New and experienced climbers over 50 #38

Ship Twrote:

dragonswrote:

The day before yesterday, Bill and I climbed Beginner's Delight. The Williams guide says it's a 5.3. The plan is to make this another go-to climb that we can do quickly. That means getting the moves and pro wired.

However, I had massive head problems that day. I led P1 (5.3) pretty slowly, and we wound up bailing off the top of P2, when I didn't feel up to leading P3. Yesterday we came back and did it again. This time, I led P1 much faster. I also felt confident enough to lead P3, which I haven't led since 2013. It has some very fun moves at a couple of roofs.

For me, climbing is not about pushing grades. I get happy just climbing up outdoor routes that I can easily do without risk of injury.
I'd be happy if I could feel comfortable leading all the 5.3s at the Gunks. That's my stretch goal. Who knows, maybe at that point I'd start thinking about grades.

_____________________

I have a question about relative grades.  I've been seeing a lot of posts on this thread about Gunks climbs in the 5.2 to 5.6 grade range. I mostly climb moderate climbs in California, Yosemite, etc. and have never climbed on the East Coast. Honestly it seems difficult to find a lot of climbs in that range here.  It seems like most stuff is graded starting at 5.6 or 5.7.  For people who have climbed out west and in the Gunks are these grades equivalent?  What would a Gunks 5.2 be graded in Yosemite?  I understand that they are different styles.

They are equivalent but different. The reason why you get so many routes in the lower fifth class at the Gunks is because of the availability of horizontal juggy rails on vertical walls (kind of climb like sport climbs). For example, a 5.8 granite friction slab out West will give me absolute fits. However, most 5.8s at the Gunks I find to be a bit of a laugh. Others may feel differently and opposite.

Doin'  a clinic...

Daniel Shivelywrote:

It’s the nature of the medium. Yosemite granite usually lack the prolific features that exist at the Gunks. It’s a challenging comparison.

I think that something like The Eye (5.4) at J Tree is steep and “somewhat” comparable to a Gunks 5.4.  

Ward Smithwrote:

I think that something like The Eye (5.4) at J Tree is steep and “somewhat” comparable to a Gunks 5.4.  

Knob Job on the Soaring Eagle Tower could be comparable too, but consistently highly featured granite is a rarity in California.

Easy climbing on very featured  granite in Cali ? Not unheard of tho.

Ship Twrote:

I have a question about relative grades.  I've been seeing a lot of posts on this thread about Gunks climbs in the 5.2 to 5.6 grade range. I mostly climb moderate climbs in California, Yosemite, etc. and have never climbed on the East Coast. Honestly it seems difficult to find a lot of climbs in that range here.  It seems like most stuff is graded starting at 5.6 or 5.7.  For people who have climbed out west and in the Gunks are these grades equivalent?  What would a Gunks 5.2 be graded in Yosemite?  I understand that they are different styles.

There are so few climbs in Yosemite that are rated 5.3 or lower that it discourages me from visiting the area (at least for climbing). And when you look at those search results, you find routes that sound something like "Hike for 12 miles, scramble up a talus field for a quarter mile, climb one nice pitch of 5.3, then descend via an uninteresting 4th class gully. Watch for falling rock."  
I topped out at 5.6 on the slabs of Whitehorse. Most of Yosemite sounds insanely difficult compared to anything I've been on. There are routes that I'd like to try, such as the Southeast Buttress. Unfortunately, it seems to be forever crowded: "There are so many options, passing people is generally easy if you're competent at the grade, and there are usually people all over the face." That's quite off-putting.

Norm, where is that? Looks super fun

Cali Jay. Pm inbound

C Miller wrote:

Thanks so much for posting this inspirational video!!!!

Marcel Remy was sort of a Swiss Fred Beckey, nowhere near as many major first ascents in his earlier years, but like Beckey he maintained the 'passion' throughout his life---and, as is clear in the film, actually climbed much more strongly than Fred in his later years.
The route he climbed on the Mirior is rated 5a ( about 5.7), around 1500 feet long ( after a lengthy and steep approach), and tops out around 7,000 ft. ---so very impressive. I was wondering about the descent, but see that he 'cheated' by using a dual parapente--love that idea!!!!

Sadly, Marcel Remy passed away ( in his sleep) in 2022 at age 99. He'd led a 4c ( roughly 5.6) route in a gym a few months before.

His sons, Claude and Yves, are among the most prolific new-routers in Europe and beyond ( Wadi Rum, for example)--and many of their creations are well-established classics---two of Helen and my favorite climbs are Remy creations.

What a full life for a climber to live!!!!

Edit to add: Thanks again, this time for posting the interview and short video with Claude Remy. Above, I mentioned that two of our favorite climbs are Remy routes. It is very gratifying to read that of all their thousands of new routes Claude considers the same two to be his favorites!!!!

Daniel says 

“Knob Job on the Soaring Eagle Tower could be comparable too, but consistently highly featured granite is a rarity in California.”

Daniel I don’t know where you live but we have it- featured granite- you just need to seek it out.

@Dragons …. We do have easy stuff, with short approaches. 

Man, everyone’s out having fun. It’s so cool to read all these posts and see all these great pictures.   

Today is officially the end of my summer. I had to put a period on it sometime and switch gears so I have one last day of frolic and then it’s time to think about climbing.

I always get a little stuck right here in this area and decide to turn around. It’s not a place to fall into any of these deep holes, even with satellite SOS. These are kind of treacherous drops and I would probably freak out if I were stuck any length of time here alone. But I have learned to scramble very carefully, very slowly, to test every rock for a wobble, and try to always have at least three limbs on the rock. But I would really like to see what is a little farther on up this canyon so I may tackle it one day soon.  Also, there have been no swarms of bees this season, which could really be a problem up here alone. And I haven’t seen a rattlesnake this season.

I keep looking at this crack and wondering if it is a thing I mean, it’s obviously a thing, but is it a climbable thing?

So it’s time for “the song”… now kind of an annual ritual for me. A little nostalgic, but I guess also it’s a good thing.

So I kind of think when summer is gone here I’ll be getting busy climbing and maybe spend some time up north with my family. Where will you guys be when winter comes?

Lori Milaswrote:

Man, everyone’s out having fun. It’s so cool to read all these posts and see all these great pictures.   

 Where will you guys be when winter comes?

I'll continue to be a "Happy Idiot" working for the legal tender, just like in the Spring, Fall, and Summer!

;)

Lori Milaswrote:

So it’s time for “the song”… now kind of an annual ritual for me. A little nostalgic, but I guess also it’s a good thing.

So I kind of think when summer is gone here I’ll be getting busy climbing and maybe spend some time up north with my family. Where will you guys be when winter comes?

Haven't heard that song in over 40 years but somehow it popped into my head a couple of weeks ago.  Where will we be?  

Lori Milaswrote:

So I kind of think when summer is gone here I’ll be getting busy climbing and maybe spend some time up north with my family. Where will you guys be when winter comes?

Finishing the new Pinnacles guidebook and bumping up my Joshua Tree route count.

Buck Rogerswrote:

I'll continue to be a "Happy Idiot" working for the legal tender, just like in the Spring, Fall, and Summer!

;)

Definitely one of his best albums. And a great song too..

Guy Keeseewrote:

Daniel says 

“Knob Job on the Soaring Eagle Tower could be comparable too, but consistently highly featured granite is a rarity in California.”

Daniel I don’t know where you live but we have it- featured granite- you just need to seek it out.

@Dragons …. We do have easy stuff, with short approaches. 

Yeah, I know of those areas.  Perhaps rarity is too strong of an adjective. How about, “in California, highly featured granite may not be the plurality of the known granite that climbers enjoy, but it does exist in ample concentrations”. Lol

Browne's still got it! 

Cherokee Nuneswrote:

Browne's still got it! 

Wow, no shit about him still having it.

Another of his very best songs and the video? That's just fun!

EDIT:

That's three for me today. I'm leaving in the morning with my older daughter for my second of two daddy/daughter PCT trips this summer. Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass (a 50 minute drive from our house). Six days on one of the very best stretches of a 2,650 miles trail!!

dragonswrote:

There are so few climbs in Yosemite that are rated 5.3 or lower that it discourages me from visiting the area (at least for climbing). And when you look at those search results, you find routes that sound something like "Hike for 12 miles, scramble up a talus field for a quarter mile, climb one nice pitch of 5.3, then descend via an uninteresting 4th class gully. Watch for falling rock."  
I topped out at 5.6 on the slabs of Whitehorse. Most of Yosemite sounds insanely difficult compared to anything I've been on. There are routes that I'd like to try, such as the Southeast Buttress. Unfortunately, it seems to be forever crowded: "There are so many options, passing people is generally easy if you're competent at the grade, and there are usually people all over the face." That's quite off-putting.

I think that most climbs in Yosemite at the 5.6 grade can be climbed by anyone with even a little bit of climbing experience, mostly because those climbs are usually low angle and have enough good holds to make it manageable for most. 

I was wondering whether Gunks 5.2 = Yosemite 5.6, which would imply that the Gunks grades are very sandbagged.

From my experience the necessity for skill becomes apparent at 5.7.  To climb valley 5.7 you need a little bit of skill at crack climbing and some slab climbing ability on granite, and some small amount of physical pulling power.

Btw, there are many climbs in the 5.6 range in Yosemite that have very reasonable approaches and descents.