New and Experienced Climbers over 50 #31

Colden, just looking at your pictures I feel the cold penetrating me to the core!!!! While once, though never loving it, I could tolerate the cold, not any more--I could never do what you are doing and choose to live 'up there'. Hats off to you---though doing so, would undoubtedly freeze the ears!!!!

Alan Rubin wrote:

Colden, just looking at your pictures I feel the cold penetrating me to the core!!!! While once, though never loving it, I could tolerate the cold, not any more--I could never do what you are doing and choose to live 'up there'. Hats off to you---though doing so, would undoubtedly freeze the ears!!!!

So its probably safe to say you don't follow Wim Hof? 

I appreciate the cold a bit more than I used to, it's fun to transition to new hobbies every year. Different work on the property and house, from hiking and climbing to skiing and skating. The odd thing is I don't appreciate ice climbing enough to ever desire the activity, people may get me to do it once in a blue moon but never on my list.

I don't take ice baths unless a sauna or hot tub is within a few meters.

M.M.---absolutely not!!!! Even had to Google him to understand your reference.
Way back in the day---way back, I tried to condition my hands to the cold by emulating Herman Buhl and walking to classes holding snow balls in my bare hands. It had the opposite effect than intended!!!!

Beating the heat somewhere uphill.

More cracks today. much improved in that my feet aren’t still in pain and the backs of my hands from the off width hand crack hand twist lock aren’t sore nor bruised.

Learnt to keep my weight over my feet in a toe jam, and did a 5.11b/5.10d crack linked combo. Got 5 moves up a 5.12c crack and liebacked 25 feet up an another thin finger crack. More work to do, but definitely seeing progress.

After 3 hours of climbing I tried a V5 roof problem. The crux was possible for me to reach, but didn’t commit to the grab for fear of injury.

https://youtube.com/shorts/LeqbP5YVPvY?si=B63aW_V8OPxVFZYl

A little sore overall. Easy leads today.

Planning to take off tomorrow. 6 days per week should be enough. Weight was 186.6 after yesterday’s 3 hour session.

I was listening to Alex Honnold‘s podcast this morning featuring Cory Richards.  Cory went from a messed up childhood to having multiple psychiatric breakdowns in his teenage years and being diagnosed with bipolar and PTSD. He has also become a renowned photographer and athlete with

 photographs on the covers of National Geographic.. I ordered his book “An Unquiet Mind”.  I really appreciated his candor discussing how much of his compulsion to adventure was the result of anxiety and bipolar disorder.  

Cory has had plenty of therapy and it shows. Maybe it’s just me but I watched family members and friends of mine stoically repeat the same mistakes over and over and over and never consider taking a minute, maybe with some guidance, to understand their lives.  But also thinking about the number of climbers we all know or have heard of who have lost their lives, not necessarily from a Climbing accident. Many died by suicide.  

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7uXVIZ2kSuDQ3xCERb1ZgT?si=8htTrWC_StmZFywLQcJ_Vw

I went to the grand opening of our new REI in Palm Desert this morning. I was just so grateful to see something familiar, and when you walk in it has that new store smell. I went with the intention of buying a new pair of TCPros. When I was climbing a few weeks ago, my shoes were incredibly painful and I had to quit because my feet couldn’t take it anymore.

I’m not sure what happened between May and now. Could my feet have grown? Those shoes fit OK before summer. Anyway, the REI guy from Black diamond also suggested Mythos.  Those felt comfortable like house slippers in comparison.  But the TC pros have that strong edge and incredible rubber and hightop support. I left with a new pair of half size larger TC pros but wondering what everyone else does for shoes these days.  

The REI guy reminded me that I can take my TC pros home and return them anytime within 12 months for money back no matter how used they are. Very hard to beat that deal!

If mental health is the topic, this is the theme song. Potential to be triggering regarding suicide. 

Edit: love the guitar playing in this and what sounds to me like chords written not to follow the circle of fifths.

There’s an REI in Palm Desert now? The Evil Empire continues to spread across the universe…

Edit: Ah, yes…it’s at The River shopping center. That building used to be a Forever 21. Wonder if it will survive…that shopping center has been slowly dying for the last several years, and the demographics of that area don’t seem to support an outdoor retailer…

I'll be checking out that REI after I get back from a trip to Bishop next week. That new store smell always has me reaching for my credit card!

Lori Milas wrote:

I went with the intention of buying a new pair of TCPros. When I was climbing a few weeks ago, my shoes were incredibly painful and I had to quit because my feet couldn’t take it anymore.

I’m not sure what happened between May and now. Could my feet have grown? Those shoes fit OK before summer. Anyway, the REI guy from Black diamond also suggested Mythos.  Those felt comfortable like house slippers in comparison.  But the TC pros have that strong edge and incredible rubber and hightop support. I left with a new pair of half size larger TC pros but wondering what everyone else does for shoes these days.  

TC pro are much better for cracks.

Your old shoes probably need a bit of “wearing”, they tend to “dry out” and need a session to get the stretch back.

The REI guy reminded me that I can take my TC pros home and return them anytime within 12 months for money back no matter how used they are. Very hard to beat that deal!

I have a pair after swapping several others. They’re my crack shoes. Bought 3 pairs of Evolv Sharma and TC pros.

Their policy is great, they’re going to make money so, no need to feel guilty about using the policy.

Li Hu… thanks for that bit of support regarding my increased shoe size. It’s a chic thing. I need that perfect Cinderella size 7.    So maybe it was the leather.

By the way, your video looked great. I can see you’ve been working hard and reporting in on all the training you’ve been doing. Congratulations and good job!

We’re watching Dog Day Afternoon with Al Pacino this evening. What triggered this was watching a clip of me trying to climb Dog Day Afternoon 10b (Dave Houser Charles Cole) here in Joshua Tree in 2021 and I was miserable. I worked and worked on that route – – I think Bob and I went back six or seven times. I never made it through the crux cleanly.

But the rest of that route was so fun.

There's a little surprise at the top. I don't know who took this picture, I think I did somehow but could be wrong.  Anyway, it's the dihedral that sits atop the main rock, with a great view of the desert.  

Maybe I take these things way too seriously.  It’s “only a route“.  But it’s still route I’d like to finish. (I made it to the top several times but needed a little tug from Bob to get over that crux.). 

Lori Milas wrote:

Maybe I take these things way too seriously.  It’s “only a route“.  But it’s still route I’d like to finish. (I made it to the top several times but needed a little tug from Bob to get over that crux.). 

Absolutely you're not taking it too seriously. I mean, getting to the top of a rock in the style you feel proud of is the entire point of our silly sport. As I understand it, the great John Gill treated his boulder problems like a gymnastic routine. I wasn't there, so maybe someone like RGold can set me straight, but I always read that to mean that just getting to the top was not enough; he wanted it to be fluid, efficient, precise, maybe even graceful.  And he would go back repeatedly to enjoy the movement. So never apologize for wanting to go back and do something "better", whatever that means to you. I mean, if it was just about getting to the top, half the time we could just walk up the descent trail and call it a send! 

Cheers

GO

Lori Milas wrote:

Li Hu… thanks for that bit of support regarding my increased shoe size. It’s a chic thing. I need that perfect Cinderella size 7.    So maybe it was the leather.

By the way, your video looked great. I can see you’ve been working hard and reporting in on all the training you’ve been doing. Congratulations and good job!

Yup, your feet are perfect!  

Thanks for the encouragement, just found out my new climbing partner doesn’t mind being on video. Will take some face/crack climbing attempts too.

Maybe I take these things way too seriously.  It’s “only a route“.  But it’s still route I’d like to finish. (I made it to the top several times but needed a little tug from Bob to get over that crux.). 

You can’t ever take this sport too seriously. It’s exhausting and very technical. Your mind has to be sharp even when your body’s built up all those inhibitors such as pain.   

This all brings back some sweet memories. I’m sure you studly guys already know this, but I didn’t. We went to some extraordinary lengths to get me over that crux, including using tape on my fingertips and oil of benzene to glue it down. I kept cutting open my fingers and then it would be over.

But also, unlike slab, you have three or maybe four big tries to get those moves and if you don’t you’re pumped and it’s over for the day.  Well, Bob was trying to get me to conserve energy and let go when I blew the move. I did not want to let go. I wanted to hang on and dangle there and keep trying until I used up every last ounce of remaining energy.

Bob meant “drop it like a hot potato“.  I just couldn’t make myself do it.    

GabeO wrote:

Absolutely you're not taking it too seriously. I mean, getting to the top of a rock in the style you feel proud of is the entire point of our silly sport. As I understand it, the great John Gill treated his boulder problems like a gymnastic routine. I wasn't there, so maybe someone like RGold can set me straight, but I always read that to mean that just getting to the top was not enough; he wanted it to be fluid, efficient, precise, maybe even graceful.  And he would go back repeatedly to enjoy the movement. So never apologize for wanting to go back and do something "better", whatever that means to you. I mean, if it was just about getting to the top, half the time we could just walk up the descent trail and call it a send! 

Cheers

GO

That’s how I understand Gill’s philosophy as well. (Would love to hear him chime in.) 
For me personally, it is indeed the movement that makes our silly sport so attractive. I would much rather climb an easier route in good style than thrash my way up a harder route. Sometimes, in the gym on the autobelays, I’ll just repeat the easiest routes on the wall just for the pure enjoyment of the movement—the flagging, smooth swapping of feet, maybe a rock over onto a distant hold, whatever… and I try to see if there is a more efficient way of climbing the route that I hadn’t thought of before.
BITD, with that young ego, I tended to want to tick the harder grade, even if I butchered the movement. Today, even if I’m successful, if it isn’t done smoothly it leaves me unsatisfied. 

I woke up this morning to a teaser for an article in the New York Times – – a journalist had fallen in love with some paintings of a famous Norwegian artist, and had decided to travel to Norway to see his landscapes in the real.  Throughout her article, she shared links to hotels she had stayed at, the culture, the breathtaking landscapes.

I have really missed waking up every morning to the LA times and the online version has just not been the same. But I believe they are getting it right now. I am immensely grateful that we still have a free press and journalists who will head out, and bring news we would not otherwise get.  

This part is going to stay with me: the menu at one rustic hotel is reindeer meat, fish and organic produce from their own gardens.  

80% of new cars sold in Norway are electric.  

—-

Checking out how lovingly, other nations and cultures take care of their land, I get a real sense of that here in Joshua Tree, too. Something I couldn’t have known about before moving. We all seem to know that life here is fragile and difficult.  (A recent local post)

I did not sleep well last night.  Was reading the latest "Accidents in NAC" before bed.  I can only read a few pages at a time.  Then, checking Facebook, saw a post for a gofundme for a young guy who broke his back in a climbing accident and is paralyzed from the chest down.

I was climbing in the Bishop area this week.  First day back on the sharp end after a month off.  Felt "off" and uncertain.  I grabbed a draw on three of my 5.9 leads rather than risk a possibly ankle injurious fall (overhang onto a slab).  My partner is always so supportive "I would have grabbed that draw for that move too". But then I TRonsighted a few harder routes, 10c and a difficult 10d, so you see it's all in the mind. I'm still climbing fine for me, but after a month off, the head has just gotten squirrelly.

Another food note: I had to laugh when I read this line in an article in the LA Times food section: "His Nonna's meatballs are especially tender, bound by milk-soaked bread rather than traditional breadcrumbs or panko". There is nothing traditional about using breadcrumbs in your polpette mix. Certainly not panko, which was invented in Japan. It's always stale bread, hand pulled into small pieces and soaked in milk or water for a minute. Then you wring the excess liquid out. You only use dry fine bread crumbs for an exterior coating before pan frying, to get the seal on the meat before cooking in the sauce.

apogee wrote:

There’s an REI in Palm Desert now? The Evil Empire continues to spread across the universe…

Edit: Ah, yes…it’s at The River shopping center. That building used to be a Forever 21. Wonder if it will survive…that shopping center has been slowly dying for the last several years, and the demographics of that area don’t seem to support an outdoor retailer…

I wonder if the priority-to-shipping-new-business-model for so much of retail allows a store in a poor mall to be an acceptable warehouse.

So, one of the gym climbers asked my climbing buddy and I what is the most important thing we’ve done thus far to improve our climbing. L

I said finger strength to prevent injury, cause I’m older and all that.

My climbing buddy said, footwork was key in his development. That and having this really great coach who’s volunteered to help us out. We created this image that he’s so effective at coaching given his past experiences as a professional baseball player in his youth.

This gym climber then confessed that he was one of the official coaches at the gym.

We immediately changed our tone to, “oh, our ‘coach’ just sprays beta at us and just helps out when he can…” then we all laughed.

The climbing couple this gym coach is helping out are climbing and leading 5.11c. They want to move up to 5.11d and beyond. 5.11d at our gym is a big jump in difficulty. The holds get very small, high stepping small sloper chips and turning or liebacking every move on overhanging faces or cracks.

5.11c is much easier, has rest holds and more obvious movements.

What would any of you folks recommend for improving?