my current indoor skill levels.

The main issue at the moment is my mental state. I can get up some serious climbs and have the strength, but am too skittish and frightened. I can mask this somewhat cause I’m generally hanging upside down and claim I’m melting off the holds whereas the true reason is that when I get mid-level pumped, I become frightened.

When I go to Joshua Tree, I’ll likely boulder or hit really easy climbs for my current skill level.

The biggest advantages for me on real rock is likely to get my mental game back to some degree? Possibly cause I'd have no choice to back down.

Pasadena is just a hop skip and a jump So anytime you feel like coming by just let me know. I know you’d have 210 traffic on weekdays. Weekends might be better or get a very early start to get out of town.

Sure, I just turned down three offers to go there, but definitely need to get back out. Again, likely bouldering and easy leads.

Wendy and Erika… what a gorgeous picture of you two! So happy you got together!  

Great picture, just wished I could see more or all of that climb  

Lori Milas wrote:

I don’t know what has happened to Russ. he’s had every opportunity to say something snarky and he hasn’t so now I’m wondering if someone needs to do a wellness check.

It is a mistake to confuse someone holding up a reality mirror and snark.  

But, here is picture of Trespassers  for you.  You can hear the feet crunching from here....

Russ Walling wrote:

It is a mistake to confuse someone holding up a reality mirror and snark.  

But, here is picture of Trespassers  for you.  You can hear the feet crunching from here....

Thank you, Russ! Great picture! I have never seen anyone on that wall on any route so it’s nice to see you climbing. OK it’s a little crunchy but it’s still a pretty cool wall. I can see why Bob is a little reluctant to have me follow on this one.

I’d like to go back and finish Torturers Apprentice (starts at about Trespassers and goes straight up). I thought I had it all mostly worked out except linking a few crux moves.  What I don’t know is whether I could substitute tortures apprentice for the compassion of elephants route. I had created a short list of routes I wanted to climb this year and Compassion was one of them, but it’s a little easier to get to Torturers. All things being equal I could swap them out.  Big decision!   

Happy Valentines Day, ya’ll. 

https://deadline.com/2024/02/ethan-hawke-daniel-radcliffe-jessica-biel-climbing-movie-el-capitan-batso-1235825467/amp/

Kevin DeWeese posted this in the aid climbing forum, but it's too amazing not to share here. If today were April 1st, I'd for sure think it's an elaborate hoax.

phylp phylp wrote:

https://deadline.com/2024/02/ethan-hawke-daniel-radcliffe-jessica-biel-climbing-movie-el-capitan-batso-1235825467/amp/

Kevin DeWeese posted this in the aid climbing forum, but it's too amazing not to share here. If today were April 1st, I'd for sure think it's an elaborate hoax.

Oh boy, this will be 'interesting'!!!!!! I do think that the juxtaposition of Harry Potter ( Daniel Radcliffe) and Warren Harding does seem to be appropriate.

Alan Rubin wrote:

Oh boy, this will be 'interesting'!!!!!! I do think that the juxtaposition of Harry Potter ( Daniel Radcliffe) and Warren Harding does seem to be appropriate.

I think it is all "downward bound" for climbing now.

I’ll probably see the movie. But, I don’t have high hopes about what Hollywood will do to the story. They will almost certainly play up the love interest, the conflict, the danger, etc. while sacrificing anything related to accuracy. It has to be a cool story the general public would enjoy… it won’t be for us climbers. My prediction, anyway. It would be great to be pleasantly surprised.

Any old farts on this thread acting as a climbing consultant for the film??? DeWeese? Hudon?

Anecdote… I actually got to see Warren Harding do his presentation way back in the 70s, I think in Phoenix, Arizona. I’m wishing now I had a better memory to fully recall everything. I had no clue at the time that I was actually experiencing history, being the naive teenager I was back then. 

Daniel Joder wrote:

I’ll probably see the movie. But, I don’t have high hopes about what Hollywood will do to the story. They will almost certainly play up the love interest, the conflict, the danger, etc. while sacrificing anything related to accuracy. It has to be a cool story the general public would enjoy… it won’t be for us climbers. My prediction, anyway. It would be great to be pleasantly surprised.

Any old farts on this thread acting as a climbing consultant for the film??? DeWeese? Hudon?

Anecdote… I actually got to see Warren Harding do his presentation way back in the 70s, I think in Phoenix, Arizona. I’m wishing now I had a better memory to fully recall everything. I had no clue at the time that I was actually experiencing history, being the naive teenager I was back then. 

I, too, am assuming that the movie will be 'trash'. I don't think the climb itself was particularly dramatic ( at least for a general audience) other than the location. The FA of The Nose is a much more interesting story--with more actual 'drama'. From a climber's perspective the most interesting aspect of the WEML story was the 'ethical' one and the follow up ( the Robbins-Lauria aborted 'route erasure') and I seriously doubt that would interest the general public. And I don't recall that Beryl Knauth was considered to be a top climber at all, nor ever represented herself to be one.

As for the Harry Potter connection--I do picture Warren as Professor Snape--especially as presented in the earlier books!!!!

This place is overwhelming.  Beyond the most surface introduction, it goes on forever.  So, I don't know how to organize my own explorations... in quadrants? Decades?  Upper and Lower deserts?  Until I figure it out... I just 'go'.

I pulled off the road this morning to check out this rock, hoping it would not be bolted.  Maybe it could be something I saw first, and could do a FA.  Nope.     And I have NO IDEA what it is... Brandt, don't scold me I'll be pulling out my guide books to try to figure it out.  The whole Split Rock/Skull Rock area is a complete enigma to me.

Who wouldn't want to climb this?  What's not to love?     

Selfie for scale. This rock is formidable. 

The  start could be a little balancy.      But it doesn't go on forever.  I think I found something a little easier. 

Getting onto the face could require a little oomph...  This is from the base looking straight up.  Looks like you climb the left flake a ways, cross over onto face at first bolt. (?)  And then up up and away.   

A view from the base looking out...

Unless told otherwise, I can do this route.    

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Last week I stopped by Nordstrom to stroll and think about old times.   I was restless and remembering those days when I wondered, is there anything more?  I couldn't get excited about the shoes, or the purses... and I felt that old loneliness in a sea of shoppers. 

EDIT TO ADD:  Ethan Hawke is no slouch.  He goes in deep on his subjects and he's a good actor.  I think he will bring integrity to the project. 

That's the Wedge.