New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #39

Lori Milaswrote:

The weather is beautiful and no rain in sight.  (10% chance). 73 degrees.
But you may get crowds. Illusion Dweller is mostly in shade but a well known route so you might encounter other climbers. Heart of Darkness, I don’t know. Bob may have other thoughts.

I would sure love to swing by wherever you are just to say hi. I don’t know if I’ll be up and around by then or not. 

Cool! Thanks! I’ll be sure to PM you prior!

A few pics from my trip. Heading home tomorrow after two weeks.

looks awesome Carl. 

My wife and I each got a day of climbing in at Rumney this weekend, though not with each other. We decided to give our daughter a break from dragging her out with us by my wife going on Saturday, me going on Sunday. We each got on our respective projects. Allison sent Supreme Onion Sacrifice easily. Yay her! 

I got back on Mushroom Planet with my strong buddy. I think Cherokee says it best, sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you. Put another way: i got crushed, he sent. 

GO

Edited to add: Just learned of your health troubles, Lori. Very sorry to hear it. Hope they resolve soon and fully, and with as little intervention as possible. 

Thought I'd dump some Friday sailing pics just cause 

Congratulations to Allison!!! There's always next time, Gabe!!!

I was able to get outside yesterday as well--small, fairly chossy, deservedly obscure crag---still had a great time!!!!

Lori, wishing you a speedy and full recovery.

Carl, you need to measure your ape index and report back!

Carl- so where did you go?
Somesort of Ryolite?
Looks featured.
Looks good. 

Lori- I hope you feel better. TBH I think in your 70’s you can’t expect much. It’s a fine line between “I feel great” and “I can’t get out of bed”. - True 

Went climbing yesterday at Ghost…. It wasn’t petty, but I reached my hi-point. I like to look at the positive and build on it. Three weeks “on the couch” didn’t help nor hinder my climbing one bit. Oh well we will keep trying to improve. A Dome rock trip is imminent. One of my young friends went and purchased an entire rack on my promise to “show him how that stuff works”.
This should be fun.

Later All

M Mwrote:

Carl, you need to measure your ape index and report back!

It’s plus 11cm. My hands hang almost to me knees 😶

Guy Keeseewrote:

Carl- so where did you go?
Somesort of Ryolite?
Looks featured.
Looks good. 

Lori- I hope you feel better. TBH I think in your 70’s you can’t expect much. It’s a fine line between “I feel great” and “I can’t get out of bed”. - True 

Went climbing yesterday at Ghost…. It wasn’t petty, but I reached my hi-point. I like to look at the positive and build on it. Three weeks “on the couch” didn’t help nor hinder my climbing one bit. Oh well we will keep trying to improve. A Dome rock trip is imminent. One of my young friends went and purchased an entire rack on my promise to “show him how that stuff works”.
This should be fun.

Later All

Guy I went to Araps but also did some trips to The Gramps for sports climbing. 

Carl… looking GOOD!  WOW!  Rock looks pretty good too.

Thank you for the well wishes everyone. I really appreciate it.

Guy, you know those are trigger words for me. In no way do I feel “old“ nor do I attribute things that come up to being older. I could have easily had this when I was 30 and it would’ve flattened me out then as well. So I kind of think law of averages. And yet I’m trying to have empathy because you and others really beat up your bodies along the way and I’m sure now you can truly say this is age.

So, I mention this only for the ladies who might be interested.  Part of my challenge this month has been that I didn’t have an established gynecologist and I didn’t want to just show up in the ER for a random surgery. So finally, I got in to see a woman gynecologist today and I couldn’t have been more lucky.  I just don’t talk about hormones with any of my doctors because I’m not going to change and they’re not gonna change. But I did agree for 30 days to abstain from all hormones.  

I was really surprised when this new doctor scolded me for not taking my hormones and she grabbed my phone and saved this YouTube video and told me to watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/live/_2ZRlOivC5M?si=qRPyqR9lOFAt3DdB

She said “ this is what has kept you young, your bones, strong, and your vitality so high.” She actually said “you are a rock climber and a rockstar.“ Which is obviously not exactly the truth, but I appreciated the nod.  So she instructed me to go home and immediately resume taking my hormones.

I guess it’s just the people I hang out with who frustrate me so.  The folks we have dinner with every week, it seems like their mantra is “well what do you expect, we are old.” And I guess with that mindset, it’s all downhill. And there are plenty of doctors who will say “Well what do you expect, you’re old.”  

—-

The death of Balin Miller has really gotten to me.  Looks like his family needs help bringing his body home and they have a go fund me.  Heartbreaker.  

@ Lori-

This podcast makes a strong case for hormone treatment, the Doc is quite articulate.

I think you'd enjoy it.

Training Beta

Here Rich (seated) and I contemplate our next adventure ca 1886. We both enjoyed climbing the Needles in our afterlives, and I think my friend may have a particular one in mind, that for some reason he feels might help advance our sport. I may let him do it by himself. He is quite an athlete.

Lori heal well. Yes the Balin accident hits home. Such a simple mistake that could happen to any of us. Play this game long enough and you will have a close call rappelling... 

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

Lori heal well. Yes the Balin accident hits home. Such a simple mistake that could happen to any of us. Play this game long enough and you will have a close call rappelling... 

thank you, Nick.  I know Balin was “doing what he loved“ and roaming around here in Joshua Tree especially I see many of the risky and outrageous feats that Climbers engaged in – – and I usually feel awe and admiration that.  But this still gives me pause.  

So I’m sure I’ll be in the minority on this one, but I feel angry that Honold has decided to do a free-solo next year for Netflix.  It feels selfish and wasteful, and I am one of his biggest fans.  He can’t be doing this for the money. I don’t know how he could top El Cap.  He has a wife and two small daughters. Maybe he’s fine with it but now his wife has to live with that dread every day?  

As a mom who lost a son I sure have never gotten over the years I spent knowing what might happen – – the cloud of dread, but also the hope – – and then it did happen. But I cannot imagine voluntarily putting anyone through that, especially a wife, child or mother. 

I have closer calls driving on the road way more often than I ever do on the rock, even with the chosspiles I've spent so much time on.

 I feel bad we lost another one though, c'est la vie.

Alan Rubinwrote:

Congratulations to Allison!!! There's always next time, Gabe!!!

I was able to get outside yesterday as well--small, fairly chossy, deservedly obscure crag---still had a great time!!!!

Lori, wishing you a speedy and full recovery.

Glad you got out. We've had a stretch of amazing (freakily warm if I'm being honest) weather here in the Northeast. Nice to get a chance to enjoy it. 

Yes, there's always next time. And i think i have identified some specific weaknesses that i think i can address via training, so i hope to improve my performance for next time. It's always variations on the same move where i fall. I ought to be able to train for it both at home and in the gym.

GO

Lori, Honnold is just wired differently. You don't read much about it but the man regularly solos. He's not going to stop being himself. She knew (or thought she knew (who really knows?)) with whom she was tying the knot. Every climber wife with kids or husband with kids knows her situation in one shape or form or other.

How has the guy made a living from rock climbing? Free soloing. Each of us who have watched video of him doing so, has contributed, and is complicit. He goes in the arena, and he comes out alive and the mob (us) love him for it, and shower him with attention.

I won't be watching it. That's the extent of my discontent.

Cherokee Nuneswrote:

Lori, Honnold is just wired differently. You don't read much about it but the man regularly solos. He's not going to stop being himself. She knew (or thought she knew (who really knows?)) with whom she was tying the knot. Every climber wife with kids or husband with kids knows her situation in one shape or form or other.

How has the guy made a living from rock climbing? Free soloing. Each of us who have watched video of him doing so, has contributed, and is complicit. He goes in the arena, and he comes out alive and the mob (us) love him for it, and shower him with attention.

I won't be watching it. That's the extent of my discontent.

Thanks Cherokee.  I appreciate what you wrote. I guess I’ve got to get my thoughts together on this a little better. Over the last six or seven years I’ve gotten to know Alex‘s mom. Having lost my own kid I really did not want to get close to Dierdre bacause I didn’t think I could handle being around when/of she got “the call”.  But after his successful free solo accomplishment on El cap, I felt like I could relax about this: the worst is over, he survived it, we’re OK.   I know he’s out all the time soloing around red rocks but I just think there’s a time to stop squandering your nine lives.  Is there much more glory left to be had soloing? Certainly nothing that is worth leaving two little girls fatherless.  

I've had great success with results when training can be reduced to a very specific weakness. 

Anyone here ever climbed Quarter of a Man at Indian Creek?  It's relentless .75 to 1 Camalots, just that awkward size - too big for secure ring locks and too small for hands. And it's an offset splitter, so your hands only fit in one direction, but you don't get the added friction of a true corner. 

I don't know how many times i tried it, but invariably i would get pumped out of my mind and come off. So i built a little crack machine in my garage. Very simple, but roughly the same size crack, offset in the same direction, and about eight feet tall. 

The wood was untextured, and kind of slippery.  First time i got on my crack machine i could hold myself in place for about ten seconds, but could not quite do one move. By the end of about six months of training i could do a couple of laps up to the ceiling and down to the ground before pumping out. 

Got back on Quarter of a Man and sent it easily. Every move felt trivial. They still added up, and there was more complexity, so i did get tired, but within reasonable limits. 

So here's hoping i can do something like that again. Does this count as cheating? 

GO