New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #31

Todd Berlier wrote:

Pried this flake off the top of a new problem!

Nice!  I love a good trundle. Sorry about your rope though. 

Last week I thought I would finish my second ever V8 at the gym - the one with two key jams. A couple guys came through who were new to the gym, and with my beta they made short work of it (first V8 ever!) But I could not quite finish it. Kept falling off the last move. Only as i was drifting off to sleep that night did it hit me, I had my hands backward. I was making it completely impossible. Sigh.  Hopefully this week. 

Me and my buddy Tall Daryl took a day off work last week to go to Rumney to work on our project.  It's easier to play hooky from work than it is to take a day off during the weekend and abandon our wife and kids. Anyway we both made good progress on Journey to a Mushroom Planet.  I did all the moves for the first time, worked out some improved beta, and started linking good chunks of it. And Daryl got pretty close to a send. I hope it's not another two months before we can get back there. Daryl has done lots of 'em (before kids), but this would be my first 13. Would be super to get it this season. And the route and the movement is just so cool.  It really does climb like a trad climb.  And that suits me. I may need to get a stronger core, though.  Not used to so much overhanging climbing. 

Also need to improve my efficiency. I know the beta but I'm dithering around too much. Here's the opening sequence: https://youtu.be/lYkMY_XMTeA?si=-7_YTpE4UVOEKdf-

GO

wendy weisswrote:

Actually, looks a lot like this.

So you know. My friend Nick moved to Rollinsville in 2020…. He took us there and said “secret” … I completely understand. Having a place that is deserted 95% of the time is priceless. We did run into a party of 2 - old timers- who were very surprised to see us. One said he was one of the original developers and that people have been climbing there for about 25 years.
I had a great time, short as it was, and plan on returning.

Guy Keeseewrote:

So you know. My friend Nick moved to Rollinsville in 2020…. He took us there and said “secret” … I completely understand. Having a place that is deserted 95% of the time is priceless. We did run into a party of 2 - old timers- who were very surprised to see us. One said he was one of the original developers and that people have been climbing there for about 25 years.
I had a great time, short as it was, and plan on returning.

It's a great spot. The photo was taken 15 years ago. The area's never been posted on MP because there are access issues. Another out-of-the-way area, although it does get more climbers, is Upper Dream Canyon. It didn't used to be crowded, but I don't know what it's like now. Amazing walls! Plus very good moderate sport routes. 

Carl Schneiderwrote:

Allow me to let you in on a little dietary secret that allows me to remain youthful.  I eat at least one cat a day.

On Jakarta we stopped at a little roadside cafe.  The specialty was kabob.  I noticed that there were many cats around, but none had tails.  Drove on.

Todd Berlier wrote:

Pried this flake off the top of a new problem!

Brown spot at the top 1/3.

Forgot to get my rope out of the fall zone 

It was old and should've been retired a while ago.

Edit to add me TR the problem for size reference on flake:

My last trundle was at the Pins (near McCall).  I was leading and the path for the block looked clear.  Told my belayer that I was going to trundle.  He switched position as the rock was falling and my 70m became a 60m.

GabeOwrote:

Nice!  I love a good trundle. Sorry about your rope though. 

Last week I thought I would finish my second ever V8 at the gym - the one with two key jams. A couple guys came through who were new to the gym, and with my beta they made short work of it (first V8 ever!) But I could not quite finish it. Kept falling off the last move. Only as i was drifting off to sleep that night did it hit me, I had my hands backward. I was making it completely impossible. Sigh.  Hopefully this week. 

Me and my buddy Tall Daryl took a day off work last week to go to Rumney to work on our project.  It's easier to play hooky from work than it is to take a day off during the weekend and abandon our wife and kids. Anyway we both made good progress on Journey to a Mushroom Planet.  I did all the moves for the first time, worked out some improved beta, and started linking good chunks of it. And Daryl got pretty close to a send. I hope it's not another two months before we can get back there. Daryl has done lots of 'em (before kids), but this would be my first 13. Would be super to get it this season. And the route and the movement is just so cool.  It really does climb like a trad climb.  And that suits me. I may need to get a stronger core, though.  Not used to so much overhanging climbing. 

Also need to improve my efficiency. I know the beta but I'm dithering around too much. Here's the opening sequence: https://youtu.be/lYkMY_XMTeA?si=-7_YTpE4UVOEKdf-

GO

Watching you COMPLETELY wore me out, and now I need a nap.      

Way to go, Gabe!  Your route (Journey) reminds me of Ondra's Silence.  It obviously takes a lot of strength, in every direction.  Hope you get it done this season--you look great on it! 

---

Which makes me feel silly mentioning my Pilates again.  But I had my 5th session this morning, and I'm loving the nuance of this kind of training.  I am seeing the million ways I don't use a muscle, or cave in on myself when walking or just standing.  Even something simple like lifting a leg... is that movement coming from the core, or from quads?  I can see where I take the easy way out, habitually now.  I don't leave class exhausted, but definitely worked.  

So, I think it's a piece of my puzzle.  :-) 

.  

I got to climb in my local spot today with my friend Alden who is also an old fart. a few months older than myself. He is a really bad assed ice climber. 1st to ever solo Called on Account Of Rains etc, etc etc. FA's all over the place. Newfoundland etc. He  is recovering from a bad rappeling accident last summer and this was his first 9+ since the accident. that finger crack through the overlap kicked my but today but Alden hiked it. 

Isa and I went to the beach today for sunset and played some music. 

Lori Milaswrote:

Watching you COMPLETELY wore me out, and now I need a nap.      

Way to go, Gabe!  Your route (Journey) reminds me of Ondra's Silence.  It obviously takes a lot of strength, in every direction.  Hope you get it done this season--you look great on it!

Thanks, Lori!  In the meantime, today I did manage to send my gym project. It's only my second V8 ever (first one was on my birthday in May).  Been working on it for a few weeks, and sent on my third try today: https://youtu.be/QPFT-2XCWzc?si=5PMDRyWafhQ8xWyA

---

Which makes me feel silly mentioning my Pilates again.  But I had my 5th session this morning, and I'm loving the nuance of this kind of training.  I am seeing the million ways I don't use a muscle, or cave in on myself when walking or just standing.  Even something simple like lifting a leg... is that movement coming from the core, or from quads?  I can see where I take the easy way out, habitually now.  I don't leave class exhausted, but definitely worked.  

So, I think it's a piece of my puzzle.  :-) 

Yes!  Good for you!  Strengthening core muscles and learning how to use them well is huge.  I spent a year working on some weak core elements for me, mostly to deal with debilitating back pain, but now i also see the benefits in my climbing. 

GO

Nick how is the shoulder doing? 

GO

Congrats, Gabe. Sounds like you enjoyed the process. 

Shoulders are chronic but ok at the moment.. back is acting up.. 

Todd Berlier wrote:

Congrats Gabe!!! Must be so gratifying out our age to get stronger and work beyond your back and elbow!!!

Serious props!

Thanks, all, for the kudos.  It is gratifying to be pushing myself to new heights at my age, and with limited time. 

Truth is I've always been slow. Didn't start climbing until I was almost 30, didn't get married until almost 40, or have kids until I was almost 50.  I'm just not good at figuring things out quickly, but give me enough time and I can do pretty damn good. So I'm trying to stay on the tortoise track. Slow and steady wins the race, eh?  

I'm thinking of Lori's age curve, where you hope to slow the beginning of the curve into decline.  Of course none of us knows when the precipitous fall off the edge will occur, but maybe I'm hoping that if I can push the peak of the curve out, it may result in more time in retirement with a bit if gas still in the tank. Only time will tell. 

GO

This is the last day of my 70th year and I hope to climb. Tony is trying to schedule two hip surgeries and he’s more excited about this than I’ve seen him so far. I think he is tired of sitting on the sidelines.  

So we were discussing possibilities and Tony threw out his line to me “when you get tired of Climbing, there’s always bowling.”    I told him if given the choice between pool and bowling I’d shoot pool any day. So we are discussing taking up hard drinking and smoking along with a little pool in the local pool hall.  During the brief time spans when I drank, tequila was always my favorite, but when shooting pool Jack Daniels ruled.   

The last time I drank anything was at the local Mexican restaurant where a margarita sounded really good. That was two years ago.

I was not happy the following day.  I guess I just lost the knack for it.

I suspect Carl would be good at this though.  

Oh another thing:

Lori Milaswrote:

Watching you COMPLETELY wore me out, and now I need a nap.       

Lori, looking at your photos of holdless grainy slabs makes my palms sweat and makes me want to hide under the blankets. Give me a good crack that takes gear, and holds where I know if I'm actually on them or not any day! 

Most scared I've ever been climbing was on an alpine route in RMNP.  5.7 slab pitch. Big runnout to one shitty piece in the middle of the pitch, and then 20 feet of unprotected slab climbing to a bolt and easier climbing to the next belay. I misread just one sequence on the slab, and found myself in 5.9 territory, with the moves quickly getting harder and more insecure. Looking up I could see the bolt just a few feet away, and looking down i could see that blue Alien stuffed straight down in a shallow crack at the back of a small ledge 20 feet down. Had I fallen, I would have (at the least) badly sprained an ankle on the ledge before falling another 15 feet.  That is if that cam held.  If not, I'd have fallen a long way further. As all that played out in my head, I downclimbed a few tenuous moves, tried some more horrible smeary nothingness, finally clipped the bolt, and continued to the next belay.  

Cheers,

GO

“horrible smeary nothingness”

rgold called it “desperate slab” and I thought “that’s me!”  

I love, horrible, smeary nothingness. Well, not when I’m actually climbing it, then I’m wondering, WTF? I could be bowling. So I guess it’s that Type B fun that is only fun to next day.   

Honestly, Gabe, I know I keep saying this, but no one really knows anything about aging. Especially being athletic as an older person. And I’ve read every book I can get my hands on and I’ve certainly talked to experienced doctors even sport medicine doctors and they don’t know. Talking to my endocrinologist about Type 1 diabetes at my age and they tell me honestly they have no idea because their only experience is treating them in hospitals. So I think our job is to accept that we are the Petri dish for future generations and it’s just trial and error . I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop for five years now. I know it will drop. But we may have many years left at what we love.

It totally lit me up to see my favorite author, Chris Crowley, at 90 years old skiing like a champ. I thought he would probably be dead, but he practiced everything he wrote about and it turned out OK. So we don’t know. In the meantime, let’s have fun.  

You look so good and so strong on your route and I’m sure you know the kids half your age couldn’t climb that. So carry on like a rockstar!

Great job Gabe!!! Mushroom Planet next!!!! I was just up in Rumney for the first time in several years, but, being on that 'downward slope'', was happy to get up 5.8---but at least I could do that!!! What were once mellow now become fresh challenges!!!!

Lori Milaswrote:

This is the last day of my 70th year and I hope to climb. Tony is trying to schedule two hip surgeries and he’s more excited about this than I’ve seen him so far. I think he is tired of sitting on the sidelines.  

So we were discussing possibilities and Tony threw out his line to me “when you get tired of Climbing, there’s always bowling.”    I told him if given the choice between pool and bowling I’d shoot pool any day. So we are discussing taking up hard drinking and smoking along with a little pool in the local pool hall.  During the brief time spans when I drank, tequila was always my favorite, but when shooting pool Jack Daniels ruled.   

The last time I drank anything was at the local Mexican restaurant where a margarita sounded really good. That was two years ago.

I was not happy the following day.  I guess I just lost the knack for it.

I suspect Carl would be good at this though.  

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday Lori! I hope you can get in a good climb today. And cake, a marg, or both -- your choice.

Happy birthday, Lori. I hope it's clear enough down there that you can get out and wander a bit (or climb).

Happy Birthday Lori.