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New and experienced climbers over 50 #38
John Gill wrote: Thanks Mr. Gill (you are the same age as my parents!) Means a lot, and kind of you to say. GO |
Emil Briggs wrote: A #4 hex was very secure at that spot, as well. |
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Diving into this.... 2019 AGM. lead acid batteries finally died. Really great service life for random battery off Amazon. Only $165.00 apiece 6 years ago. Lithium is much cheaper now than then so have two New lifePO4 batteries on deck for a little less than $400.00. hopefully I won't wreck anything .  |
Buck Rogers wrote: Karsten did another video a month later about placing cams or something and had a pink tricam wedged in the top crack everyone in Western NC:  |
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That was stressful and I sliced my thumb open but it's connected and everything seems to be working?  |
GabeO wrote: In his early years as a climber 'Hot Henry' Barber would literally spend hours watching the simians in the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, hoping ( and to some extent achieving) to pick up their technique---"I just want to be able to climb like them." Climbers have an interesting history with that zoo. About 15 years after Henry's 'observation period' there, the zoo built a new outdoor/indoor 'environment' for their gorillas. The walls of the enclosure were made of a very realistic 'faux basslt'. Before moving our 'cousins' into their new home, the zoo staff invited some of us to see if we could climb up the walls---which we proceeded to do in multiple places. Each place we had successfully climbed, the staff then altered the walls to remove the holds we'd used---the theory being that would make it impossible for the gorillas to climb out via those routes ( of course, all the climbers understood the fallacy of this reasoning---but, since this was in winter and before climbing gyms, we were happy to be invited back for further 'tests'---and the climbing was quite good!!!!). Eventually, none of us could successfully get up the walls, so the zoo staff were satisfied that the enclosure was 'gorilla escape proof' and moved them to their new home. Of course, it wasn't that long after, that an enterprising young gorilla named Little Joe proved how much better a climber he was than any of us and climbed his way out and into the Boston streets --TWICE!!!! The zoo then added further, less natural appearing, barriers. Another result of that 'experience' was that 3 of the human climbers in our group, having enjoyed climbing indoors on artificial surfaces, soon after opened the original Boston Rock Gym--the first dedicated climbing gym in the East. |
rgold wrote: Tricams sure. They'd be bomber there. But I was talking about 1961 and I don't think they were invented by then. Or hexes for that matter. At least not commercially available though I suppose it's possible some climbers were using homemade versions. |
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Retribution circa 1975.  |
John Gill wrote: Now that dynamic moves are relatively common today. What do you think about it? |
Nick Goldsmith wrote: I bought a setup recently for camping, an Engel battery box, 120 Ah battery and a 280W solar panel with a MPPT controller and a Dometic CFX5 25l fridge. I’ve only tested it at home so far but I love the Bluetooth capability of the fridge and the low power consumption. Generally I go away only during the warmer months when sunlight is plenty and in winter one doesn’t really need a fridge anyway. I can’t see myself running out of power for the fridge, laptop, Bluetooth speaker, headphones and phone with the battery I have and also an additional battery that I can use to jump start the car. Moving towards ‘glamping’ now I'm getting old. |
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i am done sleeping in the dirt unless its on the backpacking trip I have not committed to yet or a big mountain I may never climb... Totally spoiled in my old age. The blue tooth batteries are cool and I can link with the batteries from my living room with the van parked about 10ft from the house. but the app has it's limitations. Mostly in non existant instructions. have not figured out how to turn on the battery protection. I did set my charge controller to lithium and a max of 14.2 volts so should not need the protection at the moment but its silly that I cant turn it on. there was zero info on how to use the app. only instructions on where to find the download. I did run my fridge all last night on a hot steamy night and one battery is at 88% and the other at 91% which seems good to me? its foggy and rather dark still but the charge controller says its charging yet the app is not showing that? perhaps its not pulling in enough charge to register? It will be interesting to see what the numbers are after work today? |
Carl Schneider wrote: You might consider linking up two batteries for the fridge, in my experience when it's really hot most folks end up needing more juice, especially for the 12+ hours of no sunlight. I maintained a few systems on an off grid island for many years and the combination that consistently worked usually was 300 watts and a couple batteries or 200 watts and three batteries. Hot cabins that stayed hot at night definitely sucked some power. These were larger than your mini fridge but pure heat definitely sucks some energy! I was a cheap ass and only had a cooler back then, I made blocks of ice in everyone else's freezer. |
Rich Ross wrote: Just an amazing photo! Is that chalk on the cliff by your right foot? I know that it has been discussed before but when was chalk pretty universally accepted and used? Didn't Rich have a role in starting the use of chalk in climbing or was it John Gill (or both)? And Carl and Nick, I'm with you. I'm done dirt bag camping! My wife wants to do the AT thru-hike when I finish with the Army in less than two years. We thru-hiked the LT together in 1999 and I still remember just being wet and uncomfortable for pretty much the whole 24 days that it took us, not to mention all of the Army "Camping". Nah, not doing it. Told her that I would be happy to drive along in a van and camp and support her (and climb as I go while she hikes!) but no way am I interested in 2,300 miles of hiking straight through! |
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Gave up tent camping years ago, have had a pop up tent camper and now have a casita trailer. Anything that can keep me out of the wind and can stand up in. Having heat and light is nice as well. |
Buck Rogers wrote: “Army Camping.” Probably my fondest memory from Iraq were the living arrangements for the first sixty days or so after the cessation of combat activity. I had my CP set up in a GP Small tent in the battalion area and then we set a sort of a hobo camp in the Company motor pool, sleeping on the trucks. One of my platoons cut up some unused fuel bladders to make showers, and another one set up two on top of shipping container to make hot tubs. We used a captured Iraqi water trailer to get water from a nearby Iraqi ice plant. Amazing how hot the water got by the evening in the desert sun (just had to drain the sand each night). It was fantastic! Comfortable, easy to control and highly defendable This was all ruined by some idiot Colonel who called us a bunch of animals and had me set tents for the platoons in the battalion area. Highly disappointing, but our private showers and hot tubs stayed. |
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Yes Buck, that is chalk by his foot---and a red chalk bag at his waist. I hope that both John and Rich will answer themselves, but as far as I am aware; it was John, with his background in gymnastics, who introduced the use of chalk into climbing--in the late '50s/early '60s and Rich, as one of his 'disciples', who 'spread the word'. I know that it was Rich himself who 'initiated' me---very useful stuff on the slick quartzite of Devil's Lake!!!! For years, if we needed to replenish our chalk, we had to go to a pharmacy and purchase blocks of 'Carbonate of Magnesia'. Chalk use was indeed quite controversial at first, but by the mid-70s, it's use was quite common in many areas of the US, though there were still many 'no chalk' holdouts ( still are some). In the UK, chalk use was even more controversial---there was a group of activists who went by the name of the 'Clean Hands Gang'. Ken Wilson was the editor of the then very internationally influential Mountain Magazine and was a staunch 'traditionalist' and very anti-chalk ( and bolt). In large, bold-face type he headlined a story about a major breakthrough climb: "John Allen Climbs Great Wall Free but Uses Chalk"!!!! |
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When I started climbing in 1972 I never had to buy chalk. My father was a high school PE teacher and coach. After the gymnastics classes and season ended he'd bring me home the broken blocks and pieces from school that he'd usually throw out. Dedicated chalk bags were not being manufactured yet, people used small nylon backpacking stuff bags. Being thrifty and tight on cash, I had mom sew me one up from a leg portion of a worn out and cutoff pair of Levi's jeans. It had a paracord drawstring that I'd clip to my swami belt. Carry on... Tad |
Rich Ross wrote: Very different beta from me. I used a left hand undercling with high feet then go high with the right hand. |
John Gill wrote: That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a 50 year old referred to as “young man” On the topic of dynos, I got on a V5 that my buddies and I looked at. One response was “It didn’t look that far until I saw you get up on it”. Dynos aren’t my thing … |
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50 is pretty darn young in my book. Not if you fucked up and wrecked yourself with booze and cigarettes... Those guys look ancient at 40... |
