New and Experienced Climbers Over 50 #28

Guy Keeseewrote:

I did…. I rolled that over and over in my mind. A 80 was almost my pick because we have been adding pitch two on a bunch of one pitch climbs that were established about 20 years ago. A 80 works perfectly to do the lower from these. I did consider a thinner 9.2 or so but tossed that thought out because I’m pretty much a top rope hero now. So I bought a cord that suits me. My friends will appreciate it, they all ganged up on me when they discovered the core shot about 25 feet from the end. Group shame.

Philip Bone - I always liked climbing on double ropes in places like the Needles, Red Rocks and Sierra. It just made more sense to me. Dragging some tag line 150 feet down below me or having it stuck in a pack just seemed wrong. It’s a personal choice, if you haven’t used doubles try it. You gain much more power and versatility with them.

Darrell-I hope to climb at Pine Creek this season and run into you.

OLH! Blue skies put a smile on my face every time. 

I'm also a fan of doubles for adventure climbing.  I use 70m x 8.5.  Capability for long rappels has gotten me out of some sketchy spots.

Lori Milaswrote:

I listened to all of Pet Sounds on my morning hike. Over the years so much has been said about this landmark recording and that Brian Wilson was trying to one-up the Beatles or vice versa. I must be missing something. There’s a couple of tracks on pet sounds that I’ve always loved– – Caroline, No, God Only Knows. But to me it just sounds like a little more evolved Beach Boys album. But compare this to Sergeant Pepper, how are they even in the same universe?  I’m open to being schooled on this.  

Beautiful day here. I hope y’all are getting out and having a wonderful time.

I’m with you…. Never really understood why or how The Beach Boys could be mentioned in the same sentence with the Beatles. I lived in Paris at the time and the BB were not fixture on the music scene. We were to busy listening to new bands- Pink Floyd, Jimi, Fleetwood Mac(original crew) etc. The California music was The Doors, The Mothers of Invention, Byrds, Jefferson Airplane and the whole San Francisco deal.

I’m busy packing and getting ready for 3 days on the track in Tuscon. Three days of 10 hour non-stop activities. The last “meet” was incredible 3 of the finals were decided by less than .010 seconds! Several European teams showed up bringing their rising stars with them so I got to use my very rusty French, poor Italian and bad German. The weather looks to be good- I’m bringing sunscreen.

Nick- sad that the Ice is melting out, wet dripping rocks are no fun at all. 

M Mwrote:

Calames, just North of Andorra.  We weren't sure whether we would be doing winter or summer activities so we had packed lots of gear, which of course didn't  arrive until we had 3 days left... We saw many cars with skis on top but as you can see in the one picture it was late late spring conditions which actually made for some excellent hiking . The last day of climbing was at a local and recently developed quarry near the house which was bolted like a gym, apparently almost all bolts are paid for and maintained by local governments in France which is quite progressive in my American eyes. 

Yes, the Europeans, especially the southern Europeans generally have a very 'civilized' attitude towards climbing---with some exceptions, they actually encourage and support climbing instead of trying to restrict or even ban it.

Guy Keeseewrote:

I’m with you…. Never really understood why or how The Beach Boys could be mentioned in the same sentence with the Beatles. I lived in Paris at the time and the BB were not fixture on the music scene. We were to busy listening to new bands- Pink Floyd, Jimi, Fleetwood Mac(original crew) etc. The California music was The Doors, The Mothers of Invention, Byrds, Jefferson Airplane and the whole San Francisco deal.

I’m busy packing and getting ready for 3 days on the track in Tuscon. Three days of 10 hour non-stop activities. The last “meet” was incredible 3 of the finals were decided by less than .010 seconds! Several European teams showed up bringing their rising stars with them so I got to use my very rusty French, poor Italian and bad German. The weather looks to be good- I’m bringing sunscreen.

Nick- sad that the Ice is melting out, wet dripping rocks are no fun at all. 

Guy, SO happy you are getting out to Tuscon. Your selfie looked great, you sound great, and you must be healing.  I hope we get lots of pictures of whatever you will be doing out there. 

It also sounds like we came up with the same music, same time, although you were in Paris... on my way back from my hike I listened to all of Sgt. Pepper.  To me, no comparing the Beatles and the Beach Boys.  

The Mothers of Invention.  I grew up in Glendale so we were frequently on the Sunset Strip... it was not uncommon that we would be singing Zappa songs.  Call Any Vegetable comes to mind. (also, sounds like a great route name!)  All music was code... a secret handshake, and there was no hesitation to walk up to someone, bum a cigarette, become instant friends. There was a vegetarian restaurant there, The Source... and if we cut school and hitched to the Strip, we would head there for lunch, where frequently Donovan or others would be sitting cross legged and holding forth.  

The reason I don't know my WW2 History is because I cut class every chance I could.  Now I am making up for those misjudgments.    

At the same time, Griffith Park was having it's gatherings on Saturday afternoons... all kinds of acid floating around, Santana playing, other bands, lots of dancing on the lawn.  I suspect Phylp was around during those times?  

I asked Tony what he thought of the Beach Boys.  He reminded me that while they didn't have beaches and surfing, they had Lake Michigan, and although there weren't waves, it was the hangout spot.  But the BB also had songs about cars so there were plenty of Beach Boys fans in his group... 

Oh God. Whenever I ask Tony something about his timeframe... an old girlfriend, or when he lived somewhere, he can only figure it out by what car he was driving at the time.  "Let's see, Bobbi was the 75 Olds Toronado to the 76 Olds 98.  Karen was the 77 Olds, to the 84 S10 Blazer."  (He loved Karen more).    I don't know how he'll remember me. 

M Mwrote:

. I was also wearing borrowed shoes after the airline lost our bags for the first 5 days...

Thanks for the TR. 

I’m curious what airline this was and if they really could not locate your luggage in their system or if it just took them a while to make the connecting flights work?  I travel a lot and make a point of flying the top tier airlines. I try to avoid connections but if they are inevitable, I make sure to pick a connection with a long layover.  So far it’s worked. 

Lori and others,

The group of studio musicians known as The Section BITD, and The Immediate Family today, pretty much took over for the Wrecking Crew in the early 70's thru the 80's,

Denny Tedesco has produced a film that documents their contributions to the LA studio scene.

As a musician myself I have huge respect for the talents and works of all studio session groups. 

Here is a link to the trailer video.

https://immediatefamilyfilm.com/

I remember waiting 6 hours ( could have been more) in the airport in Kos --far from the most exciting place, for our bags which didn't make the  flight changeover in Athens---we definitely didn't want to continue on across to Kalymnos without them---we didn't trust the airline to get the bags to us there.  It was worth the wait even though the boredom almost killed us!!!
The weirdest delayed bags experience we had, though happened  on a one hour, no connection flight from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia. We  were heading there to spend Christmas with my wife's cousins. My suitcase arrived with us, but  neither my wife's nor daughter's ( with their nice Holiday clothes) made it. Apparently the ( pretty small) plane was overloaded, so Air Canada decided to randomly unload some of the luggage without notifying the passengers!!! Worse still, their bags didn't arrive for 4 more days---until the day before we returned home!!! 

Tad… TBH I would stop listening, or liking a band if they needed stand in players to get the songs right. Like the Monkeys- couldn’t play or sing a lick. But they were cute and lovable to watch on TV… (I never had TV growing up) “Phonies” we called them. When I moved to California one of my roommates told me about seeing Jimi open up for the Monkeys at Devonshire Downs and the crowd booed him. I didn’t believe him until I listened to a recording of people booing him to get off stage so they could get to the Monkeys!!
America is pretty strange I thought. I quickly got into going to clubs around LA. I like to watch guitar players up close- the fingers that move! Personally I think lead guitar is the hardest thing a person can do. I know others will disagree… nothing like a 3 piece power band with the lead guitar creating the big sound. Think Jimmy Page or Jeff Beck making that guitar sing, wail and moan at 125db.

I feel rhythm guitar is much harder than lead playing.. (i am not great at either)  certainly more work. they don't call it chord slave for nothing... 

Guy Keeseewrote:

Tad… TBH I would stop listening, or liking a band if they needed stand in players to get the songs right. Like the Monkeys- couldn’t play or sing a lick. But they were cute and lovable to watch on TV… (I never had TV growing up) “Phonies” we called them. When I moved to California one of my roommates told me about seeing Jimi open up for the Monkeys at Devonshire Downs and the crowd booed him. I didn’t believe him until I listened to a recording of people booing him to get off stage so they could get to the Monkeys!!
America is pretty strange I thought. I quickly got into going to clubs around LA. I like to watch guitar players up close- the fingers that move! Personally I think lead guitar is the hardest thing a person can do. I know others will disagree… nothing like a 3 piece power band with the lead guitar creating the big sound. Think Jimmy Page or Jeff Beck making that guitar sing, wail and moan at 125db.

Hey Guy,

Check out Michael Nesmith  solo and  first national band stuff , he’s the real deal  and did write a bonafide hit.   

phylp phylpwrote:

Thanks for the TR. 

I’m curious what airline this was and if they really could not locate your luggage in their system or if it just took them a while to make the connecting flights work?  I travel a lot and make a point of flying the top tier airlines. I try to avoid connections but if they are inevitable, I make sure to pick a connection with a long layover.  So far it’s worked. 

Two different airlines were to blame, on the way it was our local airline Cape Air that screwed up, on the way home(yes, again) it was British Airways.  If our friends in France didn't have a big gear stash we would have been royally screwed. On our way there we had a long enough layover in Boston to go see the Institute for Contemporary Art across the river which was an amazing spot to kill a few hours. They run
 buses in special bus tunnels which was interesting, at first we couldn't figure out why there were no bus stops anywhere! 

Speaking of guitar,  I just discovered these guys while getting over jet lag.

Guy Keeseewrote:

Tad… TBH I would stop listening, or liking a band if they needed stand in players to get the songs right. Like the Monkeys- couldn’t play or sing a lick. But they were cute and lovable to watch on TV… (I never had TV growing up) “Phonies” we called them.

Nesmith and Tork were practicing musicians and Jones was singing on Broadway when they were hired. Dolenz was the weakest link who had to learn the drums, but at least he could sing. It was management who wouldn't let them play on the early recordings. I think you are doing a disservice to the Monkees by perpetuating this myth that they were "phonies" and couldn't play. It may not have been your cup of tea, but they were capable musicians who had long careers in music.

Todd Berlier wrote:

music is hilarious, like politics and religion no one is right, no one is wrong. :)

Agreed. I find it interesting that people spend so much effort comparing and debating whether a band/musician is good, bad, real, phony etc. 

Isn't the whole point of music to move people in some sort of way?  Who cares if you don't like it, if someone else does, that's all that matters.

phylp phylpwrote:

I’m curious what airline this was and if they really could not locate your luggage in their system or if it just took them a while to make the connecting flights work?  I travel a lot and make a point of flying the top tier airlines. I try to avoid connections but if they are inevitable, I make sure to pick a connection with a long layover.  So far it’s worked. 

Took us five days to get our luggage last year in Kalymnos. I had AirTags on them and they were sitting in the airport in Zurich. Finally started moving and arrived late on the fifth day. It was nuts. We flew United and Edelweiss airlines.

Todd Berlier wrote:

speaking of being moved.

i have really been surprised how much this band and this song especially has moved me.

i found out after getting into them that the entire band is made up of devout southern christians. im agnostic/atheist and never thought i could enjoy or support a band that espoused those beliefs. but i do!

Oh hell, Todd!  I’ve been streaming these guys a fair bit lately. I kind of have a really tough time with religion in general :-/

Greg Oplandwrote:

Took us five days to get our luggage last year in Kalymnos. I had AirTags on them and they were sitting in the airport in Zurich. Finally started moving and arrived late on the fifth day. It was nuts. We flew United and Edelweiss airlines.

Wow.  This is why when my friends were trying to convince me to do a Kalymnos trip, I said no, it's not worth it to me to do that kind of travel-fu to go climbing.  We ended up in Leonidio, which we all liked.  After that trip, my friend Andy, who has been to Kaly a number of times, told me he prefers Leonidio. My partner Daphne preferred Kalymnos for the more beach resort vibe. Leonidio was super easy to get to.  British Airways LAX to London, then a BA connection to Athens, then a car and a few hours drive. (My favorites are British Air and Lufthansa, but we also use United, American, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Etihad with good results. In the States Jet Blue and SW. I've had some issues with Delta but I know a lot of people like them.)

phylp phylpwrote:

Wow.  This is why when my friends were trying to convince me to do a Kalymnos trip, I said no, it's not worth it to me to do that kind of travel-fu to go climbing. 

Full disclosure, our initial flight to Denver (before the flight to Zurich) was delayed, which may well have been the cause for the jacked up luggage. Couple others we met with in Denver before continuing on got their luggage just fine. Of course it all flew home like it was on autopilot, other than the airline destroying my suitcase that was on its first and only trip.

I have a real soft spot for this kid Jeremy Schoenborn. One of the first days I was ever in Joshua Tree. I saw him hanging out at intersection rock. Bob pointed him out and said he was one of the best climbers here. It turned out that at the time he was also guiding so, I scheduled an outing with him.

I believe this was our first time out and I was pretty new and was having a tough time on this easy route on sport challenge. Instead of lowering me down and looking for something easier Jeremy managed to swoop down and coach me the rest of the way step-by-step. So it’s one of my best memories of climbing here. 

Here’s some of my favorite pictures of Jeremy doing his thing.

Broken Arrow, pic by Alex Arestei

Can't find the name of the route.  Photographer Taylor Shaffer. 

As they say, “I’ll have what he’s having “, only the 5.7 version.  

A little more coaching from Jrrrbs on Dog Day Afternoon:  "All you gotta do is drape your leg over this arete, and rest."  Oh, ok. I'll do that.    

 never did get through the crux unassisted (on DDA)... but Li Hu, with all your hangboarding and upper body workouts, I think this one might be for you!  

Jeremy said he would not be leading up Run For Your Life.  So he lead Run For Your Life.  Good schooling for me!  But hard to choke back that maternal instinct that says "GET DOWN FROM THERE! YOU'RE GOING TO HURT YOURSELF!"   I did ok on this route, too. 

—-

There’s another angle to this. I will do anything I can to support young people doing extraordinary things, especially if it fuels them for their future.  I’ve known so many kids living lives of despair. There’s little room for despair in nature, and on rock.

Brandt, I believe Paula is right.  Hard not to sing along with Monkees songs, whoever wrote them. 

My wife loves the Monkees, so that settles it.

It’s hard to beat the sugary, frothy pop fun of ‘I’m a Believer’. And Michael Nesmith is quite skilled in his own right.