time to hang it up?

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fear

Ice climber
hartford, ct
Mar 1, 2017 - 01:17pm PT
I'm waiting for the first video of an Octogenarian grinding the crack in a squirrel-suit with Sail blaring in the background....

donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Mar 1, 2017 - 01:37pm PT
I agree with you Rich, if it isn't fun don't it. I guess you could say that the "fun factor" has a lot to do about attitude. I have always said that where climbing is concerned numbers are not important. Whatever grade, length or type of climbing feels right and gives you pleasure.....that's where you want to be.
Fat Dad

Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
Mar 1, 2017 - 01:56pm PT
^^^
Yup, if it's not fun, doesn't inspire you or seems more like a burden than a boost, that's when you hang it up. If you still have the passion, despite the injuries, you're going to wallow in the unhappiness of no longer doing what you love. Time and age will gradually conspire to make you do less and less eventually. Hang on to what you have now and they'll sustain you later. One of my favorite lines from T.S. Eliot: "These fragments I have shored against my ruins".

Oh yeah, it would be much more gratifying to ditch the clipless pedals rather than the biking.
Fossil climber

Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
Mar 1, 2017 - 02:44pm PT
Matisse, I can sure empathize. I was tearing around old mining roads and back country trails on a mountain bike until I was about 80 - but an earlier knee dislocation (while skiing alone in the back country at 73, self-rescued) and arthritis finally limited that. But I still love slower speed biking on some of those same tracks, even though the knee makes hideous crunching sounds with every pedal. You don't have to go aerial to enjoy it!

Of course once in a while I look up at some peak or potential rock route and wish I'd done it while I could, but climbing isn't everything, although some may argue with that. I think you just have to recognize that eventually your body won't take certain kinds of beating any more, and just limit to what it will. And sometimes the slower pace enables you to focus and absorb more of the beauty that you might have missed going faster, and that's a new kind of enjoyment. I guess that's called "mindfulness". I've sort of scoffed at the term, but focusing really makes a difference.

There's a beautiful epilogue in a little book called High Heaven, by Jacques Boell, about giving up serious climbing in favour of the family. Translation from French. It will touch you if you can find it.

But hey, at 60 you've got a lot of miles left and a lot of new stuff to discover. I'm envious!

guyman

Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
Mar 1, 2017 - 03:17pm PT
Of course once in a while I look up at some peak or potential rock route and wish I'd done it while I could, but climbing isn't everything, although some may argue with that. I think you just have to recognize that eventually your body won't take certain kinds of beating any more, and just limit to what it will. And sometimes the slower pace enables you to focus and absorb more of the beauty that you might have missed going faster, and that's a new kind of enjoyment. I guess that's called "mindfulness". I've sort of scoffed at the term, but focusing really makes a difference.


Thank you for that, I will keep your words close to my heart.

MH2

Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
Mar 1, 2017 - 04:50pm PT
eventually your body won't take certain kinds of beating any more, and just limit to what it will.


From an eloquent observation by Fossil Climber.


A few years ago, at the Polish night of the Vancouver International Film Festival, I saw a movie in which a septuagenarian took great pleasure in his obviously risky para-gliding. His explanation: "My wife won't let me chase women."


I just made a brief search for the film. Its title was something like Prac Jura, which as near as my Polish co-workers were willing to guess might mean, "old rat."


edit: near as i can remember, the English subtitle was 'Grandfather'





edit

Almost forgot:

Interesting comments from Alan Formanek, the force behind the VIMFF

“We had no salaries and we lost (money) on top of that.”

While he’s not averse to a few minutes of “ski porn,” Formanek has the same guidelines for film that Bruce Lee had for martial arts: emotional content.


“It’s still the story that needs to touch you,” he says, explaining that the right movie can “change your heart.”






If your heart is in it, do it.
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
Mar 1, 2017 - 05:44pm PT
Brennan....You know it's time to hang it up when the alligator escapes your rear naked choke hold...Maybe wrestling alligators on ludes is more your speed...
rbord

Boulder climber
atlanta
Mar 1, 2017 - 05:50pm PT
That sounds like the right track matisse. What are the things about what you do (or have done) that are fun for you - the things that are really contributing to your happiness. IMHO, we tend to misdefine it (using our limited human IQs - no disrespect intended) as "climbing" or "hiking." But there are other ways to get that good stuff, if we can figure out what the good stuff is for us.

Wish I could bottle the antidepressant effects of my girl and send you a shot! But you'll find your own way.
MH2

Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
Mar 1, 2017 - 06:37pm PT
What then?


Checkers.
zip

Trad climber
pacific beach, ca
Mar 1, 2017 - 07:12pm PT
Matisse,

I'm 58, been climbing 45 years, and just got back on the stone after 4 years of dealing with injury, heart break, and illness.
Got my ass handed to me, but I don't care.
I'm back!
I may never get the boldness back, or climb hard again, but I don't care.
Just gonna turn it down a little, and climb on.

Susan/SC Seagoat, you rock and inspire me!
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Mar 1, 2017 - 07:42pm PT
But at some point if you get too busted up I feel like it becomes an IQ test..or does it?

we're not all smart in all the ways it means to be smart...

the last time I saw you at Woodson I was just recovering from about 6 months of pretty bad back problems. I rationalized it was from an old home project injury (mixing 30 80# bags of cement in a day, including carrying the bags from the drive way to the backyard) and while that might be a contributing factor, training for OW seemed to be the real problem... but I didn't think so... until I started training for OW again as soon as I could, and then stopped shortly after it was "incontrovertible."

I guess I didn't take that course at Columbia...

MikeL

Social climber
Southern Arizona
Mar 1, 2017 - 11:11pm PT
Matisse:

If I were an insensitive, politically incorrect boor, I would say: “Grow a pair.”

You’re a climber for crying out loud. As a climber you are pragmatic, realistic, action-oriented, and forthright. (Psssst, there’s no wining in climbing.)

Figure out what come next, what you want to do about it, and then get on with it. Few of us ever looked at a 12b and said, “that’s what I’m going to climb next.” Most of us figured out what suited us and then went after it. We usually succeeded that way.

Semper Fi. Hold to the things you think are you. Listen with and to your heart. What kind of person are you? If you’re aware of your own experience, there is no reason to think that anything will change just because you changed what you’re doing. You are not your body, or what you do or achieve. Grades and class mean nothing.

Straighten up, Bucko. Get on with it.

(I hope I’m not an insensitive, politically incorrect boor.)


P.S. What comes next? The “I’m afraid of dying” thread?

healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
Mar 2, 2017 - 12:49am PT
...has dialed back quite a bit from his youthful intensity and recently told me that he's okay with it because he got what he needed out of climbing...

For me it's all about emotional bang for the buck. Climbing has had a lot of that for me over the years, but honestly, some decades yielded more of those bucks than others. Part of that is because I do a lot of work/play things I find rewarding, so climbing has always been one dimension among many.

Looking back I'd say I was more 'into it' when I was younger and oddly in the 15 years since hitting fifty. My thirties and forties on the other hand were also packed with a lot of work, family and windsurfing along with less climbing. Now I'd say I'd have no regrets giving up climbing overnight (ok, that one unfinished project) if I didn't get a solid emotional reward from it each and every time I went out.

On somewhat of a side note, I will say getting back to the standards of my mid-twenties at age fifty was daunting and utterly brutal. But it was either that or find a hypnotist who could make me forget I was ever a climber because, while I don't mind not getting up other people's routes, I simply LOATHE not being able to get up my own FAs. But then I suppose I'll be looking down that barrel again soon enough, just not today (I think, haven't checked lately).

Also, I've seen long-term, chronic pain up close and personal in people I love and it's definitely heart-breaking. Fighting through that sh#t just to have some semblance of a life is a marvelous accomplishment by itself, let alone trying to or thinking you need to push it on out the other side. Nothing but the deepest empathy and respect for any folks here dealing with and / or coming to terms with such travails.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Mar 2, 2017 - 03:08am PT
ST comes into it's own....more wisdom and thoughtful commentary on this thread then I have seen in a long time. Seems that a common chord has been struck.
We are all climbers and we have pursued that lifestyle in various ways and with different levels of intensity. We are also all aging and many of us have long since crept past middle age and have seen the deterioration that is a normal part of the human life cycle.
Do what you can with what you have......you don't go round again. Ponce de Leon has long been in his grave but modern medicine and current knowledge of nutrition and exercise have given us a "fountain of youth" not available to previuos generations. It has an expiration date but don't fail to take advantage of it.
Bad Climber

Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
Mar 2, 2017 - 06:51am PT
Some great ST gold right here. I turn 55 in a few days and with that date begin my 40th year of climbing. I've had some times off the rock and mountain, but not many. I spent a big chunk of the previous 10 years going after long distance cycle touring. That is a fantastic pursuit. But I got there because I recognized some limitations. First, I hated the ass-grinding that conventional bikes dish out. I got into recumbents and have since done many thousands of miles of touring, included a coast-to-coast solo and one along the length of the Rocky Mtns., Jasper to Mexico. A sometimes dodgy lower back has never been a problem because of the support these bikes give.

I've had my share of limitations with climbing. I don't have the world's most resilient connective tissue, so advancing much beyond mid- to upper- 5.10 has always been sketchy for me. I think I'm warmed up; I've been climbing regularly; I'm ready to go for it--bang, pop, strain. The slow-healing tendon pull or whatever is back. I've never had "severe" injuries, but these relentless smaller ones can really test your resolve. I realized many years ago that I wasn't going to be the super star my youthful self had envisioned.

But here's the rub: I freakin' love it. A lot. Still. So for now, while I can, I accept a lower level of performance and keep getting after it. I'm training more regularly than I have, and this year my beloved wife and I are moving to Bishop, so for the first time in our adult lives we'll have regular easy access to the rock. I'll push it where I can--maybe get injured again--but like the other lifers here, I have to keep at it. I do really enjoy the cycling and hiking, though, so the cross training and off-the-rock days are very rewarding. I think I'll be pretty happy with those if the rock or my heart finally says enough of the vertical.

I love that we have so much collected wisdom and experience here at the ST.

BAd
Pewf

climber
Gunnison, CO
Mar 2, 2017 - 08:45am PT
Sorry about the replacement prognosis!

I think you should get some flat pedals and come visit colorado. I walk my bike over any obstacle that looks even remotely menacing. Pebbles, for instance.

Or meet us halfway for easy sport climbing in St. George or Lime Kiln canyon. Pick some routes where there are enough options for movement that no joints need be torqued.

In a couple years when multi-pitch meltdowns from the young member of my family are less likely, I dearly want to go back to Mt. Arapiles. Easy approach, friendly stone, and the most fun you'll ever have on a moderate climb. Join us and I will tape up my already-arthritic ankles and carry your gear!
TWP

Trad climber
Mancos, CO & Bend, OR
Mar 2, 2017 - 10:07am PT
Great thread!

Many comments are spot on re: my own experience.

What can I add that hasn't already been said?

I often reflect upon the "half full" side of the story by comparing my life to that of my parents/grandparents.

E.G. My maternal grandfather, an Illinois farmer. When he was 40 years old, Grandma told him: "Gus, we need to either get rid of these kids or you need to get your teeth pulled."

Meaning, he was in so much pain with tooth decay etc. that he was taking it out on the kids.

So, Gus got in the dentist's chair, got all his teeth pulled, and spent the rest of his life wearing dentures. (As did Grandma).

Compare that with my life and first world problems. I'm 65 and trying to extract that last molecule of life, love, joy, experience and wanting it to last for "How much longer?" Thinking about Grandpa's life brings me back to reality. And helps me appreciate what I've had - and still have.

Second point.

We face the inevitableness of decline and the only formula is this: We cannot keep PERFORMING at the same level, but we can keep ENJOYING at the same, intense level. Maybe even increase the joy (the subjective experience) in spite of the decline in the performance (the "objective".metric).

So my takeaway. As we age NOTHING says we can't increase the subjective enjoyment - without regard for the objective performance. This is within our control. Keeping the objective performance at the same level is NOT possible, nor in our control.

The collective wisdom here is "keep at it" by keeping the enjoyment. If you can't do that, retire to something else that brings joy.

And Moose: you can't keep improving forever. But you don't have to quit doing anything just because you have crested the plateau and are descending into the valley.

But I could also add. Read a story recently about an athlete who actually improved his cardiovascular performance at age 105 versus his performance at age 100 Nothing says we need to spend our life using all our time to pursue physical fitness. But we never know what we might be able to do with mindful training over the long haul.



Bad Climber

Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
Mar 2, 2017 - 10:12am PT
Great post, TWP.

BAd
10b4me

Mountain climber
Retired
Mar 2, 2017 - 06:47pm PT
Thinking about this again reminds me of something I once heard. "One regrets the things they haven't done, not the ones they did"-anon.
MH2

Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
Mar 2, 2017 - 06:58pm PT
Alas for maiden, alas for Judge,
For rich repiner and household drudge!

God pity them both! and pity us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall.

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: "It might have been!"



http://www.bartleby.com/102/76.html



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