New and experienced climbers over 50 #30

Brandt Allenwrote:

On the Lab?

I ran into a "three post per day limit" last evening and could not reply. Who knew?

Yep, to anyone who's climbed much in Tuolumne Meadows, this had to be the name.

Am I the only one on this thread who sometimes cracks themselves up?

And Phil, it's a fine line between bouldering and free solo sometimes, isn't it?

EDIT:

Thanks, phylp phylp. I should have provided that explanation too. And not just assumed that people knew the route.

There are no bolts on that formation, Phil, so the bolts or no bolts question doesn't apply here.

On the Lab. A takeoff on the traverse route On the Lamb. In case people haven’t climbed in Tuolumne. 

^^ A better question would have been, when does bouldering become free-solo? Also, should we bolt short routes? 

That's a good equation. Is there any history of bouldering fatality?

philip bonewrote:

That's a good equation. Is there any history of bouldering fatality?

Yes. Though I don't recall the details, there have been at least a couple in the US over the years, undoubtedly more elsewhere. I recall one in AZ quite a few years ago, don't believe that the problem was highball, just a very unfortunate landing.

philip bonewrote:

That's a good equation. Is there any history of bouldering fatality?

I know of two people who have died on “crank queenie”…. At Stoney— Snap off a flexible flake, land on your back, on rocks….

Sad

Brad … great looking stuff. 

Bb Cc wrote:

Do Tricams fit like the pockets at Courtright?

Not really. I've climbed there with two Tri-Cam fanatics and they've commented on maybe using them. But almost all the holes are too large a diameter for them. The smaller holes are very positive (mostly) but not commonly deep enough.

Brad Youngwrote:

I've never seen pockets like this in granite (and bullet hard granite at that).

The final pitch on several Power Dome routes at Courtright has amazing solution pockets like this. Pink tri-cams are very happy here.

Edit: Oops…just noticed those follow up posts re: Courtright

That LD50 analogy for soloing is hilarious and works nicely!

My LD % is quite low maybe 10. Other variables apply: topography, companions, fitness etc. 

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

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 ;) 

How is a 30m lap at that height 'bouldering'? Soloing, surely?    

It just is.. no rulze baby.  Also the Gumby's always ask me if I am going bouldering when they see me hiking with a chalk bag. I usually say just a little bit..  on a more serious note I only Solo stuff that I am 500percent solid on so it is not really soloing and it sounds less scary to family if you just say bouldering. I have a friend who has a deal with his wife that he is not allowed to solo grade 5 ice.  He gets around that by saying it was in grade 4 condition.. it would be much easier if he didn't Solo at all and just bouldered.. 

It's also a dig at my inability to commit to a V0 - if I think the landing sucks.. 

It sounds like how I market a gin and tonic to my wife as a 'salad with a gin dressing' (because I always have a lot of mint leaves, basil, etc).  

When I was getting back into climbing I was soloing all the easy routes in the Flatirons that I had never bothered with when I was climbing seriously. As my fitness improved I wanted to start finding my limits so I often took a rope and a partner. When my non climbing wife saw me taking a rope she would get worried because she knew that meant that we were doing something harder, not understanding that the roped days were infinitely safer.   

I used to joke about leaving in the morning with; "I'm going climbing honey. Don't worry, I'm NOT taking a rope".

Damn! It’s hot here. And I’m worrying about Tony. Yesterday around 3 o’clock I noticed that Tony was still dozing in his La-Z-Boy. I asked him if he was OK and he shook his head no. “Something’s wrong”.  So I asked him what fluids he had today and he pointed to his water container, which was still to the top. “What have you had to eat today?“ He said a handful of cherries. “So you went to the gym this morning and worked out hard, and drove home in 100° heat and you’ve had no water and no food today?“. GODDAMN IT TONY!  

So I set aside all my scruples and went to the store and bought 10 Gatorade’s and told him to start making them gone.

He said he was so nauseous he didn’t know if he could hold it down, so I hovered until he started to revive.

Meanwhile, I received some serious notifications from my Whoop that I am failing in the sleep and Recovery departments relative to previous months… Only getting 66% of my supposedly required sleep. This brings out the competitive spirit in me. I may not ever win a medal in Climbing, but competition sleeping has some possibilities. 

For the next 30 days, I accepted the challenge to work on strength training while improving my recovery. WHOOP has a new way of measuring strength training, which it did not have before. I’m going to try it out.  

Lastly , Dr. Stacy Simms threw out another challenge to reach for that .8 to 1 g of protein per pound of body weight. These days I really need numbers and science because my instincts are about like Tony’s. I’m not very thirsty and I’m not very hungry. So maybe it’s a blessing being diabetic because I can’t get away with much.

Gatorade has always made me nauseous. Way too much sugar. Your nuun tabs and cold water may be a lot better choice.

Brandt Allenwrote:

Gatorade has always made me nauseous. Way too much sugar. Your nuun tabs and cold water may be a lot better choice.

I’ve been using Liquid IV - not too sweet and has been a lifesaver for staying hydrated and preventing migraines. I have trouble drinking plain water. 

Brandt Allenwrote:

Gatorade has always made me nauseous. Way too much sugar. Your nuun tabs and cold water may be a lot better choice.

Nuun tabs are the first thing I've found that noticeably help with cramping.

On hot climbing days, I usually put one in one of my water bottles now while still packing at home.

But hey, it sounds like you had to get something liquid into him quickly. And if he'll drink Gatorade, so be it.

Old school cramping remedy = Pickle Juice

I used to drink a lot of Gatorade back in my competitive cycling days… but I would cut it with half or even 2/3 water. Those Nuun tabs sound like something to try as I will often get cramps in my calves the night after a day of multi pitch  face/slab climbing