Old timers

[plexus]

It always amazes me to hear stories from years back yonder when pitons were your best form of protection and Royal Robbin shoes were the footwear of choice. Just yesterday while climbing with Dallas Kloke, he was showing me a run-out route that he led back awhile ago. One pin was what he put in.

Dallas is also prboably the only person living or dead to climb Johannesburg seven times. And still at the young age of 62, that guy shows me stuff every time I go out climbing with him.

The best advice I got from him was, if you live to 30, you'll be alright.

A toast to the old-school

[johnny]

Is that the Dallas who put together the Mt. Erie bouldering guide or am I on some other planet?

There is actually some pretty cool stuff to play on without a rope there, much of it is easy and much of it is quite hard. I especially like his "no hands routes". Most of them are VERY challenging! Has anyone else used that book to explore the bouldering potential there?

I also hold up a glass to the old climbers out there. My Father is 58 years old and has summited Rainier 17 times (probably attempted it twice that many...)Been up Denali too. He has been at it (climbing) for around 30 years now. Learned a thing or two he has.............

He figures that if his biggest problem right now is trying to lead 5.10 rock at his age then it can't be all bad! There is hope for us approaching middle age hackers yet.........

[Cpt.Caveman]

Bottoms up! Oops

I climb with some older dudes often. This one dude Bruce kicks my ass regularly. I think he is around 50. When we go the crags some young kids look at him like "old man you aint got no business here". Then when he sends their project first try they seem like more respectful in some way.

Bruce is inspirational to climb with. Stories of him climbing 4th ascent Bridalveil Falls, the Nose, Half Dome and Astroman pre 1981 climbs are cool~. Enough spray

[Alpine_Tom]

quote:

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Originally posted by plexus:

The best advice I got from him was, if you live to 30, you'll be alright.

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I don't know, it seems like the early 40's is the most dangerous age for a climber. Scott Fischer, for instance, was 42. Those two guys that disappeared hiking up to Camp Muir in the fall two years ago were in their early 40's, and pretty experienced. I don't know if there are any statistics (like, in Accidents in NA Mountaineering) about age, but it seems like the last few years (since I hit 40) I've noticed that a lot of experienced climbers seem to make their last mistake in their early 40's, when they start to slow down physically, but are resisting it.

[mikeadam]

Don Cone a retired Boeing engineer took me on a backpacking trip when I first moved here. We did the Bogascheil Loop trail (17+ miles-Olympics) and climbed 2 peaks in less than 24 hours with full packs. Don was 63 at the time, I was 23 and a NonCom in the infantry. I only beat him back to the car by about 40 minutes and I am not convinced that he was hurrying at all. I met him while he was doing the Ipsut/Spray Park/Seattle Park/Mowich Lake loop back to Ipsut in a day which we completed together.

Years later I was in full blown burnout mode in the tech industry when I ran into a man near alpental who was then 82 years old. He demonstrated that he was extremely strong and agile as we came down from Cave Ridge. He mentioned that he was a retired Boeing employee and then gave me the secret to his youth.

He said that many of his contemporaries did not even make it to retirement or had complications afterwards from a life of servitude. He mentioned Ed Bolton as a friend of his (This is the guy who saved Wickwire's butt on the Willis Wall).

He said he had always held back from ever getting too stressed or overly committed to his job. At 82 and with me in tow I realized he had the right attitude to enjoy life. I admired his philosophy and youthfulness so much I decided to follow his program in my own way, and quit my job about half a year later. No 20 year old huckster could have inspired me to do that!

Several times this past winter/summer I was schooled by older climbers including Retrosaurus.

I now primarily climb and ski with a guy who's 46 that has as much enthusiasm for the sport as I do and he even occassionally shows the young punk how it's done, but never beats his chest about anything despite a fine record of climbing and skiing in the Cascades and Europe.

I am convinced that the older you become the better you become even if it begins to hurt more.

Then again when you watch Ben Manfredi or Jens Klubberud in action there's something to be said about youthful prowess.

[jules]

Dwayner, my friend, extremely well said.And perhaps Courtenay can help verify this, but when I started playing women's lacrosse at the ripe old age of 34, I was informed by our team trainer that the human body doesn't even reach muscle maturity till the early 30's.

Sincerely, Jules, well on her way to.... ummm.... err.... 41.

[Dru]

I think Reinhold Messner said, nowadays he wouldn't be able to climb hard new routes on the Dolomites, but when he was 20 he wouldn't have had the staminas and determination to ski across Antarctica...

No word on at what age he started seeing the Yeti everywhere though

[texplorer]

You guys mean life doesn't end at 35?

[plexus]

Johnny,

Tis the same Dallas Kloke. We just had the second annual bouldering comp out there in September. There is a lot of good stuff to climb out there. I'm helping get together info for a new all-encompassing guide for the area. Has meant climbing a lot of obscure walls, cleaning off moss and getting scratched to death by rose bushes. God I love it.

[To_The_Top]

One thing about older climbers is they have a ton of stamina. Being in my mid 30's, sure the 20's can beat me to the next ridge, but most stop there, while I go on. My first Rainier in a day was with a 60 year old guy that was tough. I think it is attitude backed up with endurance, and I don't think that 60 today is anything like 60 forty years ago. It actually gives me hope about doing this 20 years from now. Bronka is one tough lady, and a good resource for weather beta.Another friend who is 74 goes up Mt Si all the time, he is slowing down a little, but he has been up there over 2000 times...sorry JERRY, you don't hold the record in your plastics.

[ 11-08-2001: Message edited by: To The Top ]

[CascadeClimber]

Ah, you must be talking about Roman, the man of Mt. Si. Good guy.

A young bull and and old bull are standing on a hill looking down at a herd of cows. The young bull says, "I'm gonna run down this hill and have my way with one of those cows."

The old bull smiles at the young bull and says, "You do that. But I'm gonna walk down and have my way with the rest."

-Loren

[To_The_Top]

Yes, that is Roman,

He usually has a Tyrolean hat on, and he is Mr. Mt Si (Italian: "mounta see"). He is out there when it is crappy while the young are sitting there playing the Gameboys! Usually he is on the backside of Si, which is the same route that Jerry takes his plastics on.

[Dwayner]

Hey, like I climb with this cool cat named "Dwayner", and he's over 40, and he really kicks ass....Hey, wait a minute....that's me. But seriously folks, if you're marveling that someone over the age of 40 is capable of doing great physical feats, you're thinking like an 18 year old. Face it. Lots of people are living longer and stronger. My "boss" is a famous explorer who just turned 88 years old and is in great physical (and mental) shape. Go to a few big triathlons if you want to see some people in their 40's and beyond excelling physically. And if you look at the statistics, "older" people tend to do better on the huge peaks. Also, if they've been around longer, they've experienced and survived alot so they often have a lot of wisdom that will save your miserable butt from making the same mistakes. You know what's scary? A twenty-something who's been climbing for a couple of years, has a rack of quick-draws, and is under the illusion that he's a master alpinist; the latter is only achievable after a good many years of experience and commitment. Half of age is in your head. Lots of people buy into that ageing crap and retire when they're 65, check out of life and die bored and weak when they're 70. It doesn't have to be that way. And if you think I'm full of crap, keep these folks in mind: Jim Donini, still certainly one of the world's best alpinists and I think he's around 57. He can climb circles around a group of most of us. Fred Beckey: in his '70's, no introduction needed. Cascade local Jarl Secher-Jensen, in his '70's, and up for a 10 mile run, a century bike ride, or a romp up Rainier any day of the week; Stimson Bullitt(?), don't know the guy personally but I've seen him crank some rock; Bronka and her Swedish husband (late 70's) who hike or ski in Rainier park over 100 days each year, Bronka logging up to 50 trips up to Camp Muir in a summer; The list could go on and on.

So age critics: wise up. Forty is nothing and age is no big deal these days unless you think it is. When I bitched about turning 40 to the late great Rabbi Rosenthal he had these two wise comments: "There are some things you can't do anything about." and "What's your problem? I have kids older than you!" He's right. You can't do anything about the number, but you can grab onto life with gusto for as long as you're able.

aloha, Dwayner

[Cairns]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dru:

I think Reinhold Messner said, nowadays he wouldn't be able to climb hard new routes on the Dolomites, but when he was 20 he wouldn't have had the staminas and determination to ski across Antarctica...

No word on at what age he started seeing the Yeti everywhere though

---

Let's see...leafing through the incunabulum..."Brett Brown" on the UW Red Square exhaust chimneys...letters from Jeffrey L. Smoot...Stephenson Equipment catalogs (oops, too early)...aha! Here it is. Happy Mom has 6-lb. boy - in giant fish tank! Famed mountain climber comes face to face with Bigfoot - and lives! Oyster-eating gramps is a proud papa - at 94!

Yes, that's Reinhold Messner's mug on the front of Weekly World News, December 16, 1986.

[oldclimber]

With a login name like mine I couldn't pass up the chance to add something to this thread. I'm also the father that "Johnny" refers to earlier in this thread. He's got it a little wrong however, it's only been 28 years since I started with an ascent of Mt. Ellinor.

It's funny because as I approach 60 the only difference I see in my climbing is that my partners are generally younger than I am. I'm still managing to fall off sport routes regularly except now I'm coming off 5.10s instead of 5.7s.

I think some of my attitudes have changed. I'm still interested in the summit, but I find the quality of the route and the companionshp of my partners have become more important. I'm still comfortable with a snow cave or a bivouac on a ledge if that's what the trip calls for, if not, I'm equally comfortable in my motor home with my wife.

I've managed to stay interested in the range of climbing experiences that are still available. Indoor walls are great fun and great for conditioning. I enjoy clipping sport routes as well as plugging in pro on an alpine route. I still enjoy snow slogs which is probably a sign that I am starting to lose my mental capacity.

In addition to my technical climbing my wife and I have begun to focus our travels on climbing the high points of all 50 states. It"s a riot. They range from serious undertakings in some states, to the end of a cattle feed trough in Iowa.

I am definitely not a Jim Donini, but I'm still having a lot of fun. Stay in shape year round, make smart(conservative) decisions when things get dicey and you guys in your 20s and 30s can look forward to decades of quality experinces in the mountains.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Cool ~ Oldclimber.

Just got my arse spanked again on sunday by Bruce. TimL told me he went climbing with Bruce and others thought it was father and son I have not had that question asked yet. Homey is still cranking 5.12..

[Dru]

yeah, climbing, if you dont die, you get old, but you still get to climb. i like that future.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Me too that is why I am avoiding the death routes!

[Dru]

survival of the fittest. those old timers are all fit! look at beckey he fits in anywhere there are climbers around like a skeleton key.

[Cpt.Caveman]

I am fat! I wont fit in!