New and experienced climbers over 50 #37

With all the gnashing of teeth by Democrats one would hope they could look a bit inward and see where they totally failed in the last election. Time to try and do better.

Alienating a large segment of the population probably is not going to solve any problems.

Too hot but not too humid to climb here.

Murfwrote:

Wow - Suicide afternoon with Levy and EE I'm sure fun was had!  

I just went to that Fish Creek and Levy's routes were the among the standouts.

Murf…. Happy you enjoyed it!

Hopefully see you up there this Summer, Fall… 

Heading with Keesee to the east side this weekend.  Elbow is finally healed.  Garden is going great guns, including paty pan squash.  Too many tomatoes to use and chilies are just starting to come in and there are too many of them too, and most are too damn hot.  The one good thing is that my body loves livinng on tomatoes and loses about 2 pounds a week when I do that.  I suppose if I had a good greenhouse I could be skinny again...  Except for tacos.

Colden Darkwrote:

I was in the library today when I received an emergency alert on my phone. I could hear everyone else received it as well. Can you imagine a country where the NWS is privatized and only paying subscribers receive tsunami alerts? Unfortunately, I can…

We're a nation of rugged individualists. 

Sure. 

I received a phone call a week ago from my doctor‘s office telling me that my physician of 35 years, Dr. Uzzi Reiss, is dying and has shut down his practice. Wait, what? His office manager, Rosie, said she didn’t know whether he would be back for a day or so before he was completely out.

I’ve had a lot of doctors over the years, but no one comes close to Dr. Reiss. I’ve been in a weird kind of panic since I got the news. I’ve seen Dr. Reiss annually all these years. As his prices went up I scheduled shorter visits, but he would load me up with studies, books, and tell me what was new on the hormone and anti-aging front. We’d go over labs and symptoms, and I would walk out of there fixed for another year.

Dr. Reiss is a funny, eccentric Jew who loves women (in the best sense of that word. His wife worked in the office with him ) He told me many stories about his years on the kibbutz— much of his life there formed who he became as a doctor.I remember one of my visits where he quite seriously prescribed (on a prescription pad!) one orgasm a day, firmly believing “use it or lose it“. When I told him I didn’t currently have a partner he said “I didn’t ask you if you had a partner.” And proceeded to pull out a whole drawer full of sex toys. I was welcome to take anything I wanted.

I never bothered fighting with my Kaiser doctors over hormones or women’s health because I had Uzzi. I’m not going to argue about the badly flawed women’s health initiative. I’m not going to explain why women require some amount testosterone – – that our bodies naturally make two to one testosterone to estradiol. To this day there is no testosterone drug made for women. We are supposed to buy the packets made for men which come in 100 mg doses and try to figure out 1 mg for ourselves.

I got a call from a tearful Rosie yesterday.  Dr. Reiss will be in the office on Tuesday to say his goodbyes and I can have one last 15 minute phone call. I cannot say goodbye to this man. I’m wondering how I can fit about 35 questions about the rest of my life into one 15 minute session.

I love my Kaiser doctors for routine stuff, but they have no idea what true and vibrant health looks like. But somehow, instead of restoring women’s aging hormonal systems, women are given antidepressants, statins, blood pressure meds. I don’t know how I will conduct myself during this final phone call, but I wish I could extract every last piece of wisdom from his brain. After that, I’m on my own.

Alan Rubinwrote:

Jim, Without being able to interpret all of the abbreviations and jargon, I still suggest that "a whole bunch of time working with national police and partner mil forces..." in far from democratic places, might just have given you a bit of a distorted perspective.

As for your post yesterday, it would take me multiple pages to factually respond to that avalanche of misinformation and pure nonsense, in what is meant to be a climbing forum--and would have no chance of changing your mind anyway.

As for climbing, here in NE it is so miserably hot and humid, that I even had to cut short my gym session yesterday, despite air-conditioning and fans!!!!

SF - special forces, SOF - Special operations forces (there's a difference), CA Central America , SA - South America, AOR - area of responsibility.  as a Colombian General in their version of the pentagon once told a bunch of us " we have the most policed military and the most militarized police"  my view is anything but distorted.  my entire basis for bringing up ICE/DEA/CBP/BORTAC etc covering their faces was to protect their families.  why do ANTIFA/Black Bloc all cover their faces when they are destroying property, or beating the shit out of reporters (you know like Andy Ngo)?

previous post: those are all well established scandals that either highlighted a double standards in justice system or were flat out illegal. just because you don't like or agree with it doesn't make it misinformation (the sweet irony is that two Dem leaning reporters - Sullenburger, Taibbi testified to exactly that regarding twitter files and biden admins actions)

EPSTEIN - the admin is screwing up on the optics based on previous statements and current actions (patel and bondi for sure) are we playing "lawyer games" with words like "clients" versus say "idiots who did something illegal and now have a blackmail tape being held over their heads". not sure. I also don't think its just Ds involved I'm sure there are some R's in the terabytes of videos the FBI secured. I'm for exposing all of them and purging all of them. Just like this congressional sexual harassment slush fund, if you're involved your metaphorical head should be on a pike outside the capital. If POTUS was involved at any level (like say Bill "he likes them young" Clinton was) the DNC machine would have released that long ago.... was this an intel agency op.... the connections and historical precedents for intel agencies engaging in ops like this are undeniable (CIA, Mossad, MI6)

I'm originally from NE and have spend most of my adult life in NC, FL or now TN.  If your shirt isn't soaked in sweat are you even climbing?  Local gym start their annual vertical mile comp in aug.  I bring two shirts to those sessions.   Happiness is putting on a dry tshirt, lets not even talk about dry socks...lol

Lori,

My condolences, losing a good doctor is losing a family member.  Happened to me with Dr Russ Toronto in SLC.

He was an ortho who didn’t cut, and truly cared about getting folks moving again.  1st time we met was for a shoulder issue when he said that sucks let’s get you climbing again.  25 years latter he died at 62 due to complications from a bad ticker.  He survived heart attacks in the backcountry.  His doc said stop and his reply was why? I know I’m gonna die young so I’m gonna enjoy life.

You walked in his office and were greeted with a hug.  

Peace  

Lori Milaswrote:

I’ve had a lot of doctors over the years, but no one comes close to Dr. Reiss.

I live in Canada. My son is a doctor and also lives in Canada.
After a few conversations with him I have realized that Canadian doctors do not care about initial symptoms of anything. They start treating you only when you have already developed some serious stuff. :(

I am not sure whether this is the same approach in both the US and Canada or specific to Canada due to lack of resources, as compared to the US.

Do you feel that you have the same issues in the US?

Frank Stein wrote:

Frank Steinwrote:

So your categorically, denying that both Trump and Vance explicitly stated that they would release it while they were on the campaign trail, or that Bondi stated in a press conference that it was sitting on her desk?

Yes, I categorically deny that I've ever mentioned this list.

Frank Stein wrote:

This is NOT what I asked you

I apologize but I would prefer to ignore your goalpost shifting (especially considering that I was not paying as much attention to this subject as you and that I do not have enough knowledge).
Please discuss this issue with more knowledgeable people.

Yurywrote:

I live in Canada. My son is a doctor and also lives in Canada.
After a few conversations with him I have realized that Canadian doctors do not care about initial symptoms of anything. They start treating you only when you have already developed some serious stuff. :(

I am not sure whether this is the same approach in both the US and Canada or specific to Canada due to lack of resources, as compared to the US.

Do you feel that you have the same issues in the US?

Hey Yuri. This is a topic I’m becoming militant about. I no longer blame our American doctors – – I truly don’t believe they know any better. My local PPO doctors have on average 2400 patients each. They have exactly enough time to treat emergencies.

When I got to Sacramento, I had an almost-emergency situation so I got a video appointment with a Kaiser doctor. After saying hello he pulled up my chart and said “OK, I see you are a 71 year-old diabetic with celiac.”  

I said “how about a 71 year-old rock climber in generally excellent health on no medication except for insulin? “.

There’s a world of difference there. Since moving to Joshua Tree I have been asking my primary physician and endocrinologist about healthy aging. They do literally shrug their shoulders and lately they’ve been saying “we are learning from you.“  my doctor recently prescribed a statin medication and a blood thinner with a standing order for heart meds because “it’s about time and you are that age “”  obviously when he realized that it was me among all of his senior patients, he canceled those prescriptions.  I guess this is the new idea about preventative medicine.

No doctor, except Uzzi, has ever asked me what I eat or how I sleep or what kind of exercise I get. But they are there when it all finally becomes a serious and or chronic disease.

I was thinking about how passionate Uzzi is about men’s health as well. When I first met Tony after a few months, he told me that he was unaccountably crying over old movies.  Crying?   “ Tony, have you had your testosterone levels checked? “ he hadn’t, but he made an appointment with his physician who ran some labs and told Tony he was normal. Ok… “normal” was a range of 30 to 1300. Tony’s level was 37. Oh my goodness what he had to go through to finally get a prescription for testosterone and near miraculous changes once he started using it. I thought it was just women who are misunderstood and short changed. There must be some ageism going on here as well. I mean if you’re 70 years old why would you need testosterone? Not acknowledging its impact on anabolic processes, muscle tone, mood, energy.

We have to make some noise these days if we want to continue being strong and healthy. At least for me to keep rock climbing.  And that whole concept of “set expectations” really helps me not to get too frustrated with a very limited input I get from my Kaiser doctors. They are really there to respond to crises, not to create health.

JOHN: I love that you shared that. You were a lucky guy. Once you’ve had a doctor like that it’s hard to go anywhere else.

Jim - Thank you for your service.

So who is going climbing this weekend?

I’m packing up for a week up by Bishop, Mammoth to hang. We have some Fly Fishing, Rockclimbing and serious chillaxing to do.

We will send cards and letters.

Later all 

Guy Keeseewrote:

Jim - Thank you for your service.

So who is going climbing this weekend?

I’m packing up for a week up by Bishop, Mammoth to hang. We have some Fly Fishing, Rockclimbing and serious chillaxing to do.

We will send cards and letters.

Later all 

Heading back up to the remote crag on Saturday. It is supposed to be good for July, low 80’s and low humidity.  Tomorrow looks even better (70’s) but my friend Steve and my brother Chris have “regular” jobs.

wendy weisswrote:

I don't want to trigger another pointless argument, but there's one question that's been bugging me for the last few days, so here goes:

Does anyone on this thread believe that there's a list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients who are Democrat pedophiles and child sex traffickers who murdered Epstein to conceal their involvement? (Okay, I realize that's an inartfully phrased compound question. Feel free to answer in parts if necessary.) 

I believe plenty of folks are on the list, both D and R

It's really disturbing to hear a fellow climber and adult spewing hatred towards transgender folks trying to live normal lives, especially knowing that one out of a thousand kids are born that way. Hating on kids is as low as a human being can go IMO

It's been a little bit hot here on the coast, mostly the humidity that is oppressive  but 80 and humid is tiring when working outside.  Too hot in a gym Alan? They need better AC!

Watching MAGA world lose their shit because Trump is treating them with the same lies, deception, obfuscation and demeaning words that they supported when it was used against Dems is sweet, sweet irony. On with the show!

I've signed up for a local bouldering comp.  It takes place over the course of several weeks.  https://centralrockgym.com/watertown/climbing/waltham-slam-bouldering-series/

Hoping it provides motivation to get strong, and also hoping I don't break myself.

Tuesday was the first day.  I was the oldest person there, by about 15 to 20 years.  They also have sessions on Fridays, though I will only be able to make it to one session a week.

Problems were fun - the ones I could do.  Wish me luck!

GO

Good luck GabeO!  I always laugh when the Masters category is over 40.  I climbed my hardest sport route at 38 and my hardest boulder at 40.  How about over 60?

Paula always climbed her best in competitions,  that is why she made the US climbing team (top 10 conp climbers) in the 90’s.  She really didn’t care that much on normal climbing routes, but would get amped and perform exceptionally well when the pressure was on.  She just said to me the other day, after saying “take” on a (slightly to me) 5.11+ gym lead, “if it was in a conp then I would have done it.”

I, on the other hand hand, sucked at  competitions because I was already trying hard, and the competition made me so amped up and nervous that I climbed poorly.  Just the other day I was trying to onsight this 11d in the cave.  I read it wrong in the roof and grabbed a foothold instead of a handhold, and my feet flew off and I was hanging by one hand.  I downclimbed all the way to the ground, pumped out of my mind, then rested for 15 minutes and sent it.  Paula asked: “Why didn’t you just say ‘Take?’”

M Mwrote:

I believe plenty of folks are on the list, both D and R

It's really disturbing to hear a fellow climber and adult spewing hatred towards transgender folks trying to live normal lives, especially knowing that one out of a thousand kids are born that way. Hating on kids is as low as a human being can go IMO

It's been a little bit hot here on the coast, mostly the humidity that is oppressive  but 80 and humid is tiring when working outside.  Too hot in a gym Alan? They need better AC!

There is plenty of hate around, but questioning some aspects around transgenderism I really don't think should be automatically treated as "spewing hatred" just because it may be uncomfortable at times. It doesn't help bring people together or heal anything. For instance, I don't hate trans people, and those that I know I find mostly above average in intelligence, interesting and nice people, and I also fully support gay rights, but I do find some assertions logically and philosophically suspect with negative practical results (doesn't mean it is an excuse to treat people badly). A lot is semantics and people being sloppy with their concepts of sex and gender and blurring them. This gets messier when it is being considered from an inner, self identity perspective vs an exterior identification one. 

I always wonder, why are we as a culture not just expanding what a man or a women can do, feel and think rather than negating ones sex and affecting (to another's view) often cartoonish versions of what, in the case of a M>F example, a guy imagines a female to be. It seems to me that would be more freeing and not cause the problems a 6'4' hairy dude with a penis  insisting everybody (exterior-mostly visual identification) call him a she (interior - mostly inner) The whole chaos producing pronouns thing I think was a huge mistake that set back relations. It can come across to many as really arrogant and left a perfect unnecessary opening for those inclined to write people off as weird and not worthy of respect. 

Besides some religiously extreme throwbacks and bigots, most nowadays in the USA don't particularly care about what somebody's sexual orientation is if it not hoping to have relations. Many do resent though being forced to accommodate a concept that they see as incoherent, akin to insisting that certain cats, with no particularly consistent physical cues, be addressed as goats because the cats would like to be goats, or at least what their cat concept of a goat is, and the other person is just trying to say "Don't forget to feed the cats" . (example is just to easily delineate an idea not denigrate humans as animals or anything)

If pronouns are of high psychological importance, using new ones or ones with the desired meaning borrowed from another language would be more linguistically practical and politically savvy imo than coopting and making ineffective one of the basic pillars of our language. Having to ask if a pronoun is being used in the gender sense or sex, or if it is meant as one or multiple people at every use to not avoid confusion is just not workable.

Anyway, if we examine our semantics and chip away at the problem of speaking cross purposes to each other, we probably will make more progress than immediately running to hate accusations out of annoyance.

- edited a little to remove a genitalic descriptor per moderator's suggestion .and fill out a thought a little to hopefully avoid misunderstanding. I trust (being mostly 50 and over) you all can handle a reference to a 6'4" hairy dude with a -->

Same shit different day and I still like it .  Went back to bald mt and both me and my old man friend tried hard, didn’t get hurt and went home tired. Here’s me trying not to leave my finger in a lock.  

Ward Smithwrote:

Good luck GabeO!  I always laugh when the Masters category is over 40.  I climbed my hardest sport route at 38 and my hardest boulder at 40.  How about over 60?

Paula always climbed her best in competitions,  that is why she made the US climbing team (top 10 conp climbers) in the 90’s.  She really didn’t care that much on normal climbing routes, but would get amped and perform exceptionally well when the pressure was on.  She just said to me the other day, after saying “take” on a (slightly to me) 5.11+ gym lead, “if it was in a conp then I would have done it.”

I, on the other hand hand, sucked at  competitions because I was already trying hard, and the competition made me so amped up and nervous that I climbed poorly.  Just the other day I was trying to onsight this 11d in the cave.  I read it wrong in the roof and grabbed a foothold instead of a handhold, and my feet flew off and I was hanging by one hand.  I downclimbed all the way to the ground, pumped out of my mind, then rested for 15 minutes and sent it.  Paula asked: “Why didn’t you just say ‘Take?’”

I occasionally climbed in comps, and definitely was inspired to new heights by them. That said, the last boulder comp i was in was probably close to 15 years ago, and a lot has changed. For one thing, all the problems are unnaturally "hoppy" now, which does not suit my style (maybe J. Gill would approve).  And for another, no-one has a master's category any more. So I don't expect to do well. But whatever, I'll see how it goes. 

GO