tvashtarkatena Posted October 5, 2012 Posted October 5, 2012 If you wanna climb World Class Destinations, you gotta Take It To The Next Level. Quote
cam yarder Posted October 8, 2012 Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) there are plenty of folks that frequent index that also climb hard in the alpine. they just don't blog about it or post trip reports here. Edited October 8, 2012 by cam yarder Quote
wayne Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 >..Not being one of those that dont blog<. I agree with that, but its about 50%-50%. Not a lot of people pulling hard at either sport, but it doesnt matter. We all do it for ourselves and our partner/friends. My best days are a casual route with friends. No pressure, just fun. I think the limiting factor of being a good cross-sport enthusiast is the body type you have to build to be good at the 2 sports you talk of. They are very different sports requiring specialized muscle groups. It is possible to be great at both. Aging, and work sucks, I would love to be pulling 12s and up. Quote
kevino Posted October 14, 2012 Posted October 14, 2012 Awesome to see Kyle still climbing hard. Quote
CaleHoopes Posted October 14, 2012 Posted October 14, 2012 Wayne, I'm feeling this too. I'm only 42. I still feel like a full on beginner in all of these sports. I go to Denali... my body get's it's ass kicked. I still hurt tons, and climb Rainier like it's just a day hike. Then a day of ice climbing and I wake up in pain. Another day of rock climbing (very low grades) and I get up in the morning and feel like I could make it to my crossfit class. I don't know what to focus on because if I really want to alpine climb I feel like I need to focus on everything. I've never pulled a 12 (never climbed above 5.9 outdoors). Maybe someday. Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted October 14, 2012 Posted October 14, 2012 Just enjoy yourself. If you feel like a challenge, take one on. If not, relax. Quote
matt_warfield Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) Wayne and Cale speak truth. This thread has changed from the Nw disconnect to the age disconnect. As we age we get injured more easily and heal more slowly and our perception of our abilites is more about memory and ego than realitity. Edited October 15, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote
matt_warfield Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) Denial is always one way to go. And sometimes reality gets in the way. Youth is wasted on the young. Edited October 15, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) Yeah, I knew the denial comment would follow my post, but we can only speak for ourselves, no? Your tragic Glory Days ego analogy is nothing I recognize in my own aging experience. Quite the opposite. I don't buy the bullshit contractive narrative so popular in this country. If you've suffered a debilitating injury or illness, that's one thing. Barring that, one should be able to expand the depth and meaning of one's experience regardless of age. Personally, I've had just about the most exciting, interesting, and wonderful year ever. Big walls, skiing, family life, the list goes on. I enjoy the people around me more than ever before. Sure, I'm blind as a bat and can't run a 10K as fast as 20 years ago, and I don't really care much. Hey, I can swim farther, though. This expansive experience in later age is shared by friends now in their sixties. Ego is a weakness, in my view. Guess you younger folks will find out what I'm talking about one way or the other or not. It depends the attitude you face each day with, I reckon. Edited October 15, 2012 by tvashtarkatena Quote
Rad Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 I don't buy the bullshit contractive narrative so popular in this country. If you've suffered a debilitating injury or illness, that's one thing. Barring that, one should be able to expand the depth and meaning of one's experience regardless of age. Amen. Life is what you make it. Nothing more. Nothing less. Quote
matt_warfield Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 Tvash, I agree with you on almost every front. Especially ego. But as I have elbow tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, have bone growths on every single finger but also have many memories of being in my youth, which extended to the age of 50, it is somewhat difficult to absorb. My body feels like it has been through three lifetimes. But last year I did very well from the waist down and the neck up. Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 Well, then you have my sympathies, and I mean that. I've been lucky (and I know it) regarding my health. Not that I haven't put some work into it, and not that its all that much to write home about, but I've never really been injured out there, other than the usual pulled muscle and one or two cases of epic induced PTSD. Then again I'm more risk averse than some, which I'm cool with. Works for me. I've also always been a generalist with a lot of various interests, meaning I pretty much suck at all of them. If an injury or something curtailed climbing, I'd just switch to my other interests; making cheap junk into expensive junk, kayaking, compulsive masturbation, or a new sport, like very low altitude base jumping. Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 Never forget that Lance Armstrong beat cancer and went on to completely destroy the sport of cycling. Quote
kevbone Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 Never forget that Lance Armstrong beat cancer and went on to completely destroy the sport of cycling. Destroy as in conquer? Quote
Pete_H Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 Cycling is a European sport so it was sleazy way before Lance got involved. He just destroyed America's unrealisticly-clean impression of the sport. Quote
rob Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 Cycling is a European sport so it was sleazy way before Lance got involved. He just destroyed America's unrealisticly-clean impression of the sport. You're not giving him enough credit; he brought good old-fashioned American excess and ingenuity over to the European doping culture and completely upped the game. Good on ya, lance. YOUR MOVE, EUROPE Quote
matt_warfield Posted October 21, 2012 Posted October 21, 2012 (edited) Let's not forget doping included Lasse Viren in the 70's, FloJo in the 80's, Barry Bonds in the 90's, and Lance in the 2000's. Climbers are smarter because their doping is Red Bull, coffee, beer, and the occasional chronic. And of course climbing. Edited October 21, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote
cynicalwoodsman Posted October 21, 2012 Posted October 21, 2012 Cool thread. For me, goin' to the crag or the gym is like goin' to the mall. I'm surrounded by all the popular kids in new gear buying stuff at every new expensive store in the place 'n all I can afford is a cinnabon and a $5 CD from the dusty discount rack! Quote
matt_warfield Posted October 21, 2012 Posted October 21, 2012 Dirtbagging to support climbing is a special art. One of the Yosemite originals had a great quote "at either end of the social spectrum there is a leisure class". Sit on millions until you croak or take every dollar you have and go climbing. Quote
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