Discussion Topic |
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - May 16, 2017 - 02:41pm PT
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I was watching a Robert DeNiro movie the other night – The Intern. In the opening scene a question was asked of DeNiro, “Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?” Then it struck me! The answer for me is, “Dead, of course”.
When I was a young boy, I remember reading that the life expectancy of an American male at that time was 68 years. Since I was born in 1932 that meant I might just barely make it to the 21st century – the century of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, the age of ray guns and rocket ships. Oh, boy!
Well, we are 17 years into the 21st – we have ray guns and we have rocket ships, and here I am 84 years of age still awaiting the grim reaper’s swath.
I still climb, though leading 5.8 is my limit on a good day and I can still get up 5.9s with a snug upper rope. That is until my heart bypass surgery 11 months ago stopped all that – rehab will be lengthy.
Since we are all aging, this thread may never lose its relevance – it should always have contributors … no doubt, recurring contributors as time moves along.
So for you – where do you see yourself in the next 10 years? Watch this space!
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Lassitude 33
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May 16, 2017 - 02:58pm PT
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Phil Conners:
"I think people place too much emphasis on their careers. I wish we could all live in the mountains at high altitude. That's where I see myself in five years. How about you?"
Don, getting out and leading routes in your eighties is impressive. The tendency to let inertia take hold becomes harder to overcome as the years go by.
In ten years, with my youngest out of College, I hope to spend my well deserved leisure time leading routes and riding my bicycles.
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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May 16, 2017 - 03:01pm PT
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Well, Don, I hope you make to a hunnert. It would be good to see.
At nearly 60 I have heard the wake up call and am taking good care of myself. In ten years I hope to be doing at least a week a month of skiing, climbing and backpacking with both young and old people. I am going for the free ski pass at nearly every ski area when I hit 80.
I see myself in Yosemite for every season staying in the volunteer camp and pitching in to make it nicer.
Backpacking and skiing the Sierra backcountry twice a year.
Regular hiking and peak bagging in the San Gabriel Mtns.
International Ski Trips every year and holiday trips in the summer.
Lots of Boy Scouting to bring kids into this outdoor life.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 16, 2017 - 03:15pm PT
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I grow old...I grow old...
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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May 16, 2017 - 03:36pm PT
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If I make it ten more I'll be happy, especially since I've made it about
40 more than I figured I would. :-)
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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May 16, 2017 - 04:09pm PT
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I watched Killer Elite with De Niro last night, Don.
His character, Hunter (a natural killer, of course), said, that life is like licking honey from a thorn.
I hope the honey keeps flowing AT LEAST another ten years for you.
As for me, I don't tend to think that far into the future.
I'll be happy to make it to another Facelift.
Call me Grasshopper, Master, for that is truly who I am.
And you'd look GREAT in purple, donini. Give in to your fantasy.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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May 16, 2017 - 04:19pm PT
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Thx Don. A good question to keep in mind.
As I feel the years creep in, I've renewed my interest in fighting back.
Not to say, that I won't enjoy a wee dram, pint, carcathon or runout, but the point is to get out. And that time outside can't be re-obtained inside.
So in 10 years, I hope to be outside.
10 after that, I hope to be outside.
10 after that, I hope to be outside.
10 after that...
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10b4me
Mountain climber
Retired
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May 16, 2017 - 06:16pm PT
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Man I don't know. I'm not particularly optimistic though.
My dad died in 2002 at the age of ninety one. My mom is ninety eighty, and is still amongst us.
I guess, in theory, I am destined to live a long life. Seeing what I've seen, and knowing what I know, I'm not sure that I want to live that long.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
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May 16, 2017 - 06:27pm PT
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Lauria...I remember seeing you at Suicide when you were 42.. That was 1975 .. You had the physique of a running back...I saw you racing your bike up the steep 12% Whitney Portals in the early 90's with a grin on your face thinking about the post race martini... 5.8 at 84...? What more could you ask for...?
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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May 16, 2017 - 06:37pm PT
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Don and Hennek, 2nd ascent NA Wall days.........
Royal Robbins photo
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jgill
Boulder climber
The high prairie of southern Colorado
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May 16, 2017 - 08:42pm PT
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Moab, A sailboat, or some time zone
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May 16, 2017 - 09:09pm PT
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Hopefully not rusting.
Susan
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Fuzzywuzzy
climber
suspendedhappynation
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May 16, 2017 - 09:13pm PT
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Don
We've got to be a little lucky too!
Just took my 88 year old Mom skiing last week.
How many more days do we have?
Enjoy every single one!
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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May 16, 2017 - 09:15pm PT
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hey there say... oh my, i have not idea...
god is just leading the way... and i am here...
will have to wait and see...
it's been NOT how i had thought, so far...
but-- it's been better than i'd imagined...
those, as a mommy, i DO miss my kids...
however, i know so many moms/dads that
have lived far from their kids, and i know sometimes,
in life, we must take the trails that work best for us to live on...
i am an open book... and god is the one with the pen, :)
and thus, full story will be in ten years time...
:)
hope by god's grace, i can read it with my kids,
and, or, friends and loved ones... :)
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zBrown
Ice climber
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May 16, 2017 - 09:26pm PT
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I have never thought about 10 year intervals.
I think about getting to 95-100, so 25 more to go,
I'm glad for your mobility Don,
I can barely figure out a week at a time.
Probably not a good thing!
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Trad climber
Will know soon
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May 16, 2017 - 09:48pm PT
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I watched Robert De Niro in the Intern tonight. Ten years, I'm with Neebee. God knows, I don't.
What I do know is what several of you expressed. I want to live with a capital L. I want to learn new things, go to new places, meet more incredible people that belong to this amazing planet. I love life and I love the people in my life. And I especially want to finally finish the two books that mean much to me.
Thanks for this ST campfire and all you amazing people that surround it. Cheers, lynnie.
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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May 16, 2017 - 10:01pm PT
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Just to inject a SLIGHT tone of optimism into the discussion, life expectancy can be misleading.
These are usually defined as being *at birth*....which is fairly accurate.
HOWEVER, NOW, we have successfully evaded many of the causes of death, such as childhood illnesses, the teens and twenties with it's bravado, etc.
So a better estimate would be an age-based life expectancy calculator, here is Social Security's:
https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/population/longevity.html
But even these have limitations:
do not take into account a wide number of factors such as current health, lifestyle, and family history that could increase or decrease life expectancy.
And I think as we age, those become increasingly important
So for example, Don, it calculates out to something like 7 years for you. I don't believe that.
I think those unaccounted factors matter a lot for you. The average 84 y/o person is not leading your lifestyle. You are exceptional, and are very likely to skew the statistics!
I guess we should be asking: What's the secret???
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Bruce Morris
Trad climber
Belmont, California
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May 17, 2017 - 12:15am PT
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Living on the streets without food or any place to sleep.
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mastadon
Trad climber
crack addict
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May 17, 2017 - 07:21am PT
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Bruce-that's a good one. It will be like a full circle back to the early C4 days.
I've come so close to dying so many times and used up so many of my nine lives over and over again that I have no idea how long I'll live. I've outlived most of my Washington climbing partners and friends by decades.
The way I figure, I'll be gone when I'm gone and won't care one way or the other.
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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May 17, 2017 - 07:36am PT
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@Donini: Nice Prufrock ref. there. So you've read a couple of the classics, eh? I'm not a fan of Wasteland, but dig Senior Prufrock.
As for me? I hope to be climbing and hiking and biking, a consummation devoutly to be wished. I'll be 65, so baring any dread disease or accident, I should be doing okay. My wife is almost 65 and climbing 10's and hiking/biking pretty dang hard.
BAd
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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May 17, 2017 - 07:46am PT
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In ten years I would like to be climbing with Moose & Donnini & Vitaly at Indian Creek.
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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May 17, 2017 - 08:42am PT
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Whatever I think at present, I'm willing to be surprised and will do my best to make it a pleasant surprise...
... which is all I can do...
... amor fati...
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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May 17, 2017 - 08:49am PT
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At nearly 60 I have heard the wake up call and am taking good care of myself. In ten years I hope to be doing at least a week a month of skiing, climbing and backpacking with both young and old people. I am going for the free ski pass at nearly every ski area when I hit 80.
Hey, Spider, if we are doing as well as LeRoy is now we'll both be happy, eh?
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Jefe'
Boulder climber
Bishop
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May 17, 2017 - 08:54am PT
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**We do not stop playing because we grow old,
we grow old because we stop playing.**
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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May 17, 2017 - 09:14am PT
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Probably in the mirror.
Ba-dum-pshh
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 17, 2017 - 09:21am PT
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I believe that Ponce de Leon has passed on...is there no hope?
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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May 17, 2017 - 10:03am PT
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Married well, raised a kid, could of been dead a few times along the way - it's all been gravy for quite some time. Ten more years of the same? Mo' gravy...
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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May 17, 2017 - 10:26am PT
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**We do not stop playing because we grow old,
we grow old because we stop playing.**
My experience with thousands of people whose healthcare I was responsible for and monitored tells me that this is a critically true statement.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 17, 2017 - 10:35am PT
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Yep....if you move to the rocker the dissipation takes over quickly.
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the goat
climber
north central WA
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May 17, 2017 - 11:43am PT
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A very timely thread.
I met a friend from Boulder at the COR 24 years ago and we ran into a group of older climbers at the Twin Sisters. Names that were being thrown around like Alan, Steve, Joe and Eric, made us pause and wonder. Yep, it was them. A contingent of valley vets who impressed us by still climbing hard stuff and getting after it. Alan, the oldest of the group, was then in his mid/late 60's and still going strong.
So here I am today, packing for a trip to COR to meet the same friend from Colorado plus a few more aged climbers from Washington. And I'm turning 62 in a few weeks.......
So, thank you Don Lauria, Jim Donini, Alan Steck, Steve Roper et al for leading the way then and now.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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May 17, 2017 - 12:05pm PT
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Acquiring 2 artificial knees
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Moab, A sailboat, or some time zone
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May 17, 2017 - 12:06pm PT
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Susan
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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May 17, 2017 - 01:00pm PT
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Hmmm...
 Expressing myself with guitar as effortlessly as with my words
Comfortable with Yosemite 5.11 adventure climbing, unleashing the possibility of every out-of-reach line I've ever looked up at with a wistful gleam
Second career / hobby in bioinformatics, helping my wife automate tedious stuff, helping her solve interesting problems, enriching our relationship by creating something together that requires both of our brain power, and performing work that connects more directly to helping people and making the world a better place
Learning the Sierra from the vantage of skis
Bumbling along in mellow whitewater in various sized inflatables
Teaching my wife to appreciate snorkeling and tropical destinations, even if it's only a week every couple of years; she loves the mountains, and that is enough consolation
Kicking back with friends around campfires, remote valleys and ridges, tarps laid over snow, and in hot springs under the stars with wind ruffling the palm trees
Posting pics of beautiful places and times right here on Supertopo
I might be doing part of this stuff with kids on the weekends, with weekday mornings occupied by walking kids to school and afternoons helping with homework before we sneak out for climbing/skiing/biking/canyoneering along the Angeles Crest. Or I might be a soccer coach for the rugrats. Time will tell!
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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May 17, 2017 - 01:21pm PT
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At 71, maybe I'll be lucky enough to live at least another 10 years. My great,great grandparents were born in the late 1700's, and lived to their late 90's, without the benefits of modern medicine.
Really tough farmers, up on PEI, Canada
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D-Storm
climber
Carbondale, CO
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May 17, 2017 - 02:04pm PT
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That is badass, Steve. Cool pic.
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Dr Lefttoe
Gym climber
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May 17, 2017 - 02:12pm PT
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As an outspoken atheist i accept the possibility that, if there actually is a god, i will be smitted (=smote?) down the day before i am eligible for social security in 2021.
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WBraun
climber
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May 17, 2017 - 02:33pm PT
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Modern people don't live very long anymore.
They've poisoned and drugged themselves to death nowadays with all the synthetics.
They've created such an unnatural world and environments that stress them out and weaken their hearts.
In the real old days, people lived up to 100,000 years, (Satya Yuga).
This age of Kali Yuga is the stoopid iron age of hypocrisy and quarrel and very short life span.
The modern fools who think they've created a better world are in the greatest illusion.
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Q- Ball
Mountain climber
but to scared to climb them anymore
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May 17, 2017 - 02:44pm PT
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As a younger guy than many of you, I think about it often. I have lost many friends to the mountains and had many close calls myself.
I quit climbing and still was unable to shake the drive of exploration. I now spend that drive exploring the jungle. I hope to be sitting on a tractor working my fields with a big smile on my face. That's my 10 year dream.
Q
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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May 17, 2017 - 04:15pm PT
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Hopefully well, with all this old tissue who knows?
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norm larson
climber
wilson, wyoming
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May 17, 2017 - 04:23pm PT
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62 now so I'm taking all the clues I can from you folks that are older than me now. Looking forward to it even though it seems like it all goes one direction. But we knew that all along right?
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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May 17, 2017 - 04:49pm PT
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But we knew that all along right?
For me it was a pretty abstract concept when I was 25.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
Terence Wilson greeneck alleghenys,ny,
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May 17, 2017 - 05:12pm PT
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"Man I don't know"
I hear that,
but ,for now ,maybe,getting My house finally done.
It is tough ,coming home from building and continue building,when you want to ski,climb,bike,kayak,canoe,hike ,play music......lol.
Everything is on site ,less some concrete and 58 year old will.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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May 17, 2017 - 06:02pm PT
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I'm just off to visit the graves of my old shipmate, Lord Nelson, and my
desert rat mate, TE Lawrence. After that I'll be content to rejoin them.
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LilaBiene
Trad climber
Technically...the spawning grounds of Yosemite
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May 17, 2017 - 06:12pm PT
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Didn't ever imagine myself reaching 40, never mind 47.
Nearly every single day up until I was 42, it was a battle just willing myself to get out of bed.
Mid-41 through 42 I jettisoned all grains from my diet, did some genetic methylation analysis and adjusted my supplement regimen, and started climbing (thanks to this amazing virtual campfire community)...and my emotional and physical health did a 180.
Never imagined I would be in the best shape of my life, mentally and physically, at this point, nor that I would continue to evolve as a person at such a rate. Certainly never imagined I would be captivated by moving up rocks, or (gasp!) leading.
I think I'm too much of a relativist to think in linear terms about where I might be in 2 years (never mind 10!). (Confession: I can't do it -- I've tried -- there are too many variables.)
My body will run out of life force before I finish my ever-growing list of curiosities, and whenever that happens to be, I'll know that I went out doing my damndest to try to make this world a better place in my own small ways, and that I lived, and learned, and played better on the back 9.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
Terence Wilson greeneck alleghenys,ny,
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May 17, 2017 - 07:43pm PT
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"There are too many variables ".
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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May 17, 2017 - 09:22pm PT
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hey there say, mastadon, nice to hear from you, here...
:)
very interesting hearing all these shares, :)
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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May 17, 2017 - 09:36pm PT
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I speculate that at age 77, after being led up a 5.5 or 5.6 at City of Rocks, I watch Moosedrool in action, with age 85 Donini:
After hard thinking, I see myself leading 5.11 trad.
I also see Donini following me.
Yep.
Moose
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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May 18, 2017 - 03:34pm PT
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I want to be climbing (DUH!) but also writing software programs that are interesting to me (I'm 60, so I'm assuming that I will be retired). I've just recently started picking up JavaScript after mostly writing code in C# with SQL Server. Holy crap, I'm hooked! It's a language that was developed more or less for the Web, but it is a full-blown object-oriented language that is basically free. What you can do with it is only limited by your imagination. There will be new languages that will evolve, but they almost always get better.
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Lorenzo
Trad climber
Portland Oregon
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May 18, 2017 - 05:30pm PT
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Let's see...
Joint pain. Muscle pain. Back pain. Eye surgery. Knee replacement Surgery. Back surgery...
I'll still be sitting in the waiting room at my health care provider.
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WBraun
climber
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May 18, 2017 - 05:36pm PT
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10 years into the future almost 99.9% of you will be in the house of pain .....
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 18, 2017 - 06:50pm PT
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Our bodies, as we age, seem to go in one of two directions....they expand or diminish. I, as one whose body is diminishing, fully expect in ten years to become prey for my cats.
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Mtnmun
Trad climber
Top of the Mountain Mun
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May 18, 2017 - 10:09pm PT
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Just hit 60 I will be painting pretty pictures and adventuring around the west. I am about to be a grandpa too. That will be a fun part of the next ten years.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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May 19, 2017 - 01:37am PT
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^^^ I love that pic!
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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May 19, 2017 - 05:14am PT
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We are just easing out of our 60s and into our 70s--M a bit ahead of me--and still working hard. That said, we have getting ready to get ready to move from our big house to something smaller, and that process is forcing evaluating everything. We'll be lopping off about 2/3 of the space we use now. No more big gardens. No more shop. More like the first apartments we shared in SF--but bigger than the bedroom in the basement apartment in the hospital in the Valley.
Our girls are married and live far away. No grandchildren. It is fun to meet them somewhere else for get-togethers.
Last weekend we attended a big, fancy wedding. There was a big difference between the conversations with those still working and those who had retired. I am sticking to my plan to not retire, but my work is more flexible. I just schedule my time and let my clients know.
A few years ago, M's busy schedule changed and she had two found days free in the middle of the week. She had a list of all the things she wanted to in retirement, so she decided to practice. The second day she got up and went to work: "So, what happened to your list of things to do in retirement?", I asked. "I finished the list yesterday," she replied, "See you tonight."
I have no idea what will happen in 10 years or 20 or 30. We have to plan on the financial changes when one or the other of us dies. M is likely to live well past 100: her mom is 100. Less likely for me.
I am committed to finding a way to live flexibly, so that major changes, expected or otherwise, are not sticky.
The future always arrives, as I have been intoning for decades. Now it seems to be the next stop.
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F10
Trad climber
Bishop
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May 19, 2017 - 07:36am PT
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I imagine still climbing. It's been good the last 46 years. Remaining active is important and climbing is the thing I like the most. When I retired the life expectancy for a man was 85. I'm 61 now so I'll plan on making the most of those remaining years.
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Barbarian
climber
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May 19, 2017 - 07:47am PT
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My body will run out of life force before I finish my ever-growing list of curiosities, and whenever that happens to be, I'll know that I went out doing my damndest to try to make this world a better place in my own small ways
Such truth! Ditto that!
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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May 23, 2017 - 07:41am PT
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Don Lauria, you rock!
10 years from now I hope to be retired (locker has < 10 days to go) and my boy isn't doing the Bluto thing in Animal House at that time (7 years of college down the drain).
Keep moving forward!
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Branscomb
Trad climber
Lander, WY
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May 23, 2017 - 08:43am PT
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Probably living in a cardboard box under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge...
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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May 23, 2017 - 09:00am PT
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Ten years ago I figured I'd be retired now, but that didn't happen. Am still climbing rock and ice, but one or both may have left my bag of tricks in another ten years (although I hope not). Best guess is I will still be riding motorbikes, paddling my canoe and rubber ducky down western rivers, and bearing witness to the current marine transgression and mass extinction. When I was in school and first encountered these concepts, lo these many decades ago, I assumed that such things happened so slowly that one could not witness them. I have since learned otherwise. As an Earth scientist the world will ever be interesting and ever changing.
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Mtnmun
Trad climber
Top of the Mountain Mun
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May 29, 2017 - 09:09pm PT
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bump
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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May 29, 2017 - 09:57pm PT
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Not once have I ever found myself in the place I saw myself in ten years previously.
When I was five years old, I wanted more than anything else to drive one of those enormous garbage trucks that rolled through the neighborhood every week. That didn't happen, and nor did any of my other plans or dreams.
For which I am grateful.
If you know what will happen tomorrow, what is the point of living?
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Not at Burning Man
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clode
Trad climber
portland, or
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Ten years from now I'll be 72. My Dad lived 93 years and my Mom 95, and led sedentary lifestyles, and did not have the best diet.
I, on the other hand, have led a very active life. I still bike commute four days a week, 8-1/2 miles and 45 minutes each way. I quit smoking almost 50 years ago, and never smoked so much that I became addicted to nicotine.
My wife is a health and nutrition teacher, and we eat healthy. So in ten years I can GUARANTEE I'll be on this planet (dead or alive)!
I expect to live at least as long as either of my parents, unless some "accident" beyond my control occurs.
See you all on the rainbow bridge!
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Sitting in the $500 a seat section at a String Cheese (SCI) concert.
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Binks
climber
Uranus
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Playin' in a rock n' roll band, livin' on my hobby farm, watching the flowers and trees grow, the dogs wrestlin', and tending my apiary, brewing my own mead and beer.
That and still being able to juggle 5 clubs, which takes quite a bit of practice to maintain even after I spent years and years learning to do it.
I kind of agree it's impossible to predict. This is what I think I want now... but what I want seems to change every 5-7 years.
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