New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #42

No outdoor bouldering with all the snow, but had a good gym session today.  I am lucky in that I have my wife, my brother Chris, and my friend Steve all still trying hard over 60.  Steve and I warmed up on the set problems, did a finger training session, then the Kilter Board at 45 degrees.  We worked on V4’s and the one complaint I have about the board is that the grades are all over the place.  Some we flashed, some are multi session projects.   Anyway, I am feeling grateful today to have friends doing the same thing at this age.  I do OK bouldering alone, but it is a lot more fun with others. 

Norm Larsonwrote:

Basically all climbing movement is fun. Especially with those you love.

Did you squeeze down the chimney that the climber in your photo is about to step over, or rap from near the summit to descend? What a fantastic mountain! I hope that your recovery is progressing well. Cheers!

Thanks for the good wishes.
We rapped off the summit Dan and then butt slid. That downclimb looked a bit dicey in early season mixed conditions.and yes what a great way to spend a morning.

It's a gratitude day for me, too, Ward.  We have so much to be grateful for.   For one, this little community of climbers that just fell together some years back and has stuck through thick and thin.  I appreciate all the support and advice that comes when I need it.  And also... SUCH a plus for me are those who share their daily lives, pictures, 'big thoughts'.  It is now a 'big community'.  :-) 

Jan, thank you for your report on your knee replacement.  Glad this is going so well for you--this surgery must have changed from knee surgeries of 15 years ago. The older ones sound like they were nightmares.  I read your post to Tony because we are at an absolute standstill.  I rarely think of him as depressed, but he is now just hemmed in.  It's dark in this house, he has given up.  I will be going to his Orthopedic surgeon with him on Friday... this is the time for a final decision on what is going on.  Not just his knee, but his life.     

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Li Hu, so funny, I was going to stiffle my exuberance over semiconductors, but you had to go ahead and write about OMG particles.    I figure it's been over 50 years since I last had LSD... but what I'm learning makes me constantly stop and gather myself.  Trying to visualize working (and competing) with nanometers, transistors, accelerators. EUV Lithography.  This is magical, mind-blowing--and what is almost spiritual for me is that these various enterprises who are working on this are all working TOGETHER.... even if they are competing businesses. It has given me great hope during this politically dark time to listen to the joyful interviews and speeches of CEOs from around the world... all contributing in big and small ways to the collective knowledge. If I thought it was a possibility I could be accepted I would apply for a summer internship at TSMC or Nvidia... I could 'maybe' be helpful, if only assisting keeping the clean rooms clean or trucking coffee to the super-brains.  That would be a bucket list experience for sure.  

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Guy, I haven't yet resigned myself to being a fossil.  I DO believe we slow down, lose 'some' essential strength. But I'm convinced that a lot of it is fixable still...   

Something I've been hearing a lot is that aging has a lot to do with enduring a succession of injuries and/or illnesses that we never completely recover from.  Over time, they compound and finally cause permanent or increased disability.  If we shift focus to complete recovery from the various traumas we have... taking the time to try to get back to 100% (or as close as possible), and not making permanent problems worse, we can delay the impairments that result in 'old'.  I hope I don't have to eat my words, but I don't feel older than 40, and I don't see any reason to accept massive limitations.  

And maybe, along those lines, focusing on real recovery after climbing.  It is pretty brutal on the body.  I'm rethinking on what I do following climbing and for the day or two after.  Maybe a little extra care can preserve knees and ligaments a bit longer. 

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Will definitely head out to New Jack City soon, and I know just the person to meet me there.  I do also like "holds", I miss my old gym...but I veered right off the road this morning to take a picture of this rock.  Haven't looked it up yet.... but I have a feeling Bob knows it well, and I'm like a bee to honey.  (To the left of Coarse and Buggy)  I can't help it.  

I listened to an incredible podcast this morning... "Alzheimer's Disease in Women: how hormonal transitions impact the female brain..."  (Peter Atilla and Dr. Lisa Mosconi)  SUCH a deep dive into brain chemistry, estrogen receptors, the legacy of the WHI.  So cool to update on where the studies are (and are not) on dementia.  

Carl... BUGS.  You gave such a generous offer to come to Australia.  But you have horrid scary bugs.  You know they're there... I was going to cut and paste some pictures, but too scary for that.  And that's not to mention the boxing kangaroos that can take you out.  

Norm Larsonwrote:

Thanks for the good wishes.
We rapped off the summit Dan and then butt slid. That downclimb looked a bit dicey in early season mixed conditions.and yes what a great way to spend a morning.

Perfect! It sure is nice when that scree and talus is covered with beautiful snow. 

That mountain has provided us with many great adventures. 

**edit to reply to Guy a post below. Yes sir, the second photo was indeed the summit of the BCS. The three post maximum is lame. I hope that you see my reply. 

Welcome to lebogreg and JW ….. it’s always nice to have more seniors adding to this group.

Great news Jan! Backcountry Trout are shaking in thier boots right now. 

Question for Daniel….. is that the BP on the summit of Bear Creek Spire?

Question for Nick.  Did you ever put an air filter on Bessie? Old trucks rule!

Question for you Idaho folks.  How is the City in May?  My racing schedule has me working a bunch in June so I won’t be able to visit in June.

And Lastly a Q for Brad.    Looking forward to visiting the Pinnacles.    Is Monterey a good location to use for weather?

Lori- I hope you’re feeling better.

Thanks for the welcome.  I feel like I'm hanging around with giants in the room.  There's so much knowledge, experience and wisdom here, I feel like a kid!

Ward Smithwrote:

No outdoor bouldering with all the snow, but had a good gym session today.  I am lucky in that I have my wife, my brother Chris, and my friend Steve all still trying hard over 60.  Steve and I warmed up on the set problems, did a finger training session, then the Kilter Board at 45 degrees.  We worked on V4’s and the one complaint I have about the board is that the grades are all over the place.  Some we flashed, some are multi session projects.   Anyway, I am feeling grateful today to have friends doing the same thing at this age.  I do OK bouldering alone, but it is a lot more fun with others. 

The Benchmark climbs are pretty consistent.

I’m working on V4/5 before I do any weighted hangs or campus board, after V2 if lucky  , but I tend to stay on the Benchmark climbs above V4.

My co-worker just pulled his first V7 on Kilter    pretty wow moment for him.

Red Bessie has a chrome Edelbrock for summer time but I don't bother with it in the winter because I have to prime the carburetor every time I start it in winter..  she has a very tourquey straight six 250 in her. Supposed to be a 292 according to the sticker in the glove box but that must have been worked too hard somewhere along the way.. no dust with all the snow in winter. 

Guy,

Weather in Monterey is DEFINITELY not a proxy for what the weather is at Pinnacles. Monterey is very coastal. Pinnacles seems to be its own little micro-climate: very cold at night and much warmer during the day. Kinda desert-like, in spite of how close it is to the Bay Area.

Also, I don't remember you replying to my question about whether you have the Pinnacles guidebook? If not, I can get you one. That well-known web site that lists climbing routes all over the world is notoriously inaccurate for Pinnacles.

Here's a shot of a half-finished new route that we eventually completed there just before the raptor closures kicked in on this cliff (Here On the Outside at The Stronghold: 5.8 *  FA: December, 2025).

Skinned for turns after work.. it's pretty deep. This is why I probably shouldn't do this alone... 

Took me about 10 minutes to get back on my feet... Too soft and deep. It was a pretty good face plant..   ended up face down the hill completely buried with skis up the hill.. once I got rolled over and could breath I figured it was worth a picture.. 

Nick…. Good to know. I have feelings for mechanical things. Not much dust in the winter though.

Brad… no GB. Are you selling them?

And yes I completely agree about a world famous website that contains more misinformation than most.  

I’m not to familiar with central coast. I have only been to Laguna Seca race track- or whatever it’s called now. Two years ago while driving home after racing at Sears Point - or whatever it’s called now- I took a route down past the east side of the Pinnacles and I hiked around some. Very interesting California Oak forest for sure.
If I recall correctly there was almost nothing around.

Edit… Daniel, thanks. I thought I recognized it.
And 3 post limit is about the most lame thing a “chat” website can institute. 

A gratitude day indeed.  As I sit drinking my favorite scotch (thanks, Buck!), I ruminate …I know I take terrible pictures, but this was the lake at sunset after my hawk and I finished chasing squirrels. Tomorrow I will go back to the gym and start getting fit for the climbing season, but the winter also has its beauty, and I’m not quite ready to shift foci.

Guy Keeseewrote:

Brad… no GB. Are you selling them?

Guy,

No, not selling them. Offering it to you out of respect for your longevity in the climbing community and the part you play as part of this thread's crew.

The only real question is do you want the 2007 book or do you want to "test drive" the new, still under assembly book (assembled to over 1,200 out of 1,400 routes). The weakness of the new book for a new Pinnacles climber is that it won't have a table of contents or index yet.

EDIT: I was pretty busy when I typed that and missed saying - perhaps PM me with an address Guy and I'll ship one or both to you?

Nick, snow immersion is a real thing. Be safe out there.

Haven't had to worry about in the west this year.

Nick, touring with some buddies, we stopped for a breather and a pee. 3 of them peed into a tree ring like some boyscouts out on their first trip. (they weren't new, at all). They finished and one guy's skis washed out from under him and the rim of the tree ring collapsed. He fell head first into the Pee Ring! BURIED his head right in his own yeller snow hahahahahaHAhah!

We did not help him out. I thought I pulled a muscle in my back from laughter.

Be careful out there Nick. Shit happens quickly on skis. Take it from me lying here with a broken tibial plateau. My crash happened at low speed in the blink of an eye. Hit a small tree with my shoulder which twisted my upper body and caused me to hit a large tree. I was not skiing thru the trees which reckless abandon like I usually do. It was too thick and I was cautiously looking for a way forward.

I was with my extremely competent wife and two friends who are ski patrol. Lucky for me. Without them I would have been in some serious trouble if I had had to organize my own rescue. Ski with a buddy always. 

John Gillwrote:

Probably my favorite climb ever, a 700 foot leaning granite tower in Hardscrabble Canyon in Southern Colorado. I would do laps on it, mostly during the 1990s. About 5.7 with a few harder variations, I climbed twenty miles on this delightful formation before retiring.

Much more rewarding than working on more challenging terrain. A path away from worldly concerns. 

(photo by Heinz Zak)

I have always been chasing experiences and new friendships, never grades (obviously, just look at my tick list!) and I wouldn't trade a 5.11 lead over flailing and laughing and struggling up Easy Keyhole with Dragons and my daughter Natty any day!

And Sam, glad that the Scotch met your approval, I'll let Coop know since he picked it out for you this month (based on what the bottle look like)!

;)

Guy Keeseewrote:

Question for you Idaho folks.  How is the City in May?  My racing schedule has me working a bunch in June so I won’t be able to visit in June.

Depends on the year.  This is looking like a low snow year so things should be fairly dry.  It could be cool in early May, but by mid-May weather should be fine.  Avoid Memorial Day.

Pure fun.

Edit:  Al, can’t remember the route name but it is on Shuteye Ridge

Edit 2: Looked it up. That was the third pitch of Crossing the Milky Way on Milky Way wall.