New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #31

I use these as my go to belay lockers. easy to use with gloves. You do have to do a visual on them as sometimes they stick and don't lock. its easy to fix but you have to catch it to fix it. 

C Miller wrote:

Hahaha! You’ll get plenty of egging…   

Greg Opland wrote:

Here's a photo from a couple weeks ago just for climbing content purposes...
Russ ain't sitting around pining for the Proj.    

You guys in Greece?  Jealous!  Whereabouts? 

GO

Good morning ya’ll..   

GabeO wrote:

You guys in Greece?  Jealous!  Whereabouts? 

GO

Kalymnos - - haven for old people

First snow of the season here in Gillette, Wyoming this morning. Hopefully it will douse the fires that have been ravaging the Bighorn National Forest. A balmy 28°F. 

It'll melt off before afternoon. Then the forecast is for another stretch of stellar clear cool weather. 

nice hike today

Snow on Mt Washington

Alan Rubin wrote:

I'll add that while I didn't luck out with the weather last weekend at the Gunks ( especially being an increasingly cold-phobic old dude--and, unlike sturdier folk such as Dragons) and didn't get to climb outdoors, I still had a very enjoyable weekend catching up, after many years, with some old friends and getting to know better some new ones--such as Gabe and his family. And, even if it was just in a gym, rgold and I finally got the chance to climb together again for the first time in about 40 years. Hopefully next spring we will be able to do so again, this time on the cliff. The one regret was that none of us thought to take any group pictures--especially at our dinner.

We just missed Alan, arriving New Paltz Tuesday night, after picking up our youngest who lives in Brooklyn. Did a spectacular hike Wednesday near Woodstock that started and finished at a Tibetan Temple

Climbed at the Gunk's today with perfect weather and some great routes.

Sorry that we missed connecting Randy. Maybe next time. Hope the rack suggestions were helpful.

Snowline is dropping on the Kenai Peninsula. Winter coming soon. Last pic is tele heaven for old knees…

That's beautiful. 

I’ve been feeling restless and wishing I could head North for the Sierra, maybe see my kids and grandkids who are growing up without me.  There’s just no solution to this conundrum.  We have not learned to bilocate yet.  (I started the pink hat picnic tradition).

Tony’s surgery is scheduled for Thursday.  Last night he suddenly felt weak, cold and sweaty and I thought we were through.  If that thing bursts before it can get repaired, it’s game over.  Tony, however, wasn’t worried at all.  Of course.  He asked me to ‘stop looking at me‘.  I guess I was hovering.    

So, no pine trees and snow for me right now… but I sure enjoy these pictures from all of you!

—-

So, I continue my exploration of the 800,000 acres of land here.  I think I’ve covered 40.  I’ll be climbing Monday… which rock/route do I want to visit?  No shortage of choices!

Checked out my very first climb here, W.A,C. And saw that it was put up in the 60’s by Tom Higgins.  Do I know him?  Was he well known here?  

I stopped in a windstorm to admire C.S. Special again.  Pushing my car door open, my hat and contents of my car blew out… and I mean, GONE.  I never even saw it all blow away. 

I have to say I think these may be the best of times, even with some homesickness (for me).  It never occurred to me that this age span could be the best years.  I’m really thinking of how much we’ve already dealt with and dispensed with in life… jobs, careers, kids, bills, ‘what shall I be?’.  So many young suicides lately.  So much youthful angst that we no longer deal with.  And I also remind myself of that promise I made myself when I left a full time job, “This is your new job”.  Meaning, climbing… and all that goes with it.  Until/if this phase passes ‘this’ is what I’m doing. 

PS.  With a chuckle and gratitude to Guy.  Before moving here Guy advised that I should get a shotgun and a cowboy hat and I thought he must be joking.  Surely my peace-loving hippie tribe will be here to welcome us with open arms.  Well… besides my psycho next door neighbor who required extraction by the SWAT team awhile back… and the next neighbor who decided to knife his way into the home of another neighbor (they tapped out and moved)… this week there were 15 squad cars surrounding the house 4 doors down, and this went on ALL DAY.  It’s just the Wild West here…   Can’t say we weren’t warned.

I miss Russ. 

Lori, Tom Higgins was one of the leading Southern California ( and US) free climbers of the '60s and '70s. He was a particularly strong face climber and, for many years, he and Bob Kamps were a very formidable partnership. He was a staunch proponent of 'traditional' ethics--especially the California 'interpretation' Sadly, he passed away a few years ago.

Tom Higgins - what a visionary climber. There are a lot of nice remembrances of Higgy in this thread:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/3071926/Tom-Higgins

Tom passed thirteen years after his great mentor, Bob Kamps, left us. I remember watching them climb in the Needles of SD, tip toeing up steep faces on tiny nubbins, always in control. Pure of style and strong of purpose. Tom Higgins

Ha Lori. You remember. Do you know how to use it? Load and unload in the dark, by feel?

If not, go take some classes so you can, whilst under stress of the moment.

Deleted political comment 

Kris…. Enjoy 

Randy enjoy your retirement, you earned it.

Tom Higgins…. After climbing one of his climbs- you remember the name forever.

We are still having an Indian Summer- I’m looking forward to getting back up to Bishop ASAP. Conditions are absolutely perfect right now, cool nights warm days.

Later all 

Guy, you advised everyone to wait until November 6 to make political comments. I am impressed with your self restraint. I’ve just given in and am spouting whenever the need arises. I think your guy is winning.

The truth is, I haven’t touched the shotgun… yet. Well I touched it and then jumped back in case it should explode. Tony is not optimistic about my ability to use this thing. OK, I will try.  I may never lead climb, but I should know how to shoot a gun and look impressive doing it.

The stories on Tom Higgins in super topo and also other long articles break my heart. What a guy and what a leader.  I missed ever knowing him and others, but character is everything, and ethics, and such deep love of nature and rock.  I hope more stories are forthcoming here. 

On my morning expedition, I thought I should go give this rock some love. It has ramps here and there that look fun.

An Eye For An Eye and a Route for a Route.  God willing I will be climbing this on Monday.

while cruising Palm Springs for a little bit, I asked Tony to pull into the Bentley dealership because therin lies my alter ego. Every year I have to drive in and check out whatever new car they have that I will never own. This one’s only half a million bucks. Tony gets upset enough that I drag dirt and rocks into his car. Could you just imagine if it were a Bentley?

by the way, I watched the new National Geographic documentary called the devils climb with Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell and enjoyed it thoroughly. But if Bob or anyone else watches, I am dying to ask about a key sequence of a rappel down a very long face that they rigged a tiny nut in a crack as the anchor and attached a carabiner, not a locker, and strung the thinnest rope about the width of the shoe string, and put themselves on both ends to simul-rap.  I am not an expert, but I think I saw a few problems here.

Lori Milas wrote:

Guy, you advised everyone to wait until November 6 to make political comments. I am impressed with your self restraint. I’ve just given in and am spouting whenever the need arises. I think your guy is winning.

Both Russia and China are hoping for a Trump win.

Israel is destroying all their enemies now, cause USA support may wane afterwards. Likely, the THAAD will remain in Israel.

Betting markets are also veering towards.that direction.

It’s bizarre. Weaker USA is the direction people want? Okay, I’m focused upon climbing and making money  

Hard to comprehend it these days, but there was a time, really not that long ago, that didn’t have the kind of divisiveness and partisanship as exists right now. What’s really disturbing is that there is now nearly an entire generation that believes this kind of divisiveness is ‘normal’ in America. Regulars to this thread are some of the dwindling few that know politics in this country are as abnormal as they have ever been.

apogee wrote:

Hard to comprehend it these days, but there was a time, really not that long ago, that didn’t have the kind of divisiveness and partisanship as exists right now. What’s really disturbing is that there is now nearly an entire generation that believes this kind of divisiveness is ‘normal’ in America. Regulars to this thread are some of the dwindling few that know politics in this country are as abnormal as they have ever been.

You’re absolutely correct that the issues should be about who pays more or less taxes and what we should spend the money on. The rhetoric isn’t that, and the split is caused by fear.

Ideally, there should be freedom to make choices, free trade, no sanctions and no tariffs. Nobody is running on that platform…