New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #31

Lori Milas wrote:

Guy... as always, when I'm needing a word, you manage to say it.  I don't know why we're all here together but we just are. 

Tony was all set to get his hip surgeries in a few weeks.  I've never seen him so ready or so excited about anything.  Finally, pain would be gone, and he had a chance at walking normally and getting back into life. But today the pre-surgical xrays uncovered a very large aortal aneurysm, and doc wrote urgently today that the hip replacement is not going to happen, and Tony should contact his vascular surgeon immediately.  He doesn't have a vascular surgeon!  But they are locating one for him as we speak.  It's dangerous.  It's frightening.  And it triggers in me all those feelings of loss, and of potential loss.  Tony doesn't know fear... and I have fear about EVERYTHING.  All I can do is stand by and try to look calm. 

---

So, if the universe is leading me to one key point, it's to 'listen without prejudice'.  

I guess this whole post doesn't belong here, except as an awakening for me to stand back, and 'be with' others.  For the first time in my adult life, I've paid close attention to the brewing wars in the Middle East.  I have a close Jewish friend who has spent a lot of time with her family in Israel.  I asked her to help me understand October 7th from her perspective.  Long letters later, I feel like I can grasp the terror the Israeli's feel every day.

Of the 6 people murdered by Hamas a few weeks back, I have taken the time to get to know Eden... a 23 year old who was captured at that concert, taken hostage, kept in a tunnel for 300+ days, starved, and then killed.  Her mother received her body back in a body bag. 

But I also listened to an extended interview with the President of Iran.  Pieces starting to come together there.  He's not insane.  Hearing interviews from those who lost their leader in Hezbollah this weekend, they are desolate.  "Next to God, he was our savior."

Of course, I've been watching the ongoing decimation of Gaza, and the starvation and helplessness of those living an fleeing.  

There is a real sense of helplessness here, but one thing I can do is to 'listen without prejudice'.

I realized this is a timely word, given our election cycle.  While everyone is dug in and entirely unwilling to listen, it would be incredible if a few of us stood up and said "Hey, I'll listen."  So my good deed for this election is that I'll listen, all the way, without limit.  And no judgment. 

I may delete this post as I cannot link it to ANY climbing issue.    

Both sides of the political gang have been bought and paid for.  We are funding genocide in one war and in a real quagmire in another.  It all has to do with the defense industry. 

M Mwrote:

Both sides of the political gang have been bought and paid for.  We are funding genocide in one war and in a real quagmire in another.  It all has to do with the defense industry. 

Indeed. And I do think I will delete my original post. Kind of an impulse post.  

I’m a grandpa, again!

Lochley Clark   8/30/24 

apogeewrote:

What happened to Tony Sartin? This is very unsettling news…sorry if I’ve missed something that was well known.

Apogee…. Tony experienced some sort of coronary episode, while he was belaying.
Details are sketchy, the climber he was belaying was stuck “on route” and had to do a sketchy “escape the belay”.
The fire station is just up the street from the climbing so they responded quickly. He was gone.

I will miss him. 

Leaf peepin' pretty good here in the Wasatch...

Alta today.

Lori, I'm so sorry to hear about Tony's setback. I hope the problem can be resolved. As we age, it's one thing after another, whether it's us, our partners, or our friends. Probably should be "and," not "or."

WTF happened to word?   I had to get a new computer for work and I had to subscribe to office instead of a one time purchace I get stuck with a monthly bill for eternity.  Thats the minor part. The Massive mind fck is that there is no Save as button.  you do not get choices.  It automatically dumps it into documents in one drive and the only way to put it where you want it is to jump through hoops. open it again in one drive,  move it to the folder you want it in and then have to listen to a bunch of fucking warnings about how it may get lost and then tell it to do what the fuck I told it to do. Fcking st000pid. 

Todd Berlier wrote:

Did u look into Google docs? Not as easy to use, but free...

Turn AutoSave OFF when using Word and ON when climbing. See Lori? One can link ANYTHING to climbing...   

If you do this then File | Save As still exists   

        My first day putting shoes on rock in a while.

This six year old matched me in climbing & was a much better Spider catcher.

It was a great day in Tuolumne, even if I was humbled by a delightful bouldering partner.

Thanks for that info, Guy. Really disturbing to hear this- Tony was a vibrant, youthful person with infectious positive energy and good will. When people like this leave us in this way, it really makes you stop and think about the meaning of everything, and being thankful for all the good people that are in your life.

Well said apogee.

Guy, it was good seeing you at Tony Sartin's memorial. All the stories about Tony from his friends and family were heart wrenching. He was a kindergarten teacher and he worked part time on weekends and summers for my Vertical Adventures climbing school for over 20 years. We became great friends and he was one of my main climbing partners. He joked that compared to teaching the little ones (that he called "ragers") teaching adults was easy and fun. His sudden death is a reminder that this can all be over in the wink of an eye, and that now is the time to cherish the time spent with the ones we love.

Kris, great to see you climb Devils Tower! In my opinion, the Tower is one of the world's best rock formations: The way it rises singularly above it's surroundings, the texture of the rock itself, and the architecture of the cracks and dihedrals all combine to make everything so classic. I have very fond memories of the Tower. Back in 1988 I worked on a military special forces training exercise with SEAL Team 6 for a week at the Tower, and after the military gig was over the instructor crew (which included Jay Smith and Paul Van Betten) stayed on and we did a bunch of first ascents, including Some Like it Hot, a soaring dihedral smack dab in the middle of the West Face.

I use Open Office which is free and similar to Word, instead of Word. Google docs suck as do most of their products 

Carl Schneiderwrote:

Turn AutoSave OFF when using Word and ON when climbing. See Lori? One can link ANYTHING to climbing...   

If you do this then File | Save As still exists   

Carl. You surprise me. I would not have expected you to solve the Word problem.  Way to go!  

Nick, the more pictures you share the more you fill out the larger picture of your life. Pretty idyllic… a climb and a swim, a camper, sunsets. Blueberries I recall. And icing a shoulder in a frozen pond? And all that virgin rock to explore.   And a very fat cat.

LiHu… your post really summed it up perfectly. It’s not that I haven’t paid attention before… it’s that I haven’t paid enough attention to the people individually.  To see this mother bent over the gently wrapped body of her daughter, who wouldn’t feel unbearable grief and rage? Or a battered man/soldier trying to defend his home and family.  Looking at the rubble in Lebanon, the decimation in Ukraine… is this supposed to create peace?

And you are right… there’s nothing we can do.  My own “personal action plan “ is just to try to step away from demonizing “the other side” and believing someone is right and someone is wrong. I know I have mentioned this before, my best friend IS the other side.  I’m struggling to get rid of this garbage that prevents any empathy or compassion or even finding common ground.  

Wendy—thank you. I appreciate your words. I know you know of which you speak.  I feel like I’m clinging to Tony right now—don’t want to leave his side.  We talked with the vascular surgeon’s office last night, they assured us they have his file already marked “urgent” sitting on the doctors desk… and as soon as CT scan is in, they will spring to action.  All he wants to know is how soon after he can get his hips done. This is vintage Tony, but I don’t think he gets the gravity of the situation.

Guy, congratulations on your new grandbaby!!!

For my own sanity, it helps to have kind of a goal in mind that is purely play. I realize there are rocks of every kind spread throughout the world, but it helps me to hone in on just one or two close to home.  On my hike yesterday, I just sat and marveled at the top third of the Decompensator… unlike gym routes that are taken down every six weeks, these here will last forever. I really don’t need to get in my car and drive somewhere. I have this to master right in my own neighborhood.

I think it was Bob who said that when the Climbing gets very hard, there are very few options. Sometimes it will come down to one hold or one divet… one fraction of an inch to place a finger or a toe.  So I think it must be with this route – – there is a key to unlocking the sequence. I hope I get the opportunity to figure it out this year.

Lori Milaswrote:

LiHu… your post really summed it up perfectly. It’s not that I haven’t paid attention before… it’s that I haven’t paid enough attention to the people individually.  To see this mother bent over the gently wrapped body of her daughter, who wouldn’t feel unbearable grief and rage? Or a battered man/soldier trying to defend his home and family.  Looking at the rubble in Lebanon, the decimation in Ukraine… is this supposed to create peace?

And you are right… there’s nothing we can do.  My own “personal action plan “ is just to try to step away from demonizing “the other side” and believing someone is right and someone is wrong. I know I have mentioned this before, my best friend IS the other side.  I’m struggling to get rid of this garbage that prevents any empathy or compassion or even finding common ground.  

I agree, I’m torn up about these two wars as much as anyone else. This is why diplomacy is critical, understanding other people is so important in being able to negotiate with them. And the west needs to become model negotiators once again.

I think it was Bob who said that when the Climbing gets very hard, there are very few options. Sometimes it will come down to one hold or one divet… one fraction of an inch to place a finger or a toe.  So I think it must be with this route – – there is a key to unlocking the sequence. I hope I get the opportunity to figure it out this year.

Cool!

I tried out all the cracks in the gym and they all did me in. The climbs surrounding no longer are “Crack Off”. Did two 5.11b (gym rating, probably like sustained 5.9 to 5.10b moves and the 5.11d and 5.12c (maybe 5.10+ to 5.11 moves on both?)

All the cracks without the climbing holds spat me out.

The gym cracks are featureless inside so you need to really crank on the jams to stay on. My tape gloves worked worked for a while, but towards the end of my session fell apart. The backs of my hands were completely numb.

Loving it!   

Lori, you picked a wonderful place to play, push, and explore for sanity's sake! 

Li Huwrote:

I agree, I’m torn up about these two wars as much as anyone else. This is why diplomacy is critical, understanding other people is so important in being able to negotiate with them. And the west needs to become model negotiators once again.

Cool!

I tried out all the cracks in the gym and they all did me in. The climbs surrounding no longer are “Crack Off”. Did two 5.11b (gym rating, probably like sustained 5.9 to 5.10b moves and the 5.11d and 5.12c (maybe 5.10+ to 5.11 moves on both?)

All the cracks without the climbing holds spat me out.

The gym cracks are featureless inside so you need to really crank on the jams to stay on. My tape gloves worked worked for a while, but towards the end of my session fell apart. The backs of my hands were completely numb.

Loving it!   

Check out The Crack Climber's Technique Manual by Kent Pease

It's well worth the purchase price.

Cheers,

GO

It’s ok with me if summer lasts forever. (Which it appears to be.)  

Lori Milaswrote:

Carl. You surprise me. I would not have expected you to solve the Word problem.  Way to go!  

Hmm. Not sure how to take that comment   

I used to teach MS Office to the Cert IV level and still do at times. Initially I taught at TAFE (Technical and Further Education) which is a little like a community college in the US. Then I taught in prisons. Recently I've taught in a women's prison and two male prisons. I can teach all of MS Office to an advanced level, but I prefer to teach Excel.  

GabeOwrote:

Check out The Crack Climber's Technique Manual by Kent Pease

It's well worth the purchase price.

Cheers,

GO

Looks good! Will check it out.

Cracks were the thing in my youth, but not so much anymore.  Any sort of help will be sure to improve my skills. Thanks 

Carl Schneiderwrote:

Hmm. Not sure how to take that comment   

I used to teach MS Office to the Cert IV level and still do at times. Initially I taught at TAFE (Technical and Further Education) which is a little like a community college in the US. Then I taught in prisons. Recently I've taught in a women's prison and two male prisons. I can teach all of MS Office to an advanced level, but I prefer to teach Excel.  

Carl.. ALWAYS a compliment!  Between your climbing indoors and out, withania, kidney beans, dapper suits and poetry and occasional moods when it gets cold, I just wouldn’t have bet the farm that you were also an MS Office expert.

I don’t know if you remember the very first Word program.  It was a totally BLANK screen. Figuring out any functions required some kind of cheat sheet or attachment to the keyboard, use of function keys, shift, control keys. Totally bewildering.

Speaking of old software, whatever happened to Lotus?