New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #42

Here you go. My last big climb a couple years ago. Maybe my best day of climbing skill. Bonus points if you recognize it.

Shouldn't bootlicking nazis have a voice too?

That looks like a good one. What is it called And where? 

We earned turns up on Mt Wishicouldtellya today. so tuckered from breaking in the skin track I never took a picture. 

Lots of snow removal . Isa on the snow blower

me on the tractor

Red Bessie getting it done at my house

these silly over 50 threads are now full of a bunch of bootlicking nazi repugs and libtards...

seems when my twins were young, I was young too...

Yukon, thank you for starting a new thread.

John. I’m so sorry. You are the dignitary here, Sorry you had to make that call. But actually you also lead by example.  Without pulling any punches your plain speech is a treasure. Thanks for putting that thread out of its misery.  Please Don’t ever leave.  

—

Can I pivot for a moment? I climbed again this morning and It’s rough out there!     I’m having a tough time on the rock and trying not to get too discouraged. I’ve always just pushed through on good days and bad. But I’m starting to seriously doubt myself and my ability to recover. Nothing feels right and nothing works.  And I shake, constantly.

This is a fairly simple route, but you wouldn’t know it to watch me climb. I couldn’t get my right leg to high step onto a Dyke. Couldn’t make myself mantle over a little protrusion. Came home with a massive headache and asking Tony if it was time to join that bowling league.  I don’t know how long it’s really going to take to recover from my health setback. My doctors are thrilled, but they don’t have high expectations of a 72-year-old.

Tony made pasta sauce on the stove all day (“gravy”) which is supposed to solve every medical problem. 

So we watched Andy Irons documentary “kissed by God”.  There is huge celebration right now in Hawaii on Andy’s behalf. He died a little over a decade ago. I wasn’t around when Andy and Kelly Slater had an intense competitive rivalry which later became a solid friendship.  But a cool thing is that Kelly is still a world class surfer about to turn 50. And he’s obviously lived a really clean, healthy life. He’s looking really good.

And this – – I got so distressed over being saturated in dark news 24 seven that I decided to find “something else“ – – something positive and real and honest to enjoy . And so I launched into an exploration of the semiconductor industry, of all things. And it has become a fun, deep dive, especially listening to long interviews and speeches by CEOs, who are purely inspirational, and kind, and visionary. So as I’m putting together my little field trip visiting my family and nature and semiconductor Enterprises, I may now have to add a detour to Phoenix to see “fab 21“ of Morris Changs TSMC. Those are the kinds of philosophers and visionaries who should be setting the example for these United States.

TSMC in Phoenix 

Lori. the prescription to your climbing slump is climbs with more holds :)  I don't know if J Tree has them? I know Red Rocks is amazingly featured as is COR. I don't think you can climb COR in winter. I don't know about Red Rocks? 

 I just found out that an old high school friend who I worked on a construction crew with for a few years died in a camper fire last night on the side of RT 14..   Makes no sense. Master carpenter who was a home owner the last time I had contact with him. Why was he sleeping in a camper on the side of the road in winter not far from the area that he lived in?  Cause of fire was smoking materials.. I can certainly see this guy getting drunk and stoned  and passing out with a cigarette going.   Not a good time to ask his sister that question...  knowing the answer dosen't change anything. I just hope that he did not have some kind of addiction slide and lose his home..  I hope he was coming back from ice fishing or something. 

Happy visuals. 

Started weighted hangs again. 115 pounds added on and doing 1 second closed hand grips before collapsing to friction grips. Definitely stronger than last year and will continue these until I can get a few ofn the medium 22mm campus rungs.

Nick Goldsmith wrote:

That looks like a good one. What is it called And where? 

We earned turns up on Mt Wishicouldtellya today. so tuckered from breaking in the skin track I never took a picture. 

Lots of snow removal . Isa on the snow blower

me on the tractor

Red Bessie getting it done at my house

Hey Nick, could you please send some of that snow our way?  We haven't had any snow for more than two weeks and I would prefer not to have to take my rock skis out.  Thanks!

I'd like some snow too please Nick, it's 41 degrees C here today. Yesterday evening at 5:30 it was still 36 degrees in my bedroom, which isn't air-conditioned   

yukonjack wrote:Bonus points if you recognize it.

Hydrophobia. The Ghost 

Nick Goldsmith wrote:

Lori. the prescription to your climbing slump is climbs with more holds :)  I don't know if J Tree has them? I know Red Rocks is amazingly featured as is COR. I don't think you can climb COR in winter. I don't know about Red Rocks? 

Second Nick.  You can climb in Red Rocks in the winter, but I don't think that's the real issue.

Here's the plan.  Keep working your way down the grades until you get to a level that you can do all the time with at least some style and confidence.  If you are struggling and hanging, it's too hard.  Move to something easier. Keep moving down until you hit a level that is easy, comfortable, repeatable, and fun.  That's your baseline.  Find it. If it's 5.0 so be it---that's where you are. And if where you are is worse than where you were, welcome to the club.  Most of the folks here are dealing wth that reality. We don't recover quickly (or at all) from substantial health setbacks, so think about gradual long-term improvement and don't let performance dips get you down.  Cheer up with some baseline.

Start and end every day with a baseline ascent.  In between, push harder if the spirit moves you. But don't disdain all-baseline days either.  Over time, that baseline will move up, but keep it in your sessions.  It's your touchstone for the activity.  The rest is just gravy.

RKM wrote:

Hydrophobia. The Ghost 

Spot on.
160m of 5+ / 6 ice, 2.5 pitches was how it worked out on my day. 2 hour ski to the base after a long 4x4 drive in the dark.
The pic doesn't do the climb justice, it was a perfect bluebird day in The Ghost Provincial Park (which is between Calgary and Canmore), one of those kind of days you don't forget.

Taking the butt shot of the climb always makes it look short and flat. It's the forshortening effect and the reason achitectural photographers use shift lenses. 

Carl, careful what you ask for. It was - 32c here Saturday night. It's -18c this morning.. 

Last pitch of Ewephoria in Cochise Stronghold.

Laying around with a busted leg sucks. Dreaming of having days like this one in Cochise again. 

You people out west want snow?  

Lori,

  In the spirit of rgolds’s advice above, I would recommend once you find your baseline that you start being super intentional with your climbing.  It’s easy to let other people dictate the climbing you do in a day, instead work on a given group of climbs every time you climb for a 4-6 week period. The goal for each “block” is to climb one hard for you route beautifully. Every time you go out, climb the same routes. You will have good days and you will have bad days.  Most important though is that you have the ability to really know if you’re having a good or bad day based on how your climbing feels that day on the same routes.

As you get better with your group of climbs you will naturally climb faster and with less energy.  Instead of trying harder climbs, just climb more laps.  Once you have that day where everything comes together and that hard route flows smoothly, now it’s time to a: pick a new group of climbs, or b: add another harder climb to your circuit.

Often climbers let their stronger partners dictate the climbing they are doing on a given day believing they must know what’s best. As an older climber you really can’t take that chance. Only you know what’s right for your body. 

Ward Smith wrote:

You people out west want snow?  

How much did youse guys get?     The forecasts called for more down by you...

We got about 15-16".

Drying out, after every storm...

ed "it's being a real winter..."  e

Kevin, rgold, (Nick!)

I am really soaking up your great advice.  Thank you!  We don’t often talk about training here or even just the subjective experience of climbing so I’m glad we are on it right now.

Eight weeks ago I couldn’t take a 2 mile walk (due to sudden health issues from September), . Then I thought it was time to start moving again and resumed some easy walking and hiking, and some light climbing with the theory that I would adjust to it.  Climbing is hard! I’m coming home pretty thrashed and just not sure I’m doing this right.

I seem to recall the advice of some local climbers on this thread – – “take a handful of Advil with a couple shots of whiskey, throw a steak on the barbecue, hit the sack get up in the morning and do it again.”  so given that I’m not built like that I am trying to find my own balance.  

there is a lot to unpack in your advice, so I’ll be thinking more about this. But I have noticed recently I would much prefer to find a route that I’m interested in and come back to it over and over until I can climb it with ease. The route I was on yesterday was a 5.7-5.8 and most of it fun, but there were a couple of challenges that I needed to work through .  So after putting in the effort of figuring out the best way, I was too tired to try again and enjoy a smoother climb.  But while it’s still fresh, I would like to come back soon and try it again.

I watch climbers come through here, going from rock to rock, moving to the next crag and covering a lot of ground.  I don’t know how they do it.  They are here and gone.(they are probably the whiskey drinkers.)

Nick—LOTS of holds on this wall—big jugs, pinches, plenty of places for hands and feet.  

ed esmond wrote:

How much did youse guys get?     The forecasts called for more down by you...

We got about 15-16".

Drying out, after every storm...

ed "it's being a real winter..."  e

This morning it looks like 18" total at my house--with blowing, drifting, and compaction hard to tell for sure. Just finished cleaning off my car--well, as best as I could, and even with the sort of powdery snow ( packed powder?), it was definitely 'work'. More predicted for this pm, but flurries, I hope. Anyway, as you Northeasterners or former Northeasterners, know, not that long ago, such storms were pretty routine, but this one is now the biggest by a good bit that we've had locally for quite a few years.

Lori, Rgold's advice is right on, but I am aware that JT doesn't necessarily provide the best options for that approach--not sure if there are any good 'concentrations' of easily accessible easier routes ( maybe Indian Cove?). Given that, your approach does seem like a good alternative.