New and experienced climbers over 50 #38

rgoldwrote:

Ok boys and girls, here's your workout program for next week.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16FLhjNv4u/

But can he even do a one arm pullup?

Permabetawrote:

Maybe I overstated my original point then. My bliss comes from largely ignoring day to day “news”, whether it be written, conventional broadcasts, podcasts, or social media. I‘m not seeking out additional information on the other “side”, either. I’d rather spend my time and energy elsewhere. 

Despite this approach, I still hear about big “news”, nearly always unpleasant, non-edifying information, or drivel, like Ms. Swift‘s upcoming nuptials, by virtue of interacting with other people. And I educate myself on major issues and candidates before elections. Never used AI for this purpose, but even considering limitations, it may be my go-to moving forward.

So maybe I‘m neglecting my civic duty. But I think I‘m happier for adopting this approach, can still respect my fellow man, and lead a productive life. I mean, I still vote and pay taxes, and we all have to draw the line somewhere. I‘m just not convinced being more involved politically is the answer, for me, or most people.

At about 30 I realized how corrupt and unchangeable the American political landscape was/is.  That every single person that reaches national office has been bought and paid for and will only do the bidding of those that paid for them to get there.  Like you, I have turned off the news.  I still read it, but I refuse to have that drivel preached at me.  And like you, I believe I am a much happier person for it.  The news business is just as corrupt as those politicians that they purport to cover.  Why would you expect to get honest reporting from any of them?

What if idle hands are divinity's playground?

philip bonewrote:

What if idle hands are divinity's playground?

Hmmm...idol hands, mayhaps??

found this old Shot of Ed corrupting me... 

Cherokee Nunes wrote:

This. And what I really really don't need is yet another Boomer telling me I must be too stupid or too uninvolved to have THEIR OPINION.

Take that shit somewhere else (but I know they won't). 

Think of it this way, it's an excellent way to lose friends.

There's always the ignore button. I've used it on a number of people. Feel free to do the same.

"At about 30 I realized how corrupt and unchangeable the American political landscape was/is.  That every single person that reaches national office has been bought and paid for and will only do the bidding of those that paid for them to get there.  Like you, I have turned off the news.  I still read it, but I refuse to have that drivel preached at me.  And like you, I believe I am a much happier person for it.  The news business is just as corrupt as those politicians that they purport to cover.  Why would you expect to get honest reporting from any of them?"

Jan, I don't share your cynicism about individual office-holders. I agree that the system overall is largely in the grip of special interests, but I wouldn't generalize about all politicians who reach national office. Colorado has had senators and representatives whom I respect. And I'll continue to contribute to and campaign for ones that I think will try to implement policies that I care about.    

fossilwrote:

Ed,

Your dog is lookin pretty swole in his fancy car.

He is a dog...

She's not very bright, but apparently she's a lot of fun...

ed " they're consenting adults.." e

ps.  Personally, I'm loving all the photos (climbing, skiing, guitars, hair, food, etc...)  

As for a lot of the repetitive  "political" spewage: I think the Grateful Dead expressed it perfectly: "Please don't dominate the rap, Jack  If you've got nothing new to say..."

Or the Talking Heads: "You're talkin' a lot, but you're not sayin' anything When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed  Say something once, why say it again?

Apropos of nothing, I got to go on a little climbing trip last week. After climbing in the Gunks, I noticed that my perspective had completely changed as I looked at the slab routes that I used to climb. They all looked way less intimidating than they used to. But still beautiful.

Clip a dee doo dah (P1) at Rumney:

Beginner's Easy Variation (P1) at Whitehorse:

We were lucky to have amazing weather throughout the trip.
Standard Route at Square Ledge, Pinkham Notch. The tricam pic is from here also.

We even got in a hike.
This pic is from the top of the Boulder Loop Trail off the Kanc. The mountain in the distance is the beautiful Chocorua, a 3000-footer.

And we discovered some lichen in an unexpected place.
The lichen is on the rap tat is at the top of Hallie Haley, a sport route at Lost Ledge off the Kanc. This area needs more love to keep it clean, but it's a bit of a slog to get there.

Tricams work outside the Gunks, I love 'em (another pic from Square Ledge at Pinkham Notch):

Permabetawrote:

Maybe I overstated my original point then. My bliss comes from largely ignoring day to day “news”, whether it be written, conventional broadcasts, podcasts, or social media. I‘m not seeking out additional information on the other “side”, either. I’d rather spend my time and energy elsewhere. 

Despite this approach, I still hear about big “news”, nearly always unpleasant, non-edifying information, or drivel, like Ms. Swift‘s upcoming nuptials, by virtue of interacting with other people. And I educate myself on major issues and candidates before elections. Never used AI for this purpose, but even considering limitations, it may be my go-to moving forward.

So maybe I‘m neglecting my civic duty. But I think I‘m happier for adopting this approach, can still respect my fellow man, and lead a productive life. I mean, I still vote and pay taxes, and we all have to draw the line somewhere. I‘m just not convinced being more involved politically is the answer, for me, or most people.

I rarely (maybe never?) initiate a political discussion here. But if someone starts one I'll chime in which is how we got off on this tangent. But yes political involvement is an individual choice. It usually increases when individuals have a direct and immediate stake. A good example is the Vietnam war which probably saw the historical high point for engagement by Americans under 25. The prospect of dying in an increasingly pointless war was a strong incentive. The Great Depression, WW2 etc were all events that stimulated political involvement. That's just basic human nature. 

Emil Briggswrote:

Combat Rock is a great album.

Its funny how music ties you to a time in life so vividly. "London Calling " was one for me. Its also curious as you age, that one does stand the test of time but I no longer  would full on splitting maul a perfectly good guitar. Ha.

dragonswrote:

Apropos of nothing, I got to go on a little climbing trip last week. After climbing in the Gunks, I noticed that my perspective had completely changed as I looked at the slab routes that I used to climb. They all looked way less intimidating than they used to. But still beautiful.

We were lucky to have amazing weather throughout the trip:

We even got in a hike:

And we discovered some lichen in an unexpected place:

Tricams work outside the Gunks, I love 'em:

Where? And yes, it does look quite nice.

GabeOwrote:

Probably the biggest such objective i ever did was The Diamond, in RMNP. I was mostly doing single pitch sport climbing at the time, though i also did a reasonable amount of trad. A friend of a friend from out of town said he would be visiting, and wanted to do the diamond, and asked if i was game. I knew i was totally not in shape for it, but the trip was some time out, so i had time to whip myself into shape. I did a number of Alpine rock climbs, of increasing difficulty and (more importantly) with increasingly long approaches. When he came to visit we did a couple of smaller objectives to see if we worked together well (and for me to see if i felt ready) and then we did it. 

I know for lots of folks here who have done much bigger Alpine adventures it will seem no big deal, but the point is that to me it was way outside of my comfort zone at first, but i got there in time, and had an incredibly memorable time. One of my best days climbing ever. 

Many of the things i did in preparation were great in their own right, like the Petit Grepon.

Edited to add:  I only had time to answer your question directly when I first posted, but I also wanted to put the above in context.  I do hear you, and I understand that what I'm writing about was what I did at forty, living in Colorado.  I don't claim that the same thing can be be done so easily at 65, with all the wear-and-tear injuries that come along with that, and living in central NY state.  So don't read the above as a prescription, but simply as an idea - that getting out of your comfort zone and trying something "big" (big for you, whatever that means) can provide lasting satisfaction.  How or even if such a thing might be accomplished, for anyone here, I have no idea.  I don't even know for sure what it would mean for me, today (though I might have an inkling).  So take that all with a big grain of salt.

GO

Hi Gabe, Thanks for filling in some details. I've heard people talk about Petit Grepon, and now you mentioned "The Diamond". But when I search for these two names, I find that they are areas (that I linked to) with several routes on them. Did you do a specific route in the Petit Grepon area? Ditto for the Diamond.

> I don't claim that the same thing can be be done so easily at 65, with all the wear-and-tear injuries that come along with that, and living in central NY state.

If I read you correctly: It's not really a problem living in central NY state, since there are plenty of training opportunities. For example, I could plan full climbing days on a regular basis, if that helped. I say "if" because I'm not really clear that full climbing days are useful anymore. They may just lead to more wear and tear than my body can recover from. I've definitely got wear-and-tear issues that slow me down now, especially when hiking with a pack.

At my age, I want to maximize my outdoor climbing experiences. There's no way to be sure about this, but it seems like I'll get more total climbing done over the next 20 years if I attempt more modest objectives than if I work on more unrealistic, ambitious and possibly more consequential ones. On top of that, I'm a 5.4 leader, so unless miracles occur, it doesn't make sense to train for alpine climbs with 5.8 pitches.

I do have a few long-term objectives that are ambitious, for me: Henderson Ridge at 5.4 is easy enough that I should be able to lead all pitches, if needed, though I prefer swapping. At Grade III, it might require camping overnight, which would drastically increase pack load, so not great. Then there's Trap Dike (4th class). The inherent risks in objectives like these are potential route-finding epics.

In another life, I might have found it interesting to do mountain climbing with all the snow and ice, but I don't want to spend time and money getting into something that committing at this time in my life. I'd rather become more proficient at rock climbing. Long but easy technical rock alpine routes seem like fun and potentially doable. But any partner would have to accept that I might slow them down.

Brad Youngwrote:

Where? And yes, it does look quite nice.

Brad Young, my ticks are public, so you can get the general idea. In order of appearance of the photos we have:

Clip a dee doo dah (P1) at Rumney.
Beginner's Easy Variation (P1) at Whitehorse.
Standard Route at Square Ledge, Pinkham Notch. The tricam pic is from here also.
The hike pic is at the top of the Boulder Loop Trail off the Kanc. The mountain in the distance is the beautiful Chocorua, a 3000-footer.
Lichen on the rap tat is at the top of Hallie Haley, a sport route at Lost Ledge off the Kanc. This area needs more love to keep it clean, but it's a bit of a slog to get there.
Edit: I updated the original post to add these links.

Dragons… you nailed it.  If there’s a downside to being an older climber it’s just that you have to hone in on what you want and pass on so much more. There are so many no’s, but when you find that one goal/route that captures your heart you can pursue it with great single mindedness. Keep enjoying!  

—-

We’re having a big sale on Oktoberfest sausages here and they sound wonderful. Does anyone have a favorite recipe? I hate to admit that I don’t know the difference between bratwurst and a knockwurst but it sounds fun to learn so I might buy some of each. Of the Five recipes I looked up today I will start with this one.

I KNOW Helen knows her sausages.   

Seems like Tony should be willing to wear his lederhosen.

Norm Larsonwrote:

Thats a great looking line and to a nice summit too!

Congrats on snagging it Daniel

Thanks, Norm.  We enjoyed it all that day. 

There is a lot of accumulated wisdom here. Censoring a facet of the conversation results in a stilted discourse.
Humanity seems to be engaged in a kind of crisis industry. Hopefully, soon, a survival industry proves to be more profitable. 

Finished watching Rude Boy last night. This was a film that The Clash disavowed after it was made, and I can see why. Aimless story, main character is unengaging. However, the footage of England/London at that time and some of the socio-economic-political backdrop is interesting. But by far, the strongest reason to watch this film is because of the high quality live footage of The Clash- it is absolutely riveting to watch, and Joe Strummer’s energy pours out of the screen/speakers. Near the end, they perform I Fought the Law live, and absolutely crush it with pounding power. It’s easy to see why this band is one of the greatest, most influential music groups ever.

philip bonewrote:

There is a lot of accumulated wisdom here. Censoring a facet of the conversation results in a stilted discourse.
Humanity seems to be engaged in a kind of crisis industry. Hopefully, soon, a survival industry proves to be more profitable. 

There is a unique set of people in here. I appreciate the different perspectives and even if I disagree at times, I will never ignore anyone. 

“I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” —from a biography of Voltaire, summarizing his philosophy on free speech.

dragonswrote:

Apropos of nothing, I got to go on a little climbing trip last week. After climbing in the Gunks, I noticed that my perspective had completely changed as I looked at the slab routes that I used to climb. They all looked way less intimidating than they used to. But still beautiful.

Clip a dee doo dah (P1) at Rumney:

Beginner's Easy Variation (P1) at Whitehorse:

We were lucky to have amazing weather throughout the trip.
Standard Route at Square Ledge, Pinkham Notch. The tricam pic is from here also.

We even got in a hike.
This pic is from the top of the Boulder Loop Trail off the Kanc. The mountain in the distance is the beautiful Chocorua, a 3000-footer.

And we discovered some lichen in an unexpected place.
The lichen is on the rap tat is at the top of Hallie Haley, a sport route at Lost Ledge off the Kanc. This area needs more love to keep it clean, but it's a bit of a slog to get there.

Tricams work outside the Gunks, I love 'em (another pic from Square Ledge at Pinkham Notch):

Ahhhhh!

This post is just what the doctor ordered!

Good on you and Bill for getting out there and getting after it!

What a great trip that must have been!

(but you can still keep your tricams!  ;)   )