New and experienced climbers over 50 #30

M Mwrote:

The boulder setting there can be quite dangerous, they aren't well trained and often forgo safe setting for artistic setting. I pretty much stick to the ones that allow for clean falls.

They are not alone.  I am seeing a lot more volumes in the fall line these days.

Lori Milaswrote:

We have some very accomplished young climber here too. They don’t want pictures. They don’t want accolades. They just want to climb, go home to their families, live the quiet life.   

Well, you often mention the latest sends/projects and post pics of your young friend, Jeremy. Or is it Jerome?

Another of Zeb's other FA - https://www.mountainproject.com/route/115134554/infinite-jest
The writeup is classic Zeb altho a lot shorter than his write up of Golden Petals.

S. Neohwrote:

Well, you often mention the latest sends/projects and post pics of your young friend, Jeremy. Or is it Jerome?

Another of Zeb's other FA - https://www.mountainproject.com/route/115134554/infinite-jest
The writeup is classic Zeb altho a lot shorter than his write up of Golden Petals.

Oh, WOW.  Look at that kid!!!  This touches my heart.  I wish I could see a picture of the whole wall, it looks impossibly hard.  (betcha I can find it).  14c.  wow.  And those long arms, like Jeremy's.     

Please share more whenever you can.  That's wonderful! 

For most of us driving is necessary. Climbing, scrambling in the back-country, solo rigging is elective. ^^^

Lori Milaswrote:

Gosh, if it’s not one thing it’s another. Prior to moving to Joshua Tree I had never been stung by a bee ever so I did not know what to expect.  I’ve been stung here about six times and they always seem like “courtesy stings”… painful but not awful.  Usually they’ve gotten stuck in my clothing and just freaked out.  

But reading through that thread is making me a little more circumspect. (Thanks Phylp). First of all, where I was today, there would be no running away from a swarm. I’d be stuck and possibly incapacitated.  Also, I carry an EpiPen, but I don’t know what my body would do with multiple stings.

For sure, the bees that I have been encountering are thirsty and probably drawn to me because I sweat in this heat so wouldn’t hurt to mop down often.  Also, any moisture or water from my water bottle sugar sources.

A local beekeeper friend instructed me that bees will swarm when they are moving their hive and it could be quite frightening, but they are just trying to get from one place to the next— so lay down, stay still, they will fly over peacefully.

I’m not sure what to think about this. I have learned all I can about snakes and have come to think of rattlesnakes as pretty friendly and docile – – they just don’t want to be stepped on. But if bees are truly threat I would have to just stop hiking because I truly don’t think I could out run them. 

Lori, I don’t mean to make light of your concerns, but I think you should ask President Carter. He can talk you down. Do you have any Allman Brothers?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-68iTvhWNB0

S. Neohwrote:

Everyone is different but I feel that end of session is the best time to hone one's technique, learn that tired arms have more to give, and improve overall power endurance.
Get on a good number of new routes which are 1 and 1.5 number grades below one's onsight ability on lead, or problems two V grades below one's onsight ability (and lots of them).

I have become so much more aware of my sloppiness - that I do when fresh - which are only revealed when I am dead tired and the tank is almost empty.  For me, that means having to make precise foot/toe placement and deliberately getting weight transferred onto it even with my hands on jugs.

I was trying for this, but obviously still have much sloppiness in my technique. The holds were slippery to boot. One of the setters slipped off but self arrested herself on that same move at the top.

It’s probably setup to be a more delicate move climb even when fresh.

Definitely need more technique… 

Going in today with high hopes for all my projects after finally getting my drives straightened out yesterday playing some golf with an old climbing partner who’s now 74.

Colden Darkwrote:

Lori, I don’t mean to make light of your concerns, but I think you should ask President Carter. He can talk you down. Do you have any Allman Brothers?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-68iTvhWNB0

So it’s the Orange Sunshine?   

—-

Thank you for the links C Miller.  Now I feel like a total loser.  How did all those people even get to Comic Book?   There were just a couple of boulders I wasn’t willing to climb and leap off of, yet.  And now add in “killer bees” to run from.  

Also, thanks for the Trout Fishing In America link. I ordered the book yesterday.  I recall it being a big deal when I was in high school… maybe it’ll be a great read now.  But I think Joshua Tree deserves some fishing route names since we are flush with pristine lakes and rivers here.  (Reference “Orange Sunshine” above.    ) 

(“This is one of three collections of re-released Brautigan. It's the best of the three. TROUT FISHING is his classic. It's unlike anything I've ever read. I felt like someone showed me a new way to use words. A reviewer suggested calling his works "Brautigans," as they're an original artform.”)

Lori…. How was your hike to Comic Book?
The approach is sort of intricate, get somebody (Brandt) to show you the way.

And you still don’t “get” the naming thing. The name must have something to do with the root. Just tossing out the name of your latest favorite song, band, book etc is pretty unimaginative- I think. That’s so 1976…. Sometimes climb names stick to a theme or topic or some action… 

Example: got done climbing a route close to Ridgecrest. We got back to the car in the dark- the Comet was glowing in the dark sky. We listened to the radio and the news story was about 29 people who committed suicide together… you might recall. So the climb was named “Another 29 Dead Idiots” - mostly to mark the date/day. In Yosemite there is a spot on a climb on Sentinel- Chessman Pinnacle- Named for the Day they executed Chessman.

Sometimes a crag name defined the theme.
https://www.mountainproject.com/area/107965156/fish-creek-rock 

Now if you want to name a climb you first need to go do a FA…. a TR works, but in Josh you have about 50 years of other very motivated climbers looking to enshrine their names in the guide book and the jems, big and small have been picked up….  Now if you really want to get in on that you need to be ready to go to wherever “the latest scene” is happening- note IT is never on MP and the climbs, due to OnXs latest edicts, will probably not get listed. I had to really argue with “the guys” to get Fish Creek listed.

Young climbers- some are doing really remarkable climbs now- heck the morning I learned about Alex Honnald soloing NWFHD I knew right then that I was an old dinosaur. And it was best that I just accept that fact.

Phylp… those look like really totaled cars!

Happy you’re still with us.

Painters here now- must go 

Kitchen coming around…. This was your typical 80s closed in design… not anymore.
Painters getting down… unloading paint and getting the sprayers ready. 

Guy - That's a clean looking kitchen! Would like to see a close-up of the colorful tiles above the counter where the stove is.

Guy! Kitchen looking great!

Brandt…. OK, here you go.
We scored our counters at “Casa De Ceramica” in Oxnard, CA. That’s where we spied these tiles.
They tell the story of our life together. So go up through the tiles from the bottom.

Dani lived in Washington, where she was happy hiking in the trees with her dog, Rover.
Guy was busy climbing rocks.
Guy walked into a bar… (meeting Dani)

We fell in love….

Worked on cars together… 

Got Married….

had two kids, Dani was a teacher… 

Guy sits on couch, with a kat… 

We are old and go to the Doctors now….

Phylp- Thank you.

Nick- nice TR! I’ve always wondered about East coast crags, Franconia Notch has been mentioned in the literature before. And I know exactly what you mean about “Gumby’s” being extra slow….

Later all

Guy, that is so cool!

Wow! Those are fantastic!

Guy Keeseewrote:

The name must have something to do with the root. Just tossing out the name of your latest favorite song, band, book etc is pretty unimaginative- I think. That’s so 1976…. Sometimes climb names stick to a theme or topic or some action… 

Phylp… those look like really totaled cars!

Happy you’re still with us.

Yeah, when I went to the tow yard to retrieve my husband's stuff out of his completely wrecked car, I couldn't believe someone could survive a crash that bad.  The car had rolled over several times and was just demolished. He had minor injuries.  It's amazing how well cars are made these days.  Solo car accident (may have fallen asleep at the wheel at the end of a long solo drive), thank God no one else was involved.

Mine -  I'm still pissed off about 30 years later.  Stoner dude in a pickup basically ran me off the road.

Route names are always a great topic and it's fun knowing the backstory.  Here's one story:  A few years ago my friend Eric was on a new routing marathon filling in overlooked lines in the Bishop area.  He was going so hot and heavy that he burned out his drill.  I contributed some funds for a new one, and the route he was working on at the time was subsequently named Phylanthropy.  I just think that's very clever! Another of his in the same area he named KMOOR - Keeps Me Out Of Rusty's.  Anyone who's spent time in Bishop will get a smile out of that name. Both good routes BTW.

3x3 Lsit pull-ups on rings, 3x10 65 pounds shoulder shrugs, planks 3x30 seconds proper form. Pulling toes towards hands…

V6 getting close to a send, worked two sloper V5, flashed a 5.11 and re-sent a few others. The setter watched me flash his new 5.11. Was surprised.   

Two V4 sends and two V3.

By the time I go back to the moon and tension boards, I’m hoping to pull V3? Can do a single max pull up with 80 pounds added.

Guy. Kitchen looks great. I love your tiles and the story that they tell. 

J Westgatewrote:

Guy. Kitchen looks great. I love your tiles and the story that they tell. 

J Westgate- Thanks. The Wife and I got a good laugh when we discovered those- then it was back to discussing cabinets, floors, knobs, and all sorts of things.

….Day 3 of painting. The worst, everything taped up, no airflow, primer sprayed, paint sprayed and it’s going to be 90 today. Hiding in my garage with the cats.

@OLH ….. Hi, I have 3 of your OLH, Boise- pepper plants growing. They are putting out peppers. Should I treat them like Cayenne peppers?

Maybe just maybe they get done painting today - then I can screw wall plugs, air regulators, door knobs and whatever else I can find back on Saturday.
Then climbing on Sunday ….. maybe 

Todd Berlier wrote:

Unexpected day off due to cyber attack = home wall session and continuing education 

Todd, the chaos is due to Crowdstrike updates via Microsoft. The wonder of Windoze!  

Apple OS X and Linux are not affected.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/07/major-outages-at-crowdstrike-microsoft-leave-the-world-with-bsods-and-confusion

NYTimes archive: https://archive.ph/uNlWQ

Lori, I've been in bee warms twice with no problems. They are on a mission and it appeared to me both times that we humans were not even noticed.

The first was in Joshua Tree in the 1980's. Julie Lazar and I were walking back to the car from Saddle Rocks when we saw weird cloud coming at us across the desert. We stood there motionless as the huge swarm enveloped us as it moved through. I think lasted about 30 seconds. The weird thing was watching the cloud move away into the distance after it passed over us. 

The second, in about 2004, was at the small belay ledge at the start of the last pitch of Upper Royals Arch, on Tahquitz Rock. I was climbing with "The Sarge," Deb Castro. We were together at the belay sorting gear when we heard this crazy buzzing noise. We were horrified to see a massive swarm of bees coming up the wall towards us from below. We froze as the swarm, moving slowly, engulfed us. Unlike the Joshua Tree swarm years before, which was surreal and actually beautiful, this was scary. These bees were up against an obstacle, and they were buzzing around in circles, bouncing off us, and the rock, generally confused. Eventually the swarm passed over us on its way over the top. To our amazement we were un-stung.

I think that so long as you are calm, and don't start swatting at them, the encounter will go smoothly.