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New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #34
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Last Friday, President Trump removed Gen. Timothy Haugh from his dual roles as director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and commander of United States Cyber Command (CYBERCOM). The enormous power of these two positions cannot be overstated. Gen. Timothy Haugh isn't just another senior military officer; he held one of the most sensitive and powerful jobs in America. These abrupt changes in leadership are yet another manifestation of how the Trump administration is moving to seize control over critical American institutions, both inside and outside government. The removal of Gen. Haugh is wrong and disturbing on so many levels that it's difficult to know where to start. Turning control of the NSA and CYBERCOM over to Trump loyalists should be of concern to every American. |
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Skied up into Smuggs today.   I got the idea that I should blast up one of the long alpine gully's.. I humped up about a thousand feet of snow to the start of Hidden Gully and that kicked my butt. The haze that had been filtering the sun burned off and snow conditions rapidly deteriorated. It was getting too warm and too many hangers up there.. Should have been 3hrs earlier.  I down climbed out of there. nothing to make an anchor with. you can see how the snow turned to shit rapidly...  got back to my skis and a short downhill ski led me to another approach. This one not too bad and a nice shady climb.  It got steep for a bit  the view was good  about 150ft of really good climbing the 6mm rap line worked again and I didn't drop it... one of my fears...  Isa is sick again from her grandson so I stopped on the way home and bought her chicken soup and easter lilies and tulips. |
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Lori (and others) here's some maps to allow you to get some perspective of where I climb. Morialta is just a local crag, nothing really spectacular there, but it's easy to get to, has a lot of options and has huge steel rings sunk in to the rock to set up a TR from (no need for someone to lead a route to TR it at a lot or Morialta crags). Here's a link to Morialta on the crag dot com, complete with a topless photo of me leading a grade 22 in 2017, so I would have been climbing for 5 years at that point. Below is the route to Morialta from my place, the route to Apapiles (large and small) and a pic of the RT setup at Morialta.     EDIT. Also this: |
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Nobel laureate Paul Krugman joined other economists Thursday in delivering some harsh words for President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies and those who think he’s doing a good job. “Anyone sounding the all-clear on tariffs, or Trump economic policy in general, should be kept away from sharp objects and banned from operating heavy machinery,” Krugman, one of the country’s top economists, wrote in a Substack post titled “Trump Is Stupid, Erratic and Weak.” |
Nick Goldsmithwrote: It’s hard not to be commenting every minute of every day on this. But is it time to create a separate thread for politics and world events? Historically we seem to post politics around election time and big events and then it trickles off. But I know it’s offensive to some. What say you, folks? |
Lori Milaswrote: You know my thoughts on this, I said it weeks ago in this thread. But I'll defer to whatever the majority here wants because, you know, democracy. On a different note: I am going to be putting in leave soon for a Monday and Tuesday in June to go down and do a first trip to Seneca Rocks. I'll drive down on Sunday and I'll be car camping the two nights that I am there. Before I throw it out on the main site for rando partners: Any one here interested in linking up for two days of climbing with me down there? I'm looking to do the easiest classic climbs there (even though I know that they are sandbagged). I'm happy to lead up to 5.4 out the gate and after checking out that grade, possibly higher (or lower???). Really want to do Gunsight to South Peak (not sure if the direct or the other way? Confused which is better? Maybe both?) and happy to follow Banana or possibly lead Debbie (probably not?) to get to the Notch or do the hike up and scramble to gain the start. Also Conn's West, Skyline, and Old Man Route. And happy to follow up to .8's. I've have all gear (ropes, double+ rack, 2 Rockie Talkies, etc.). Just need a friendly and fun partner that is safe and dependable. Need to know if there is someone on here that certain dates would work better for. Hopefully we can work it out and have a blast. I'm all about having fun and not getting too wrapped around the axle these days! Thanks! |
Buck Rogerswrote: Direct to south peak is waaay more exposed. Banana sucks, expanding flakes mean you’re basically soloing on very creaky rock. Haven’t done Debbie. Also haven’t done skyline 2nd pitch, but “the move” looks fun! |
Lori Milaswrote: |
 What’s that Thomas Edison said? I haven’t failed, I’ve only found 10,000 ways that don’t work. Well, I haven’t tried that many times to get to the base of this crack, but I’ve tried and failed a lot. I am sure there’s a way. Brandt pr  I keep seeing Climbers in this one area so the route must be better than it looks to me. Lousy pic  What I want to know is why so many people climb that route and no one seems to notice this ginormous magical rock formation just to the left. It takes my breath away.  It’s a considerable scramble, but one of my favorite Places to vegetate alone. And the second only project of mine. 
I still feel strong. I know I can climb. I don’t think I understood how much muscle and support all my joints need in order to carry on. I have an ortho appointment at a couple of weeks and I hope I can convey that I’m not just trying to get out of pain. i’m trying to get strong enough to climb without injury.  Tony’s left hip surgery scheduled for May 22. He’s not worried. I am. He also thinks that he will be driving himself back to Chicago two months later. What can I say? |
Lori Milaswrote: Lori- I can not believe you don’t know the name of that crack or haven’t climbed it. The FA was “ahead of its time”… some studly dudes did it in fine style. Tony will do ok. I get the feeling that he knows worrying about something does zero good. He’s got this! Later all |
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For the record, I (obviously) don't have a problem discussing politics in this thread, and do so because I find people with my shared interest of climbing tend to be better people to discuss politics with- and there (arguably) seems to be a norm in this thread about these kinds of discussions. By contrast, political 'discussions' at ST were much more bare-knuckled and often divisive- the tone here has generally been quite respectful and balanced. This said, if there was consensus among virtually all in this thread that politics should not be a part of it, I'd certainly respect that. |
apogeewrote: Yes, political discussions have been fairly calm here and, honestly, they add breadth/depth and interest to the people that post here. EDIT: Another way of saying this is that the political opinions of the crew that posts here interest me. The political opinions of other, random MP posters don't much. |
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Just finished the annual "old man's trip" to Pinnacles. Three excellent days (which is about as many as the older guys in the crew can do - I'm the next to youngest among those who regularly attend). Lots of climbers got really good new routes in (new to them) and even I led a route that was new to me (it was only recently established). I made time yesterday (day four) to finish replacing a set of 60 year old Star Dryvin bolts with half inch stainless steel (provided, of course, by ASCA). It's hard to say some times which is physically harder - drilling the new holes or pulling and patching the old. My hands and arms are completely tired today. |
Guy Keeseewrote: Ha ha! I know the NAME of Pope's Crack, that doesn't mean I can get to it. And basic rule of thumb, if I cannot get TO a route, I probably cannot climb it. I don't recognize the names of the studly dudes who did the FA. But you were/are ALL studly dudes. I want to be studly!!! The thing is with scrambling alone, I always face that moment of truth: I 'think' I can burrow under that boulder, or climb over it, but if I fell and broke something, would anyone hear me? Can my Garmin ping from there? I usually vote to live another day. Here's how this is going to go down with Tony. If he wants to drive 2000 miles to Chicago, across the desert in August, right after his surgery, I plan to fight fire with fire. I've long wanted to do this... I think I'll sign up now. I watched this highline rigged from the Sentinel to Tumbling Rainbow, White Room.  PS. It's kinda sweet that at least some folks would rather talk politics here. I checked out the other thread a bit. I probably wouldn't bother duking it out with youngsters who are all over the place. I could see a thread something like "Over 50 Crew Talk Politics". Or something like that. I don't mind including politics discussion here, but I worry about some who really feel upset about it. I'm just one vote. PSS. One last word for Guy. I REALLY enjoyed Kris Solem's posts here before the election, and yours, as calm responses to some of ours. I DID learn. It did cause me to think twice. In that respect, I think dialogue is a good thing. Does anyone remember the line from Leslie Lapidus in Sophie's Choice? |
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APOGEE….. politics, yes on the Taco discussions about politics became a blood sport. If you want that go to Russ’s- “wide” site- a no holds barred kinda political slam pit. I feel it (political discourse) doesn’t do squat to enlighten anyone, or change any body’s opinion about anything. Cut n paste articles do nothing for me (many times I’ve read the same article). Calling people names also does zero to influence opinions. Who is correct? Does it matter? Last thing to add….if you listen to Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Shumer etc tapes from 20 years ago…. They explain why Trumps tariffs are needed. Later all |
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About ten bazillion climbers have done Pope's Crack. Probably no sign of an access trail. |
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I'm back home from a few days with climbing in Vegas. I go several times a year. It's so close (3.5 hrs). I have a couple of local partners there and am often joined by some partners who drive/fly in from other places. On this recent trip, I had soft-reserved Sunday to climb with my friend Paul, knowing that, if the weather was good, he would be too exhausted from his Saturday plans to do a long day on Sunday. The spirit was willing but the flesh was in unknown condition. So it came to pass that I thought it would be better to free Paul from his commitment and pick up a partner from the Internet. This is something that I only very rarely do in a place where the stakes can be so high. I connected with Josh, who was also looking for a partner for that one day for "multipitch trad 5.9 and up". We texted back and forth and agreed on a 5 pitch 5.9 objective on Brownstone, where we would be able to swing leads. Frankly I was a bit surprised that he was interested in climbing with me because he is a much MUCH stronger climber than me. But he assured me he was into the plan. He had only climbed 2 multis in RR before, so pretty much everything would be new to him. I think we were both happy that the other person seemed experienced and trustworthy. As it came to pass, the weather continued sporadically rainy in the canyons for another two days. Then it turned hot and dry for the next 2 days. The idea of a 1200 foot elevation gain, 2 hr approach where we would then bake in the sun for 700 feet seemed less appealing. We pivoted to heading into Pine Creek, which gave us the ability to assess the soil wetness and decide if the shady walls were in condition. It's not at all unusual to change plans at the last minute in Red Rock. My partners and I always look at the forecast up until the last minute. So we ended up having a great day, 7 pitches on various things including the very wonderful Dark Shadows, which I can do over and over again. We took the requisite selfie, but I have cropped out my partner to respect his privacy.  Also had another great day out with Barb at Happy Acres on Tuesday. Ran into some very nice friendly people and shared some pleasant chitchat. That wall has one of the nicer gulley descents in Red Rock. Short and easy:  Barb snapped this pick of me tunneling under one of the boulders on the way down. Have a good day folks... |
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Tectonic shifts in world view are pretty unlikely due to online/forum discussions, but small shifts do occur- and I can speak to that personally, as the thoughtful commentary coming from those who rationally communicate it has absolutely influenced my thinking over the years. As Brad said, the discussions here in this thread are far more engaging to me than those that go on in the MP Political area- I'm definitely not interested in irrational bloodsport political 'discussions'. It's also all about being in tune with the group dynamic, and being aligned with it, and not in conflict with it. |
apogeewrote: I agree, I actually LIKE talking about politics if people are respectful and are actually open to opposing views. I mean, if I never listened to opposing views I would still believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. That said, I have had to block several of my facebook friends because they re-post things from some meme website 20+ times a day, and if they actually post anything themselves it is to call anyone who disagrees with them a "moron" or other names. |
Ward Smithwrote: I'll respect the rules of the forum I'm engaging in. But I'm not open to all views. I mean disagreeing about the top marginal tax rate is one thing. Arguing that some people should have fewer rights because of skin color, sexual orientation or religious preferences not so much. Where it gets more complicated is when someone says they don't support such things but then come up with tortured explanations of why they support politicians who do. I used to take that into consideration but at this point I no longer feel any need to give such people the benefit of the doubt. I mean one of the most common explanations I heard before the election from Trump supporters is that they didn't like the other stuff but he was going to be good for the economy. Well he isn't but they still support him so I don't think it was ever about that. |
