New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #39

Went for a hike today and found a little bit of winter

It got decidedly more wintery when we popped out above tree line

Found the summit. Nice 60mph gusts

I had my flue shot last week. was at the doc getting my neck and feet looked at  and they offered it. I said yes. No side effects this time. 

A bit sore after todays 8 mile hike.  mostly my arthritic feet...  

This may sound contradictory after complaining about my sore feet but I am convinced that these kinds of adventures are the best way to stave off old age and the grim reaper... 

Daniel Shively wrote:

A nameless miscreant lost in the middle of the Wyoming High Desert.

Kinda looks like Sweetwater area...great spot...

You know, back in my day, we didn’t have macros or microbiomes or apps that told us how many almonds we were allowed to eat. We just had food. You woke up, you poured yourself a bowl of cereal — none of this “overnight oats soaked in organic cashew milk” nonsense — and you went to work. If you were lucky, your mom tossed a bologna sandwich and an apple in a brown paper bag. No one ever asked if the bread was “whole grain ancient sprouted heirloom rye.” It was just bread. And we were fine!

Now every time I go online, someone’s trying to convince me that sugar is the devil, carbs are poison, and coffee will both kill and save you depending on the phase of the moon. People are drinking butter in their coffee — butter! — and pretending it’s “biohacking.” In my day, if you put butter in your coffee, someone would assume you’d lost your mind or mistaken it for toast.

And don’t even get me started on kale. Kale used to be a garnish, for crying out loud — that bitter, scratchy leaf you pushed aside on your plate at Sizzler. Now it’s the main event, massaged like it’s going through therapy. I saw a recipe online for “kale chips.” Buddy, if I want chips, I’ll eat chips.

Everyone’s got a “gut health journey” now. We didn’t have gut journeys — we had Tums. You ate too much sausage, you took a couple, you moved on with your life. Nobody felt the need to write a blog post about it.

And of course, every kid these days has an allergy or a sensitivity. I’m not saying people didn’t have problems back then, but we didn’t have entire grocery aisles dedicated to things food doesn’t contain. Gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, joy-free. I’m half expecting to see “oxygen-free” cookies any day now.

I saw someone on TikTok the other day saying we should eat like our ancestors — you know, caveman diets and all that. Well, guess what: our ancestors also didn’t have indoor plumbing or antibiotics, and I don’t see anyone volunteering to give those up.

Give me a turkey sandwich on white bread, a bag of chips, and a cold soda, and I’ll show you someone who’s lived a happy, well-fed life. The secret to good nutrition isn’t some influencer’s “clean eating” plan — it’s called moderation. You don’t need to count your macros. Just eat your sandwich and go trad climbing once in a while.

Haha, word up Alex!

+1

Tad

Greg Opland wrote:

Fun little solo.  Way easier to find a slot to do that than to get a party on it.

My question for Alex is how old are you and how active and healthy are you now. There is no doubt that we are what we eat. The most important factor in longevity is genetics but either way if you eat Total crap it won't help and if you eat really healthy it will help.

Archie Bunker has entered the house I see.

M M wrote:

Archie Bunker has entered the house I see.

By today's 'standards', Archie Bunker is a 'commie liberal'!!!!

Alex +2

Alan Rubin wrote:

Great pictures as always Daniel and Greg. And, for once it is nice to see some pics of routes that I've actually done!!!! In particular, Haystack, and the Deep Lake Cirque in the Winds, is one of my favorite places to climb--and just 'to be'. The Major and Minor Dihedral ( I think that it is the 'Major' featured in Daniel's photo?) routes ( wish they had more 'evocative' names!!!) are particularly enjoyable.

And, I 'third' that Touch and Go is one of the best routes of it's grade in JT, offering very varied climbing.

Dragons, you are a 'hard woman' climbing today. I was just driving by the Gunks this afternoon and the chilly wind was very noticeable--and provided no incentive to detour to do a route!!!

Hi Alan, thanks and I‘m happy that you enjoyed the photos. The Deep Lake Cirque sure is a beautiful place. The Cirque of the Towers is incredible too. The photo of Denise was on a climb called “Railroad Tracks“. Here‘s a photo of Denise on the “Minor Dihedral”, ”Major“ was next on my list, but we were low on food and Denise was ready for some Civilization and a Cheeseburger. Man, Wyoming has some great mountains and a cool vibe.

Here are a couple more photos. 

Pingora

Denise enjoying the Northeast Buttress of Pingora.

Lonesome Lake

Towers

Warbonnet Peak

I hope that everyone has a great Sunday.

Daniel Shively wrote:

Oh man, I think I met Bill early 2000’s around Tuolumne. Maybe a bit before he started working at the TPR. What a great man, climbing partner, and conversationalist. We’ve kind of lost touch, but I’d love to run into him again. If you still see him regularly, please tell him that Denise and I think of him and would be psyched to re connect if he’s ever around the eastside. Cool photo, and yeah, the headband is always present when rock climbing. 

Bill Lundeen, on the route “Bush the Imbecile”, Tranquility Wall, Wheeler Crest, California.

I’ve seen him post here (not recently) so I hopes that he might lurk and maybe these photos will pull him out of the shadows.

Cheers!

Small world indeed! I just emailed Bill about this discussion. He is a fantastic human and a great friend.

Nick Goldsmith wrote:

My question for Alex is how old are you and how active and healthy are you now. There is no doubt that we are what we eat. The most important factor in longevity is genetics but either way if you eat Total crap it won't help and if you eat really healthy it will help.

Genetics plays a minor role in longevity, for most people at least. Maybe 20-30%. Only at the extreme, for those who live to 100+, there are a few super aging genes. But those are rare.

Exercise, diet, sleep, substance use, social connections, and stress are the modifiable factors involved in healthy aging. While there are no guarantees, if you do everything “right”, you may add up to a decade or two to your life, and decrease suffering in the end.

None of the stuff advocated by credible longevity science involves huge sacrifice, imo. I’m not talking about “biohacks”, artisanal bread, or butter in your coffee, but a few less bologna sandwiches may help.

Perma you are dead fucking wrong. Genetics is massive. Healthy living helps tremendously but genetics is King.  Richard Simmons is dead as fucking doornail and Kieth Richards is still rocking.. is what it is

A couple of more views of Pingora

View from our campsite.  Team Mythos meets at the top of Pingora

Two classics at the City.  Skyline and Lost Arrow

Any climbers on this thread live in Western North Carolina?  Moved here (Asheville area) a few years ago, went through some health issues (all good now) and ready to get back on the rock.  69 y/o, 25 years of climbing.  Would love to connect with some other old farts who climb for the sheer enjoyment, not the grades (since I'm a 5.easy kind of guy at the moment).

1. Nick Goldsmith wrote:

Perma you are dead fucking wrong. Genetics is massive. Healthy living helps tremendously but genetics is King.  Richard Simmons is dead as fucking doornail and Kieth Richards is still rocking.. is what it is

And Jeanne Calment, the oldest person who ever graced the planet, smoked until she was 117!

Anecdotes aside, the 20-30% genetic contribution to longevity isn’t my stat.

But even if you think the scientists who study aging are wrong, you must believe behavior has some influence on how long you’ll live, no? If so, how much would you be willing to alter your habits to live another 5, 10, 15 years?

Permabeta wrote:

Agree Nick.  Always pays to look at family history when choosing your parents, LOL.  But seriously,  the female side of the family has a pretty good correlation to longevity based on my limited observations.  Male side, not so much.  

You just never know.

One of my grandfathers started smoking and drinking in his mid teens, meat n tater diet, 50 lbs. overweight and died in his sleep 2 weeks short of his 100th birthday. 

My other grandfather never smoked or drank alcohol, same diet, not overweight and died of a heart attack age 65.

Go figure, YMMV

Carry on...

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8836117/

Here’s a good review detailing the different genes that have been implicated in longevity. These authors attribute 40% of lifespan to genetics. That would make genetics the largest individual contributor to lifespan since none of the other factors - smoking, alcohol and drug use, nutrition, exercise, other lifestyle (marital status, meditation, stress, laughter, etc), socio- economic status, environmental pollution, career, etc - individually count for 40%.