New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #35

Jay Goodwin wrote:

Lori, the pictograph is just up and left from (behind) the sign. It is quite obvious. It is red, as is common for pictographs. Sort of looks like a stylized bird. About 18" tall and 12" wide.

Protecting an ancient pictograph by closing a couple of mediocre routes seems more than reasonable.  In fact, it is difficult to take an argument against this National Park policy seriously.

Jay Goodwin wrote:

It's a pictograph, not a petroglyph. And Guy has told us his story.

It was a truly excellent story too - very well told and juuuust enough uncertainty to leave one not quite clear that all of it is true. Like some of the true classics of our sport.

Up here in the central part of the Sierra Nevada, things are starting to open up. I went up just for the afternoon; doing some access-trail maintenance and replacing the hangers on a top anchor since someone seems to have stolen them (possibly a non-climber since this one is close to the highway and the top is accessible with light scrambling).

These two approve highly of any and all antics up here, close to home (they don't get to go to Pinnacles with me). Especially the snowbanks. Yeah, today the snowbanks.

Lori Milas wrote:

John, I finally got the MRI of my right knee yesterday. Which knee are you getting?   This knee thing is a show stopper—it’s very hard to climb while also trying to protect a knee. The one thing that has dramatically helped me with pain and mobility in that joint is sun. Roll up your pant leg and let the sun shine on your knee(s) whenever you think of it. Red light therapy helps… but the sun helps more.  I hope your MRI turns out ok! 

—-

100 days. Unbelievable. 

Lori

It is my left knee. Later today, I go for an evaluation on getting PT. Friday at 11:15 AM I get an MRI.

John

Nick Goldsmith wrote:

rolled in this afternoon and sampled the best 5.4 anywhere... 

rapping over a Seneca 5.7 ;)  

82f

Nick

Great pictures. I loved being on top of Seneca rocks looking over the valley below.  Too bad that we missed each other by a week. I could not climb with you due to my knee problem however Jean would have loved to climb with you.

My best climb ever at Seneca was doing Crack of Dawn. I wanted to do it old school and used only stoppers leading it. At the slight overhang, I placed a stopper and went to attach a quick draw. I could not connect the quick draw since the stopper wire went into the crack. I then got another stopper and put it into my mouth and clipped it before setting that stopper. Jean had a harder time climbing it since I did place a couple of stoppers a little too hard. She then had to hang on one arm and using the other arm with the nut tool to get the stoppers out. Neither of us used any tape to climb this.

Almost every time that we went to Seneca, we did The Burn. It is one of the easiest approaches and also Ecstasy.

Have a great time there.

John

More great news!

https://phys.org/news/2025-04-chemicals-climbing-abrasion-lung-issues.amp

The one time I led Crack of dawn I got spanked and used the nylon bucket...

Nick Goldsmith wrote:

The one time I led Crack of dawn I got spanked and used the nylon bucket...

The Ole silver jug of joy!

dragons wrote:

No, if you look at the risks involved in all aspects of procreation, women are far bigger risk-takers than men.

This is undoubtedly true, but it could be argued that this would lead to being more risk averse when it comes to recreation (like climbing). 

Lori, if i compare my health (mental and physical) to where i was five years ago, at forty-nine, with a two year old daughter, it's a mixed bag. We were just at the start of Covid, so that added a lot of anxiety to the mix, particularly with the nincompoop we had as president at the time. And with a little kid in the mix, it just wasn't safe to get out and climb, so that whole spring and summer was a wash. I did start hangboarding, and found that when i got back outside, i was climbing strongly, so that was a plus. 

Honestly, it would be most accurate to say that over the last five years the general trend was downward for the first half of it, and then upward for the second half. This was due to a combination of factors including moving (three times), injury (elbow, back), and staying away from people during Covid.  

GO

GabeO wrote:

This is undoubtedly true, but it could be argued that this would lead to being more risk averse when it comes to recreation (like climbing).

To clarify: Are you saying that you think people tend to maintain an average level of risk across all activities? I don't really see this happening. So let's say you're a firefighter. Then to balance out the risk at work, you'll be very cautious when driving (stick to the speed limit), keep your finances in low risk investments, and so on. I dunno, but I doubt it. I think some people are less concerned about risks on average. I don't know why, but that's what it seems like. Differences in the amygdala? Or maybe their perception of risk is faulty. E.g. some people think "it won't happen to me." So they get away with taking risks by ignoring them, even though bells should be ringing in their heads.

Lori, I was wondering how you were going "cut into pieces" the calve's foot. I bet I could find that one my area, but I'm not tempted to try  

Li Hu
> Congress is concerned about TP-Link being insecure

But Signal is okay, right? Just asking because I still use that... Anyways thanks for pointing to that and the AirPlay article, also cause for concern.

> Isn’t the USA electorate supposed to reflect the will of the people?

Yeah the problem is that there's no such thing as "the people". A fairly large chunk of people (about 50%?) are going to be unhappy during any administration. Things get worse when people can't even talk to each other anymore.

dragons wrote:

To clarify: Are you saying that you think people tend to maintain an average level of risk across all activities? I don't really see this happening. So let's say you're a firefighter. Then to balance out the risk at work, you'll be very cautious when driving (stick to the speed limit), keep your finances in low risk investments, and so on. I dunno, but I doubt it. I think some people are less concerned about risks on average. I don't know why, but that's what it seems like. Differences in the amygdala? Or maybe their perception of risk is faulty. E.g. some people think "it won't happen to me." So they get away with taking risks by ignoring them, even though bells should be ringing in their heads.

People in general are bad at evaluating risk. We fear things that push our emotional buttons even if they're low probability while ignoring much riskier stuff because it doesn't generate an emotional response.

dragons wrote:

To clarify: Are you saying that you think people tend to maintain an average level of risk across all activities? I don't really see this happening. 

No, i agree, people vary tremendously in their risk tolerance, and may well be fairly consistent across activities.  But just because most activities might trend in the same direction, some might be inverse. If that is the case then just saying that because procreation is riskier for women doesn't necessarily mean that (on average) women are more risk tolerant. It's easy to imagine biological drivers for an inverse relationship.  Particularly since a lot of that risk in procreation comes in the form of invested resources. So that might leave one less interested in risking resources in other areas. But while I've read about evolutionary biology and find it an interesting subject, I'm no expert, so i won't make any claim to know how this one might work out. 

Cheers, 

GO

Emil Briggs wrote:

People in general are bad at evaluating risk...

Yep, that probably explains quite a lot of it.

Emil Briggs wrote:

People in general are bad at evaluating risk. We fear things that push our emotional buttons even if they're low probability while ignoring much riskier stuff because it doesn't generate an emotional response.

Sounds like the average persons daily commute, folks will do crazy ass shit to get home 5 minutes earlier in their car while the same person won't lean over the rail at a view area in a scenic place.

Dragons, the soup seems to be doing just fine without the cow foot. I should’ve learned the lesson the last time I made chicken soup which called for a pound of chicken feet in addition to the whole organic chicken. It sounded good in theory, but when I opened the bag and saw all those little toes and toenails, I just couldn’t do it.  

—-

I’m feeling a little serious today and trying to find some balance. Maybe I mentioned that we meet three friends every week for dinner? They are in their 80s and fading fast. One gal, Bev, has become severely anemic and now has COPD and really just wants to go. Her husband is a little more fit and I can see that he’s lonely as he is losing his wife. The third person is really frail and not quite in his right head.

And then there’s Tony about to go in for his, I don’t know, 10th surgery next month?  

We met at Applebee’s. This made everybody happy. Having diabetes and celiac I have to be really careful. But it’s not just that. I don’t want the severe decline I see everywhere around me. I ordered a small steak and a spinach artichoke dip. I came home miserably sick and was up all night. I got some gluten.  

So I googled the ingredients from Applebee’s website and this is the first thing I found—which is a partial list of ingredients in their Mac and Cheese.  How is this even legal?  

Every menu item was similar to this. Ingredients that are banned in every other country. I looked around Applebee’s and almost every single person was obese and most appear ill.  I just felt tremendous compassion. Young kids already overweight and pale.  

I think America is slowly poisoning itself.

In the year that I have known Bev, I’ve never held forth on diet and nutrition. Tony says she was a nurse. She already knows. No she does not! I majored in dietetics at Long Beach State and left after a couple of years of heavy chemistry, but realizing that had nothing to do with food and health. But it sure gave me a foundation for reading studies. Anyway, I asked Bev last night if she could be low in protein, and she said “absolutely not“. When I asked her what she eats daily it came down to a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast, an English muffin with a slice of cheese for lunch, and some kind of dinner which she picks at.  She is now on a plethora of medication’s and struggling with forgetfulness and early dementia and I’ll bet not a single doctor is going to address her diet.

I am not a conspiracy theorist, but it’s hard not to wonder who benefits from people consuming the worst food on the planet – – it has to be the medical profession and pharmaceutical companies.

I’m just incredibly sad/angry about this.  And ready to actually really read what RFK is preaching.  I haven’t heard a single word from the dems. 

Rained last night and this morning so we went hiking. Perfect 72f this afternoon so we climbed 3 pitches and swam in the river. 

That leads me to this… I was feeling so sick today on the rock and really pissed off. No more Applebees! I am convinced that at least for me it takes extraordinary measures to stay healthy enough to climb. I realize this won’t last forever. But I look at food as fuel, as nutrition and building blocks.

We were at hall of horrors and on such a beautiful rock with thin edges and I couldn’t wait to hop on. I was in for a big surprise—had forgotten what it takes— and had to spend most of my time remedial edging. My comfy shoes couldn’t handle those edges and I have lost that kind of ankle strength.

Geez… Learning to stem with hands and feet pushed up against two walls hard, switching to fine edging on low angle rock, smearing, working your way up cracks – – I don’t know how to keep on top of it all!  So I just wanted to stay low to the ground today and practice walking those tiny edges.

And I always remember watching Jeremy Schoenborn just sort of resting on an edge on run for your life. How casual is that! 

My first time getting up Foops in 1976. Photos by Harvey Arnold.

Lori, it sounds like maybe you need to spend more time with the Jeremy types and less time with the Bev types. Lol. Been reading some Goethe recently for inspiration:

“Tell me with whom you consort and I will tell you who you are”.

and also

“The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone”.

Nick, that looks like a perfect spring day after a long NE kingdom winter. Love the greenery in everyone’s recent east coast pics.

Li Hu wrote:

It’s interesting, and I’m wondering if an AI created the account as well? Cool and obvious to me, but I’m thinking that within a 4-5 years it would be indistinguishable from posts done by the average person?

On another note, Congress is concerned about TP-Link being insecure?

https://apple.news/A7cDL6WjiREatTU5GifeXvQ

Hate to say it, but it’s pretty much anti/Chinese hate. All systems can be hacked and just because a Chinese company designed the chip doesn’t make it any more prone to hacking. They all use ARM Trustzone.

Every company wants their products to be secure.

There may be some Chinese hate going on but the real issue with TP-Link products is firmware with known vulnerabilities which they fail to update on a timely basis. 

Rich Ross wrote:

My first time getting up Foops in 1976. Photos by Harvey Arnold.

Great photos! I started climbing around then and seeing pictures of the legendary Foops in the Gunks was mind blowing and inspirational for us young uns. Well done, Rich!