New and experienced climbers over 50 #30

On this thread I tend to lurk more than post, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the discussions of gardens, snakes, bees, kitchen remodeling, Joshua Tree, weather, trip reports, strength training, even the smattering of politics. So, thanks. Anyway, I happen to run across an interesting interview with rgold (respected MP contributor and frequently on this thread) done some four years ago by Don McGrath. There is a lot of good stuff in here about the Gunks (on my bucket list!), what it was like BITD (Vulgarians!), aging as a climber, climbing philosophy, and so on. Maybe I'm late to the party and everyone has seen this, if not, here ya go:

Interview with Rich Goldstone (1 hour video)

I couldn't get the link to work.

Victor Creazzi wrote:

I couldn't get the link to work.

Interview with Rich Goldstone (1 hour video)  - 

Thanks a lot Terry, much appreciated. Not sure what I did wrong. Aaargh!

Todd Berlier wrote:

Is this the equivalent of I like rabbits to keep the campfire smoke away?

No, I used to keep bees and worked at an apiary in Texas years ago that sold queens, bees and honey.

little bit of bouldering after work yesterday. two 30m steep but easy laps.. had to do a photo gig about an hour from my old crag. naturally an hour in the opposite direction of home ;) 

Nick Goldsmith wrote:

I love seeing all that greenery. Not much of it around here this time of year.

Nice leg, too!

Looks pretty highball to me! 

Nice pale Vermont leg..

Thanks for posting up the Goldstone interview.  

A life well lived Rich.

Best wishes, Tad

I love your bouldering Nick!

Speaking of Yellow Jackets…AKA Meat Bees.

When they are really bad we had this contraption we would set up to keep them busy.

A bucket, with a lid made of plywood. Fill about 3/4 way with water. On the underside of the plywood stick a nail in it to hold the bait and make a 2 inch diameter hole. Bait the contraption with some good and smelly meat, put the lid on and observe the meat bees flying down and going for the bait. Once they eat thier fill they are too heavy, overloaded, to fly out so they ditch into the water and drown. After a few hours the bucket will begin to overflow water. Now the real fun starts. You toss the bucket of water and dead bees out and watch as more and more bees show up to consume the dead ones!!! Don’t forget to rebait your trap. Hours of camp site entertainment and some relief from the bees is obtained.

Lori …. Take all the umbridge you want. A climb should name itself based on something that happened during the climb or time frame in history. I do walk around with some names that I’d love to use, all ready to go. “Folly’ a Deux” is one of them. It’s a French psychological term for when you get two people together who feed into the other person’s insanity. This can create some pretty crazy situations.
Do you remember that “couple in Tracy, CA” who kidnapped that teen girl in Tahoe, took her back home and they kept her locked up for the husband and maybe the wife’s pleasure? Even had 2 kids and they lived in the backyard for like 12 years. They definitely had it- the Folly a Deux.

And just punch in Sacramento on your map deal. See that there is another way to get there- maybe spend the night in Lone Pine or Bishop- tons of cheap motels. I guarantee you will see some really really great looking rocks. Just saying. And go eat at “the brewery” in Bishop… food is just OK but you’ll be surrounded by a big crowd of hardcore young and old climbers - they do make a pretty tasty IPA. Have fun. Drive safe.

Thanks for the link to RG, I’m off to Home Depot to buy 9 door knobs, a pile of switch and plug covers and some “diverters” or whatever they are called. So I will have something to watch later. 

And TAD!!! Good to see you!
Kris also- do you have a Cowboy hat yet?

Later 

Nick Goldsmith wrote:

little bit of bouldering after work yesterday. two 30m steep but easy laps.. had to do a photo gig about an hour from my old crag. naturally an hour in the opposite direction of home ;) 

Laps as in plural ascents? Frightening even just looking at your pictures!

Nice! You’ve still got it…

not really. this will be my second summer without bouldering Center  Crack.. I used to do 10 laps on that thing after work several times a week when getting ready for a road trip...  now it feels hard when I lead it... Mostly because the gear clutters up my finger and footwork ;) 

Daniel Joder wrote:

Looks pretty highball to me! 

Alright, that made me laugh (thanks).

Phil (of this forum) led one of my favorite 5.10a routes the other day, Green Dream. And I finally managed to get a photo of it in decent light. I've never seen pockets like this in granite (and bullet hard granite at that):

Brad Young wrote:

Alright, that made me laugh (thanks).

Phil (of this forum) led one of my favorite 5.10a routes the other day, Green Dream. And I finally managed to get a photo of it in decent light. I've never seen pockets like this in granite (and bullet hard granite at that):

Where is that climb? Sonora, I'm assuming? It looks sweet. Too bad that it is a bit of a trek from New England!!!!

We all have routes that are personal favorites even if they aren't world-changing climbs. I bring up one of mine with a stopwatch in hand. Here's why.

One particular spot on Sonora Pass where we've been developing routes has a small, year-round creek that flows next to parking. The creek only extends for half a mile until it joins a larger stream. The creek hasn't ever had a name, but we've always called it Dog Creek. Dog Creek because the first things the dogs do when they get out of the car is... go dunk themselves in the creek.

The approach to this new area parallels Dog Creek for its first quarter mile. And, although they are distinctly not the main event in this location, there are several small crags near the creek as one drops into the canyon. I named these smaller crags The Dog Creek Crags and bestowed on them dog related names (of course). Names like Jack Russel Jumble, Aye Chihuahua, Terrier Tiers, and Beagle Bluff. Oh, and White Lab Slab.

White Lab Slab is made up of gorgeous white granite. It sits above a sandy, flat area with two boulders near the base that practically yell "eat lunch here." The views out over the canyon are amazing. But the whole slab is only 30 feet high. Damn.

Two friends put up a route on the slab one day. I watched them. Unprotected slab to a vertical crack partway up. All gear with a walk off the top. No evidence left that they'd even been there. No problem.

But watching them gave me an idea. The idea led to a route that is completely insignificant, but on which I had a ton of fun and which I still love today (we walk past it every time we go into the canyon.

The route is quite easy at 5.5 (I free soloed the FA). But it's an 80 foot route. On a 30 foot slab. How?

I climbed up the slab's left edge and then followed an absolutely splitter, completely horizontal crack the entire width of the slab. The route then finishes up an easy corner to a walk off.

It's easier to post photos of the route than describe it. Here are two of my friends soloing the route yesterday having dropped packs on the way out of the canyon:

Beautiful rock, gorgeous location, splitter crack, right across the middle of the formation. I call this type of climbing "giggly" because it's hard not to giggle from the sheer joy of it. Not a destination climb by any stretch of the imagination, not even much of a climb at all. But I still smile thinking of it.

And here's the reason for the post. From any long-term California climber who's read this far and seen the photos. It's a perfect horizontal crack which runs right across the middle of White Lab Slab. What did I name the route (there was really only one possibility)?

Alan Rubin wrote:

Where is that climb? Sonora, I'm assuming? It looks sweet. Too bad that it is a bit of a trek from New England!!!!

It's actually well above the town of Sonora at 8,000 feet elevation. It's accessed from Highway 108 (the Sonora Pass Highway or, as we call it, SPH).

And that's as much detail as I should give, although I'd be quite happy to take you there (come on out, we've got two extra bedrooms and the trailhead is 50 minutes from our house).

On the Lab?

^^ Why do you call free-solo bouldering?

T Hocking wrote:

Thanks for posting up the Goldstone interview.  

A life well lived Rich.

Best wishes, Tad

Thanks Tad!  I'm hoping to wring out a few more years of well-living, but reality dictates taking one day at a time.