New and experienced climbers over 50 #37

Colden. I mowed with a scythe when I was a kid.  Blue Bessi is 47 horse farm tractor. She gets it done. For birthdays and Christmas I have gotten Isa a splitting maul, chainsaw,table saw and quite a few other tools. She loves all of them. 

Cherokee - Great story, and what might or might not have been a typo: "a weakened warrior."

Certainly in my case a very appropriate description.

Brandt Allen wrote:

Cherokee - Great story, and what might or might not have been a typo: "a weakened warrior."

Certainly in my case a very appropriate description.

I didn’t catch that one! That would be a great name for a route. 

dragons wrote:

Is that an invitation?

Dragons,

I've thrown this out there before, and it goes for most everyone on this thread, if you want to vacay in central Oregon and climb I would be happy to ropegun for you or point you in the direction of suitably easy climbs for you. I even have a spare room available if I decide that I really like you. While we are having some pretty nice weather at the moment, spring and fall are our most reliable seasons for the random traveler. Send me a pm and we can work it from there.

I love the phrase “weakened warrior”, and also, English is crazy (highly recommend “our magnificent bastard tongue” as a good history of the linguistics).

Gunks’ climbs: strangely, I never really enjoyed Jackie; the roof on p1 was just awkward the couple of times I climbed it.  If you can finagle your way to a permit somehow, greyface at skytop was amazing back in the late 80’s early 90’s. And horseman if it’s not too crowded!

Anyway, I’m headed up to the north woods of vt for the next three weeks to hooligan heights to help with site prep.  Might head south a bit to check rumney out while I’m there. Haven’t been to Rumney since maybe 2000? I’m sure it’s quite different. If anyone is there midweek, lmk!

fossil wrote:

Dragons,

I've thrown this out there before, and it goes for most everyone on this thread, if you want to vacay in central Oregon and climb I would be happy to ropegun for you or point you in the direction of suitably easy climbs for you. I even have a spare room available if I decide that I really like you. While we are having some pretty nice weather at the moment, spring and fall are our most reliable seasons for the random traveler. Send me a pm and we can work it from there.

Oh, smith. I climbed there loads bitd (92-97).  I hope it’s still as marvelous a place! I hear the huckleberry ice cream stand closed, though.

I actually climbed outside at Farley today, sorry no pics.  Easy routes with kids from three families. GabeO, if you go back there, all the way to the left are a bunch of great easy routes that the late Tony Gardner and his wife Alice put up fairly recently.  All glue in bolts and pigtail anchors.

Oh, Tony passed away. Sorry to hear that, Ward. He was a great guy. I loved the stories of his hippy days traveling through Afghanistan. I hope Alice is doing OK. Please send her my love if you see her.

M Sprague wrote:

Oh, Tony passed away. Sorry to hear that, Ward. He was a great guy. I loved the stories of his hippy days traveling through Afghanistan. I hope Alice is doing OK. Please send her my love if you see her.

Glad you liked those routes Ward---they are a much-needed addition to the crag.

Weather-permitting, next Wednesday (6/19) a group of us will be helping Alice do belay platform and stair work at the right hand of the 2 crags ( Lowlands extension). If either of you, or anyone else, is interested in helping out, we could definitely use more 'hands'. The WMCC has also scheduled a work day at Farley in Tony's memory on July 19--either Lowlands or Crag X.

Ward Smith wrote:

I actually climbed outside at Farley today, sorry no pics.  Easy routes with kids from three families. GabeO, if you go back there, all the way to the left are a bunch of great easy routes that the late Tony Gardner and his wife Alice put up fairly recently.  All glue in bolts and pigtail anchors.

I don't know my way around very well, but is this the new place (I believe it's called Lowlands) that's on the way to Crag X?  If so, I went there on my most recent trip.  Perfect place for the kiddos, with the low angle and loads of holds close together.  If it's some other place, let me know, I'll have to check it out too!

I'm heading to Hanging Mountain on Sunday for Father's day with a friend who also has a young family.  Just us two dads, though, leaving the families behind on this trip.  Hope to work myself pretty hard and come home with, maybe not Cherokee N's thousand-mile-stare, but as close as I can get to it from day of cragging.

Our cat situation is still a nightmare.  We're doing a lot of the things Fossil mentioned.  Some glimmers of progress in an otherwise awful and non-sustainable state of affairs.  

Going to the march on Saturday.  Too many issues to choose from, probably will not have a sign.

GO 

That is the place, the Lowlands.  We had a bunch of beginner kid climbers and everyone had a good time.

fossil wrote:

Dragons,

I've thrown this out there before, and it goes for most everyone on this thread, if you want to vacay in central Oregon and climb I would be happy to ropegun for you or point you in the direction of suitably easy climbs for you. I even have a spare room available if I decide that I really like you. While we are having some pretty nice weather at the moment, spring and fall are our most reliable seasons for the random traveler. Send me a pm and we can work it from there.

Thanks fossil, if I ever get out that way (and I hope I will), I'll shoot you a message.

Colden Dark wrote:

Hey Carl! I love your posts, especially your climbing/camping trip reports and your poetry. I also appreciate your etic perspective from down there. It gives us a sense of how we look from the outside. Cheers!

Thank you. I like being here 

Jim U wrote:

ok fine clown comment rescinded.... not so much the penal colony part though LMAO.  pleasure to meet to chief.

Like I said earlier, cherished memories 

Something about "we were soldiers/diggers once and young" - different war, same attitude

That’s cool   

Gabe, I wonder what getting them high on catnip would do.

Question out of left field, but I hope someone can answer.  Has anyone ever climbed Tonic Boom (on Tumbling Rainbow) other than Russ Walling?  I could swear some stories were told earlier on this thread, but cannot find them now.  Anyone? 

M Sprague wrote:

Gabe, I wonder what getting them high on catnip would do.

It's worth a shot if nothing else works. Though i think only the non-aggressor is really into it. Anyway, right now they're stoned to the gills on gabapentin, which i think is a much more mellow high for cats than catnip.  And longer lasting.  

GO

Yeah, I guess the catnip is more of a simulant, go crazy kind of drug for cats than a "chill together" one. Oh well. maybe a shave and a bath for both of them. My old dog would have known what to do.

New route on the Right General (new, never-before climbed formation). Up the skyline down and left of Josh. Well protected; mix of bolts and gear. It's 5.8 in two places. We're 80 feet up with another 20 to 30 to go (as usual the photo foreshortens it).

The view from the base is incredible and it will only get better the higher we go. We're thinking about drilling holes on top for the legs of an aluminum picnic table and leaving it there permanently.

All the routes here will have names vaguely (and sometimes farcically) related to one general or another. As an example this route is called Linoleum Blownapart. (What do you get when you throw a grenade into a French general's bathroom?)

The 14 inch chimney to off width to fists off photo to the left  looks intimidating - maybe harder than I can lead, but we'll see. Calling it Blood and Guts.

EDIT: the bit about the picnic table was completely tongue in cheek in case it wasn't obvious.

Brad Young wrote:

^^^

I got a little careless though and changed into shorts one climb too early (it's only a scrape - from banging my knee on very sharp knobs while high-stepping):

You scraped your knee? Wow! Thanks for posting up!