Discussion Topic |
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Rudder
Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 18, 2018 - 03:24pm PT
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I am no longer a 5.11 climber
I am no longer a 5.10 climber
I am no longer a 5.9 climber
I am no longer a 5.8 climber
I am no longer a 5.7 climber
I am currently iffy as a 5.6 climber
Getting old and fat sucks. And, that's about all I have to say about that.
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Woody the Beaver
Trad climber
Soldier, Idaho
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Apr 18, 2018 - 03:36pm PT
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Outstanding!
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Apr 18, 2018 - 04:56pm PT
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I went from 173 pounds to 136.
Can't quit aging but you can diet.
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Apr 18, 2018 - 05:13pm PT
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I still have managed every 5.7 someone has belayed me up. I last led 5.7 on two multipitch routes, 3 years ago.
However, I'm still sprinting up 5.6a's on lead. Harder grades of 5.6's are a little more challenging.
I feel bad that Locker isn't here to chime in on the subject.
Unfortunately, I still fit into the same Patagonia climbing pants I wore in 1981.
Maybe, at age 68, I need to climb more than 6 times a year?
Rock climbing is still fun, but it obviously isn't my life.
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Capt.
climber
some eastside hovel
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Apr 18, 2018 - 05:16pm PT
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I got worked on a 5.7 at Josh last time down there. Not my proudest JT trip. Have climbed harder grades since but that trip still bugs me.
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MikeL
Social climber
Southern Arizona
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Apr 18, 2018 - 05:55pm PT
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Cheers to you all.
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jogill
climber
Colorado
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Apr 18, 2018 - 08:50pm PT
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My first trip out to the Tetons I found 5.6s to be somewhat challenging and great fun.
(unfortunately, that was in 1889)
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DanMerrick
Social climber
Mo' Hill, CA
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Apr 19, 2018 - 06:31am PT
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Very soon I think I will walking up moderately inclined slopes.
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RURP_Belay
Big Wall climber
Bitter end of a bad anchor
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Apr 19, 2018 - 06:40am PT
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I am no longer a 5.7 climber
Not sure I would ever admit that on-line...to each their own.
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EdwardT
Trad climber
Retired
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Apr 19, 2018 - 06:59am PT
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I am currently iffy as a 5.6 climber
You should definitely day trade.
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kpinwalla2
Social climber
WA
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Apr 19, 2018 - 07:05am PT
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"Not sure I would ever admit that on-line...to each their own."
I'll admit that I never saw myself as a 5.anything climber, just as a climber. The grade of the route really never entered into my calculation of whether or not I had a good day of climbing. There have been many days that have been more enjoyable and satisfying where I climbed easier rather than harder routes, where the people, the scenery, the weather were ideal. Pushing my limits, competition, striving to do climbs of a particular rating etc. have had almost nothing to do with why I climb, and I've been at it now for 45 years. I've seen many friends quit climbing over the years, and most of them were motivated by the numbers. If they can't get up a 5.11 or climb at least as hard as so-in-so, it's just not worth it to them anymore. They're the ones that would come back from a day of climbing and, in response to "what did you do?" would answer "three 5.11's, two 5.10's, and a 5.9". That told me nothing useful. What I wanted to know were the names of the routes, or descriptions of the climbs, or something about the rock. I've had a climber disparage one of my routes by saying "my grandmother could do that". My response, had I bothered, would have been, "well if she does, I hope she enjoys herself". To each their own, indeed.
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Apr 19, 2018 - 07:18am PT
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I'm with ya on tha Kpinwalla^^^
For me it's just the fun experience of being outdoors. Grades are irrelevant- then again I was never good to begin with so I lack any grade expectations..
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Apr 19, 2018 - 07:27am PT
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Total agreement here. Unfortunately, my shoulder is all mucked up now. There's certain positions that are just painful. Can't lieback, for instance. I can still do some gym climbs, or top rope, but it's not the same. I was never any good numbers wise, but I was a solid leader at my grades and enjoyed all of it. If I can't lead, it's like, what's the point?
I miss it a lot, but life moves on.
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RURP_Belay
Big Wall climber
Bitter end of a bad anchor
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Apr 19, 2018 - 08:46am PT
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Maybe I should rephrase my statement:
"I don't know if I would start a thread about not being a 5.7 climber...
I kind of thought it was a tongue-in-cheek spin-off thread anyway.
Climb (whatever) on!
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Apr 19, 2018 - 01:36pm PT
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I am no longer a 5.7 climber
Not sure I would ever admit that on-line...to each their own.
I would be really happy to be a fifth class climber.
I was hopping to spend my grey haired years doing long, easy moderate alpine climbs or even alpine scrambles.
As it is, on a good day, I can climb out of bed without too much back pain and climb a flight of stairs without too much pain in my knees.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Apr 19, 2018 - 01:50pm PT
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Getting old is not for wimps.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Apr 19, 2018 - 02:57pm PT
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I am a 5.7 climber, except when I'm not. :)
May go to the Valley this weekend to prove the later half of that clause.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Apr 19, 2018 - 03:01pm PT
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Have fun, Munge. Should be beautiful this weekend.
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Inner City
Trad climber
Portland, OR
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Apr 19, 2018 - 04:36pm PT
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Join the club. 5.6 is scary too...
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Apr 19, 2018 - 06:08pm PT
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Kevin P,
I have always really appreciated your routes,
If people want they can skip the darn bolts, right?
Thank you!
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KlimbIn
climber
Sandstonia
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Apr 19, 2018 - 06:50pm PT
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I am super happy that I can still climb 5.fun!
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Apr 19, 2018 - 06:58pm PT
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Ezra! Re your comment:
Kevin P,
I have always really appreciated your routes,
If people want they can skip the darn bolts, right?
Thank you!
You will be pleased to know that Kevin's Theatre of Shadows route at COR is one of the last 5.7 multipitch routes I climbed, 3 years back.
You will be proud to learn, that while I really enjoyed the route, even I skipped clipping some bolts.
That won't happen again, most likely!
Heidi & Fritz towards the top of Theatre of Shadows.
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kpinwalla2
Social climber
WA
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Apr 19, 2018 - 07:11pm PT
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Last time I climbed Theater of Shadows I also skipped some of the bolts... and thanks Ezra!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Apr 19, 2018 - 07:33pm PT
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As you age there is attrition. There are fewer people whose physical well being allows them to still climb and fewer yet who can still climb and actually do climb. Possibly one of the reasons is numbers. People attached, as most are, to the number attached to a climb may lose motivation when that number diminishes.
I've been an ambitious climber. Early on I measured my progress in the number attached to the climbs I did....the higher the number, the better climber I was becoming. Later on, I measured my progress by the alpine climbs I did in Alaska, Patagonia, the Himalaya and elsewear. Climbs where other factors were often more important then nebulous numbers to describe their difficulty.
Lately, as I have reached three quarters of a century in age I still find myself motivated to seek out remote areas in the vertical world and puzzel out the secrets guarding remote summits from human access. I have been fortunate to be able to still find these hidden gems and fulfill my lifelong desire to be someplace no one has been before. These climbs are often remote, unseen and far under the radar. The technical difficulty is far removed from what I sought out in my prime but the intent is still the same.
Seek out what truly motivates you and your will to take your somewhat reluctant body into the beautiful and mysterious vertical world will be there. It’s a beautiful world where few live and it is even difficult to visit. Visit with the attitude that your visit is special to you even if it won't be nearly up to the standard to get you on to the pages of a climbing magazine.
Numbers (ratings) are a way to measure yourself against your peers. Climbing for me, and many others, is truly personal...you measure yourself against what YOU are getting for your efforts not for what others think.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Apr 19, 2018 - 09:14pm PT
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but the intent is still the same.
precisely.
The game has always been mine to play. The reason for being of climbing isn't in competition, that is for 'sports'. Sports are things like soccer, baseball, basketball where the reason for being is score keeping against another team.
The intended game you play against yourself, for yourself, but amongst your friends to share it, that is a way of life. The intent hasn't changed in the 30+ years I've been scratching away at it.
Amor fati!
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Apr 20, 2018 - 07:17am PT
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Join the club. 5.6 is scary too...
I was very happy when I graduated from leading Josh 5.4 to Josh 5.7. If you fall on 5.7 it's fairly clean.
I can still third class in the Sierra, though, so I'm a happy camper. It's not about numbers, it's about getting out and about. 20 years from now even if all I can do is get to a lake to fish, I'll be stoked.
I have been fortunate to be able to still find these hidden gems and fulfill my lifelong desire to be someplace no one has been before.
Right on. I don't think I've ever been somewhere no one has ever been before (except maybe in this one cave in SoIll), but certainly been places very few people have been. That's the stoke right there.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Apr 20, 2018 - 09:29am PT
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I define myself, through and through, as a climber.
Sure, I've got other interests: sports car racing, jazz, wine, reading on a diverse array of topics and etc.
But at any given moment, and no doubt, it'll be this way until my last breath, if you ask me what my next step would be, if I could do it, it would be climbing!
Now, just walking carefully up a gentle slope covered with fresh pine needles is climbing to me.
5.7, 5.11, 4th class, it's all the same f*#king day under the sun, know what I mean?
Even though I'm suffering from some sort of disease state which has peeled back my physical activity level to what I would call the bare minimum, I still use diet combined with a steady routine of light strengthening and stretching to keep me at my 145/150 pound fighting weight that I have maintained since my 20s.
This way, if medical science and its collusion with the drug company cartels ever get off of their greedy addiction to increasing corporate profits and hammering people with nasty drugs in the process, and starts actually looking at causal elements in disease states and bringing forth worthwhile treatments, I'll be ready!
It's the people that appeal to the comparative aspects of activity: ratings, scores, completion times, and all those competitive metrics, that most often give up and get fat as they age.
F*#k that!
I do this sh#t, now just the maintenance, which is just a vestige, even the ghost of a climbing life, because I love it, and it's who I am.
.................................
No offense intended to those of us who naturally accrued a few extra pounds.
Clearly, all kinds of life demands intervene in one's fitness regime: kids, family, jobs, and just plain genetics and aging.
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Apr 20, 2018 - 11:33am PT
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Possibly one of the reasons is numbers. People attached, as most are, to the number attached to a climb may lose motivation when that number diminishes.
I've been an ambitious climber. Early on I measured my progress in the number attached to the climbs I did.
Sure, I think it is human nature to do that. But once you have done all the reasonably protectable 5.7~5.9s in Yosemite, you either stand in line to do the same handful of routes over and over again, or you push yourself to get on harder routes.
Tuolumne is even worse. There is so much great slab climbing that is under 5.10 but it is super run out and the bolt police would never tolerate more bolts.
Sure, there are places to climb beside Yosemite but the point stands.
And I always found it a little ironic that it is much easier to find 5.11's where a 20' fall is no big deal then it is to find a 5.7 that you can say the same thing about.
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jogill
climber
Colorado
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Apr 20, 2018 - 12:29pm PT
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But now with a gap of several years I find I hardly think about climbing anymore. It's as if it was something somebody else who did it told me about
Welcome to the club, podner. I ceased about ten years ago and rarely think about it now (81+). Surprising how an activity that holds such powerful meaning for a person can lose its purchase. Largo with his Zen training talks about one's "I" being transient and something of a fabrication; so too is one's climbing "I" apparently.
But for those who cling to it, more power to you!
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Apr 20, 2018 - 12:44pm PT
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Enjoy the moment. Every day climbing is a good day.
Don’t let your brain take your joy away.
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Alexey
climber
San Jose, CA
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Apr 20, 2018 - 03:43pm PT
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keep gear for a while. it is very possible that you be back to climbing
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MH2
Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
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Apr 20, 2018 - 04:05pm PT
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While I appreciate the dedication and rigor of a long-term singular pursuit in some ways it seems like the wrong way to go about it.
There are many shades of dedication and rigour between making climbing your singular pursuit, or not climbing at all.
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Rudder
Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 22, 2018 - 02:20pm PT
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I went from 173 pounds to 136.
Can't quit aging but you can diet.
Toker, that is at least half of the problem, at least. haha
If I could go from 195 down to 150 I could probably drop the "iffy" designation. haha
Next is to start repaying the sleep debt I have built up. :O
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aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Apr 24, 2018 - 09:55am PT
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According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest person to rapell (she mostly does buildings) is a lady from the U.K., who did a building at age 101. She didn't start until she was 85, so maybe you can just rapell off the routes you can't go up any longer.
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Apr 24, 2018 - 10:40am PT
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Sure, but who is going to carry me to the top of the route so that I can rap off?
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Apr 24, 2018 - 11:35am PT
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But at any given moment, and no doubt, it'll be this way until my last breath, if you ask me what my next step would be, if I could do it, it would be climbing! Just read that from Tarbuster. All I can say is, right on, brother (and I'm a parent)!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Apr 24, 2018 - 12:35pm PT
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John Gill said:
But for those who cling to it, more power to you! Good one!
For those wanna be, Junior Buddhists out there, hey:
Attachment helps sharpen the edge of my suffering! WTF?
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Apr 24, 2018 - 06:59pm PT
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And just up thread, you wrote:
so maybe you can just rapell off the routes you can't go up any longer
Hey, I think it's in the literature that Fritz Wiessner, in his dotage, realized the best way for him to continue climbing was simply to start at the top and down climb things with a TR!
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Rudder
Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 11, 2019 - 05:26pm PT
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Even 5.6 can provide plenty of excitement... from last Saturday:
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Feb 11, 2019 - 05:32pm PT
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And then there was that crazy Brit BITD who did a popular route in roller skates.
IIRC it was a 5.5 or 5.6.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Feb 11, 2019 - 06:50pm PT
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Rudder, nice job on the cam.
Took me back to when I hadda wait on people to finish what I couldn't lead.🐭
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Flip Flop
climber
Earth Planet, Universe
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Feb 11, 2019 - 08:04pm PT
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I'll admit to a bit too much glee when the young talented gym climber had to hang on the first pitch of After Six. I'm not proud of my unenlightened mind but I'm proud that I can climb After Six. I am a longer 5.6 climber
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Feb 11, 2019 - 08:34pm PT
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Seek out what truly motivates you and your will to take your somewhat reluctant body into the beautiful and mysterious vertical world will be there. It’s a beautiful world where few live and it is even difficult to visit.
Sage advice from JD.
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Feb 11, 2019 - 08:39pm PT
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Rudder,
I hope you are still climbing 5.6! That is possibly the best of the YDS grades there ever was. Always remember, Charlie says: "ratings don't mean shit".
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Zoid
Trad climber
Turkey Rock, CO
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Feb 11, 2019 - 08:45pm PT
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5.7 or 5.6...yeah that’s about right.
I can still belay 5.12
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Omot
Trad climber
The here and now
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Feb 11, 2019 - 11:24pm PT
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I think the main message from this thread is get out and climb while you have the health and fitness to do so. I also remember thinking as I age I'll just start doing all those easier alpine rock climbs on sun-drenched granite in the Sierra, as most of the time one is just hiking anyway!
I semi-retired from climbing when I became a family man and got more responsibility at work, but always figured I could get in shape in 2 weeks when the opportunity arose. Ha! That might have worked in my 20's, but I found it not so easy in my 50's, with 30 extra pounds on my frame. About a year ago, I started trail running and hiking again, with my daughter, now 14, in the lead. I was getting in shape a bit, until the chest tightness and dizziness started when trying to push it a bit. A quicky doctor's appointment, or so I assumed, turned into a hospital stay once they saw my ECG results. And after the angiogram, it was a few more days of hospital bed rest, heparin shots to the belly (burnin!), then bypass surgery. The big heart surgeon's medical team assured me my heart would be good as new! I was looking forward to be able to run up steep hills again, finally take the time to do the SHR, and get to those nice alpine rock routes in the summer.
Well, I'm now 10 months post-op, have lost those 30 pounds (yes!), did cardiac rehab, and...have plateaued at about 4 miles jogging on a treadmill. Some days I even can do 9 minutes miles for a few minutes and get my heart rate up to, oh 120 bpm (and I'm not even on beta-blockers). After the last couple of 10 mile hikes with 2000 ft elevation gains, I've needed a week to recover. No one told me that! So now the SHR is looking out of reach if I don't improve over the next 6 months (but I'm going to keep doing the treadmill and hiking assuming I'll slowly get stronger - I'm hopeful).
All that said, I'm very happy: to be alive, to have a wonderful family and a job I truly like (that doesn't require physical exertion to perform). I've had incredible experiences climbing, giving me wonderful memories and solid friendships. Couldn't ask for more.
So you youngsters (if any are reading this old climber's lament), get out and climb as hard as you can for as long as you can and enjoy that wonderful adrenaline buzz. And don't take for granted your ability to get your heart rate up when needed. It won't last forever!
Tomo
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Feb 12, 2019 - 07:09am PT
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My advice to any young climber would be to assemble a list of the climbs you really want to do and spend the next 10 years doing them. If you think "I can do this later" at some point the body doesn't work quite right and you have missed the window of opportunity.
The people I know who still climb well in their 60's and 70's never:
had children
got hurt bad in their youth
stopped climbing or training for long periods in the past
The only benefit of aging is discovering the 5.7 and 5.8 climbs that used to be too easy to bother with.
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Feb 12, 2019 - 07:55am PT
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Sorry for the aside, but the thread title struck me. This was the direction I was expecting to go 3 years ago when I got injured, but I got seriously focused on my core strength, since everything seemed tied to that...
Weirdly, between 55-57 I have gotten gradually stronger, and my climbing level is about where it was in the late 90's.
I was working .10+ and barely getting .11- FA's two years ago, and now I am regularly putting up solid 5.11 to 5.11+ climbs.
I know it won't last...
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Feb 12, 2019 - 10:32am PT
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Talent wise, I've always been a mediocre climber. That I have managed to remain a mediocre climber for 46 years I count as a small victory. Looking forward to the coming season and making some plans.
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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Feb 12, 2019 - 11:28am PT
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To Off White and Tomo
WORD, brothers!
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johntp
Trad climber
Punter
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Feb 12, 2019 - 04:18pm PT
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Let Lana lead?
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Feb 12, 2019 - 04:25pm PT
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Yeah, I am a 5.15c belayer! Forgot to mention that. Though I'm hoping to break into 15d.
heh
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Rudder
Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 12, 2019 - 05:45pm PT
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Rudder, nice job on the cam.
Took me back to when I hadda wait on people to finish what I couldn't lead.🐭
By cam do you mean camera? Yes, pretty good since it was a zoomed in cell phone. :) It's amazing the quality of a zoomed in cell phone video, and in low light. I was trying hard not to shake as it was zoomed in and that makes it tougher and I was also very cold. haha
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Rudder
Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 12, 2019 - 06:20pm PT
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@ Rudder
I remember climbing Deflowered
with Don O'Kelly around 1973.
I still think it's the stiffest 5.6 in JT.
I've always thought so! Here's me leading it for the first time OS, after an 8 year lay off from climbing. I had been busy getting married, having kids, and starting a business. Got nice and fat, and thought "I'll go climbing and get back in shape." I figured I'd start with an easy 5.6 warm up. haha
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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Rudder
Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 12, 2019 - 06:23pm PT
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Notice the FISH chalk bag, and FISH swami with leg loops... with webbing tie up connection point. The swami had velcro for desperate placements. :)
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Rudder
Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 12, 2019 - 08:27pm PT
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@ Rudder
Hand Jammies? :)
Busted. ;-)
I think they were "spider mitts". I had been out for eight years, but they might have been the first?
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Feb 12, 2019 - 10:09pm PT
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ElCapinyoazz and I did a "5.6 and under" solo circuit in Joshua Tree for about 4 days.
Deflowered was one of the memorable ones because we just looked at each other after hiking out there and were like:
"That slab transition solo? No way!"
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| Messages 1 - 59 of total 59 in this topic |
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