New and experienced climbers over 50 #36

Carl Schneiderwrote:

I always find it quite funny that we here write paragraphs and paragraphs about anything from growing tomatoes to world politics to gout and then say 'on a climbing note I did a V3 yesterday...

A bit like being found by your mother in your room with a Playboy magazine and saying 'I was studying biology' female anatomy.

Hahaha, I’m a bit “eclectic”  

BTW, as I predicted 30% and 10% tariffs. Market is up, Trump’s minions lowered it to a reasonable level. Actually, hopeful of this administration.

Trump should just say “Do what I want, not what I say”!   

Snopes discussion about the bleach comment (or lack of it):

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-bleach-covid-19/

What's True

During an April 2020 media briefing, Trump did ask members of the government's coronavirus task force to look into whether disinfectants could be injected inside people to treat COVID-19. But when a reporter asked in a follow-up question whether cleaning products like bleach and isopropyl alcohol would be injected into a person, the then-president said those products would be used for sterilizing an area, not for injections.

What's False

However, at no point did Trump explicitly tell people they could or should inject bleach into their bodies.

Trump does kind of sound like an out-of-touch grandpa when talking about medical things. He should leave those discussions to true experts.

BTW I'm extremely liberal. Not interested in mud-slinging.

No climbing. Here's a nice waterfall on Ken's Crack from Saturday, after a week of pretty heavy rain:

Li Huwrote:

It’s a geological quirk, but the international rules we had largely created keep them bound inside those waters. Of course, when they are capable they would try to break out of that prison.

Effectively, our rule of law that effectively blockades China from access to the Pacific created during an era when the West controlled the world.

We should learn to share power rather than attempt to enforce laws that make absolutely no sense and are unfair. Every move we make to attempt to contain China is met with a reaction from a country that was fully satisfied with being “number 2” on the world stage.

First trade war with China resulted in an aggressive “Belt and Road” Why? So they can enrich future customers for goods.

CHIPS act culminated in their AI, 5nm (albeit low yield), EUV, Quantum computing on par with Google/IBM

Hypersonic missiles, Stealth technology (no longer stealing the technology, but advancing it).

Indo-Pacific treaties that blockade China, they built a huge Navy with two ships nearing completion to compete with Ford class carriers.

We locked them out of ISS, now they’ve built their own space stations and are looking to colonise the moon.

Everything the USA does is to weaponise things that don’t make any sense.

We’re not going to stop them from advancing, the question is this, do we want to be allies or enemies (as another old politician coined it “competitor”)?

Honestly, I don’t think Xi actually gives a shit with name calling, but again, do you want to be friends or a foe with the leader of a rapidly emerging nation?

Keep in mind, they consider themselves to be emerging. Chinese people do take pride in it, but they still consider themselves as “emerging”, that is, they’re not yet at their potential. Many feel they are not even “halfway” there.

Fixed that for you, cause until all this war mongering, we all were in a better place.

Had it not been for Pompeo and continued on through Biden and all the rest of the war hawks in the USA asserting their dominance, we’d all be in a happier place.

USA “policemanship” in and outside its borders led to some pretty horrific crimes and war crimes against people of colour. A very small percentage of the criminals were punished.

Chinese were treated as sub-humans along with all other Asians and people of colour by western “police-ing” otherwise known as imperialism.

Thanks for your response, though I pretty much disagree with almost everything you said, or at least interpretations seem a bit twisted imo. I do agree there was much horribleness during the western imperialism times (not really sure it was particularly worse than the atrocities caused by native leaders though. I seem to remember from not so old history many millions slaughtered or dying of  human caused famine).

Nobody is blockading China except for not wanting them to exploit other nations coastal waters. It is China that is  making unreasonable territorial claims that have no legal basis and attacking other nations ships with water canons and ramming, while telling others they can't sail in international waters or fish in their own.

The 'policing' i referred to was after ww2, which kept the seas far more open for trade, not previous colonialism. I don't want to see colonialism come back.

if Xi is fine with comparison of his looks to Winnie the Pooh, why is it censored and nearly outright banned?

No, I don't want us to be allies with dictatorships and I don't think we should be doing things that help build their strength. I certainly don't think we should have been friends with Germany while they were a "rapidly advancing" power in the 1930s or Russia in its current malignant state.

Isidnar wrote:

Fake news. Winnie the Pooh is not censored in China.

Source: me (I have lived there for the last 14 years.)

Watched any Winnie the Pooh films there lately? Make any comparisons between Xi and WTP online?

Oh, and I managed to get out a few hours the other day and did a bunch of V0-V1s :) One was a pretty classic tall arete.

While none of us cannot be appalled at the current state of what’s going on in our country right now we have to remember to take a breath now and then and just go climbing.

Norm Larsonwrote:

While none of us cannot be appalled at the current state of what’s going on in our country right now we have to remember to take a breath now and then and just go climbing.

Great advice!

Idaho Bobwrote:

Great advice!

And great venue!

Topping out...

Geez...11 years ago...  Need to try Duane's newer Strawberry Fields...(climbed Strawberry Jam in '86...yikes).

Brian in SLCwrote:

And great venue!

Topping out...

Geez...11 years ago...  Need to try Duane's newer Strawberry Fields...(climbed Strawberry Jam in '86...yikes).

I beat you on Strawberry Jam by 5 years Brian. It might have been my first 5.10. Duane’s Strawberry Fields is 5 stars. 

On a lighter note there's nothing like using the oven to warm up my house on a cold, wet Oregon morning.

My grandmother's banana bread. 

I'm headed over to Smith for three days of climbing with Gabe who some of you met at the first over 50 meetup at COR. It's a hopeless effort to weigh him down so I can keep up.

It was amazing and frightening when some pagers were rigged to explode. Imagine what could be planted on a gifted jumbo jet. 

Photo: Jim M. 

philip bonewrote:

It was amazing and frightening when some pagers were rigged to explode. Imagine what could be planted on a gifted jumbo jet. 

More frightening is we probably wouldn't even get any relief. Look at the current succession list https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession..

Edit to add: By the time the plane is upgraded with all the security equipment and thoroughly gone over it probably wouldn't save the US any money, particularly if it becomes property of Trump's Library once his term is up so the expense wouldn't be spread over more years. The more pertinent issue I think is the bribery aspect and disregarding the Constitution., going along with his crypto scams that likely imo are further cover for bribery.

philip bonewrote:

Amazing dihedral that probably needs to be on my bucket list! (If not too hard.) What is it?

dragonswrote:

No climbing. Here's a nice waterfall on Ken's Crack from Saturday, after a week of pretty heavy rain:

It's "no climbing" in the US.  In the UK that's referred to as "full conditions."

Daniel Joderwrote:

Amazing dihedral that probably needs to be on my bucket list! (If not too hard.) What is it?

Sheila 10a is the corner crack route in Pine Creek Canyon north of Bishop, Ca. 5 star route.

Daniel Joderwrote:

Amazing dihedral that probably needs to be on my bucket list! (If not too hard.) What is it?

Hi Daniel. seeing as how Phil already posted three times today, I'll pitch in here so you don't have to wait.

They were doing the route Sheila in Pine Creek Canyon on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. One of the all time classic routes in that area. Here's a link:

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105967548/sheila 

EDIT:

I see that Norm has identified it too, using a rating of 5.10a. It was rated 10a when I did the lead, but somehow Mountain Project has it at 10b.

Norm Larsonwrote:

Sheila 10a is the corner crack route in Pine Creek Canyon north of Bishop, Ca. 5 star route.

I've always wanted to go climb there but my pebble wrestling friends always shut me down.☹️

I'm feeling encouraged.  Ever since climbing the project route (it will have a name soon), I'm reflecting on possibilities.  I expected hard climbing to be well behind me by now, just by virtue of being old.  I'm watching 'the riptide of decay' sweep through the lives of my family and friends, as though it is inevitable sooner than later.  

Over the last month I've been reviewing everything health-wise, diet-wise.  Due to a lot of pain in both knees I finally went back to my Ortho, got two MRI's, 6 sets of xrays.  He said I have TWO torn meniscus(es).  He also said they don't operate on old people, unless I want to do a full fall on my knee and rip it good.  Otherwise, nada.  

But it is opening new insights.  There is a doctor in LA who does PRP and Stem Cell injections... several climbers swear by this, and reading up, it's a keeper.  But more importantly, I can finally follow through on the knee PT program I received from Esther Smith (Grassroots Physical Therapy)... I KNOW I can heal this.  

I've been focusing on sleep and Recovery.  Something is working.  Hitting the sack at the same time every night.  Making sure I get 100-120 grams of protein every day.  I've added a little creatine.

I have lost track of this thread... someone went sideways in the gym and wished they hadn't. (was it Gabe?) The one thing I feel about aging is the need to be more intentional than ever.  I am working on honing down EVERYTHING to more minimal... less supplements, less extraneous activity, less negative (or even positive) distractions.  Saying no to fun things that could end REALLY fun things.  

But I feel better than I did 5 years ago.  I feel more fit.  I'm a better climber.  I sleep better.  The very opposite of what I expected. 

The book that turned my life around 10 years ago, Younger Next Year, suggested we familiarize ourselves with the idea of 'kedging'.  "Climbing out of the ordinary, setting a desperate goal and working like crazy to get there.  To save yourself."  It could be anything ...a high-endurance vacation biking or skiing, 'Going to Stowe', anything that pulls you forward, life affirming.  

Anyone here have a kedge lined up?  Something big, positive and wonderful?  

I have a bunch of kedges in mind.  Locally, I keep looking at a few impossible routes to climb.  One is Blackjack 11a.  I know, I know!  Ridiculous!  Might never happen, but it also MIGHT HAPPEN.  I have some other kedges, more personal... but good ones to keep pulling me forward on into life.  

Notice that when Ward injured himself recently he went right into getting mileage in (basically lots of climbs under his limit),  that to me is the smartest thing anyone can do at any age with injuries. I wonder how those torn meniscus happened, any thoughts on that?