Avoid going "The Way of the Rod" and becoming a "Non"

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Charlie D.

Trad climber

Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra

Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 25, 2010 - 05:56pm PT

Taco eaters, the tread about how you old guys stay fit got me thinking about this subject. Being at the office on a Saturday of indian summer prompted me further, I enjoyed relating these details, part humor, part tragedy all true.

Avoid “The Way of the Rod” and becoming a “Non”

We can all appreciate that much of our continued activity as mountaineers is partner based. Keeping yourself fit certainly contributes to a long active mountain life but it’s also important to have motivated partners to get us off our cans. Having enjoyed the company of many enthusiastic mountain adventure seekers over the years I have witnessed the making of more than one Non (Non-climber/skier/alpinist/mountaineer).

It is a slow, subtle and irreversible process that like a frog being thrown into a pot of cold water on a lite burner its’ defining spirit departs before much notice. Perhaps the most covert making of a Non is by what has been described by my good friend and Ghoulwe Dave J. as going “The Way of the Rod”. This path of course refers to the activity of fishermen/women. Like the poor frogs demise it can go unnoticed because much of their activity occurs in the mountain ranges of the arid west that we share where alpine snow melt provides habitat for the fish they manically seek. Let me describe some of the symptoms I’ve observed that in retrospect by intervention could have prevented the making of a Non-partner.

While packing gear for an adventure watch for a fishing pole being thrown into a pack particularly if you get a negative reaction questioning why in the hell they’d need a pole on an alpine rock climb. If you’re lectured it’s not a pole but a rod it may be too late. If your base camp ends up in some mosquito infested low land within the sound of running water as opposed to a sparse frozen bivouac high on a moraine I can guarantee you you’ll be hearing about threatening weather first thing in the morning.

Watch for attention symptoms while discussing gear or scoping a route. If their eyes are cast down into the water while you’re debating what pro you should take or wondering where the route starts and they suddenly get agitated over an insect swarm you might as well think about soloing the route or picking an easy scrabble. If they pull out their favorite bud the last time you experienced with a Bill Clinton hit which sent you into thinking OMG a cardiac arrest and they coat it with hash oil you can rest assure they’re more interested in thinking like a trout then having the mind set to reach a summit.

Next time you’re at your local crag which they haven’t visited in years observe their shoes, harness and protection. If a shoe of fossilized rubber is pulled from an uncomfortable outdated pack along with a harness that barely fits and cams that are made of ridged aluminum stems you’ll be learning more about insects and how a trout thinks that day then you’d ever what to know. A new looking rope of 165 feet in length is another indication that you might as well forget about a second route that would compete with the late afternoon insect hatch you’ve just heard about on level with a Ph.D thesis.

The gear represents a reallocation of financial resources, going The Way of the Rod is costly. Showing up at a ski resort wearing a Patagonia fishing jacket is a dead giveaway, at that acute stage you might as well accept your friend as a Non. An intervention where you covertly snap the damn pole in your car door could result in violence. Grabbing one of their many fly reels and throwing it into the talus or burning their fake insects in frustration could result in a prison sentence for your once great adventure companion and you may never climb again.

Exhibited symptoms are not limited to alpinism; a family camping trip can reveal the making of a Non. If their children have expensive fly rods, waiters and there are no plans about hiking to summits or doing any bouldering the infection has spread and you best get your own kids safely away or your family reunions in the coming years won’t include climbing or skiing. Missing power bait or salmon eggs from your kids’ grandfathers’ tackle box or smashed barbs are also symptomatic of an infection as well.

Watch for symptoms as the seasons change. Again gear is an indicator of financial reallocation. Hopelessly fused climbing skins and skis that would be better used for deer proof fence posts that make your short ones look obscenely obese are yet another give away. Perhaps the most telling is on powder days when the banter over the coming Pacific cold front doesn’t include your buddy and later you hear they’re headed to some boggy tidal flat for a steel head run in the rain. If any of their emails include this symbol o:{{{{{{{{< or the farewell saying “tight lines” it’s not about being born again or keeping ropes tight on alpine terrain to avoid rock fall; at that point you best move onto the next stage of loss.

I must admit there are far more sinister ways to Non-hood such as The Way of the Club (golf). That foolish activity of attempting to put a white ball into small holes of a comparatively infinite large outdoor environment will build you socially and ruin you physically as opposed to mountaineering which does the opposite. Regardless, The Way of the Rod in my experience has claimed more than most as many perhaps of choosing a Non as your significant other. A true lover can learn to appreciate your need to “feed the rat”. So take this sage advice if your intention is to continue to move over mountainous terrain until the end of your days, avoid The Way of the Rod. Keep your buddies from doing the same, being a Non is no path to the enlightenment we enjoy as mountaineers.

Berg Heil,

Charlie D.

BooDawg

Social climber

Polynesian Paralysis

Sep 25, 2010 - 06:22pm PT

Excellent, balanced writing that has a plenty of humor about a serious topic!

Mike Bolte

Trad climber

Planet Earth

Sep 25, 2010 - 06:34pm PT

I have to add that the early August hatches were spectacular on the Dana Fork this year.

Charlie D.

Trad climber

Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 25, 2010 - 08:03pm PT

MB, the truth of it is just being out and about is great. I enjoy the banter we give each other as we play our mountain games.

Mike Bolte

Trad climber

Planet Earth

Sep 25, 2010 - 08:26pm PT

Charlie - your excellent little piece up there was so much on the money in all the little important details I figure that either you or your closest climbing partners are fishermen for sure...

Ghoulwe

Trad climber

Spokane, WA

Sep 25, 2010 - 11:21pm PT

Charlie, you can count on me not to go the way of the rod or club. However, I will admit that the way of the MTB pedal is a good portion of my life nowadays...

Viven los Ghoulwes!

EB

Charlie D.

Trad climber

Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 26, 2010 - 12:47am PT

Eric, the mountain bike is perhaps the closest thing to skiing and gets you in great shape. The Ghoulwes have little to fear that you of all people would become a Non.
HB, indeed by admission I have cast the rod however I have not come under it's hypnotic powers. I can only hope that more of my fellow Ghoulwes can hold it together and avoid its Way........we've lost some that you'd least expect.

mark miller

Social climber

Reno

Sep 26, 2010 - 01:12am PT

The reality of life and injuries incurred along the way change our habits. I love to work out ...but working construction uses me up( and pays the bills),When I used to work at the state auditing I would come home and work out for 2 hrs with Kirk Miller. Now the best I can manage is repetitive 12oz curls,( 20 or 30). I'm using high repetitive cycles, low weight to keep me in shape......and reduce the pain of the day.Don't worry I use both the left and right arm equally..........

Long rodder

Trad climber

California

Sep 26, 2010 - 01:46am PT

Brother Downs,

I can see from your latest tirade that you still don't understand. How sad. All these years I have tried to show you that the way of the long rod and the way of the rope are one and the same. Why can't you learn?

Shall I tell you that my tickets for my next BC steelheading adventure are in hand and I leave Thursday? Or, shall I tell you about the new Burkheimer 7134 that now graces my quiver of double handers? http://cfbflyrods.com/rods/two-handed/

They say that old dogs can't learn new tricks and I sadly must admit that you prove it to be true.

Don't I rip the pow with you? I realize you still genuflect on skis. What is it you call it? Oh yes, telemark skiing. How quaint. When will you learn to lock into a modern AT setup and join us on the steeps?

But, no matter. You, locked inside on a glorious Saturday have nothing better to do than rail against your ever loving and tolerant brethren. All of us have our crosses to bare and your rants are mine alone to shoulder.

I'll send you pictures of cold, wild BC steel!!!!

Tight lines,

Kevin

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

sorry, just posting out loud.

Sep 26, 2010 - 01:58am PT

If I drink light beer, have a become a non?

oh well, fuk it. ;)

Wayno

Big Wall climber

Seattle, WA

Sep 26, 2010 - 02:23am PT

Nice read. I am guilty. The Way of the Rod has made me a Non. There are worse thing to keep one away from the rock.

Charlie D.

Trad climber

Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 26, 2010 - 10:09am PT

Kevin, Indeed you do rip the pow with tight turns and have earned the title "Best Ghoulwe on Snow", as such I suppose you're technically a Half Non. I don't believe you've touched stone other than slippery river rock since Eric's 50th B-day celebration at the Leap. Ron the Visionary and I are heading to there this afternoon if you're interested in redemption.

You'd be amused to know I fished the Carson River below Bridgeport with two of my brothers this summer, what else can a mountaineer do at a family reunion with Non's besides sitting around drinking?

Lastly you'll be stunned at this year's MWP as I show off my new AT gear. Indeed after 30 years of bending my knees I'm fixing their problem so I can avoid becoming a Half Non myself.

MungeClimber, Light beer while being a puzzling tasteless choice is by no means a symptom.....climb-on.

couchmaster

climber

pdx

Sep 26, 2010 - 11:29am PT

Spare the rod and spoil the climber......nice treatise Charlie!

TGT

Social climber

So Cal

Sep 26, 2010 - 12:51pm PT

I've lost one partner to "the way of the club"

Haven't succumbed to the "way of the rod"

Almost though.

R.B.

Big Wall climber

Land of the Lahar

Sep 26, 2010 - 02:36pm PT

My father spared the rod, but he enjoyed the sailboat a lot more later on than he did from his early climbing days.

I enjoy the climb, especially with my 50 meter rope, old shoes (can't remember the name of them), and my well worn ridged AL first generation wild country friends; So don't laugh at me when you see me (them) at the base of a crag.

But after climbing for SO MANY YEARS ... other priorities take over. The way of the NON is the normal evolution of the path.

I still like to climb, I just have a hard time justifing the risk of it. But it doesn't mean I don't still have that spark of adventure.

I began fishing and climbing at the same time ... and they have their places, but anymore, I prefer to do super endurance hiking (such as 170 miles in 13 days with 50# packs at 10000 feet) or 35 mile "hike" in 12 hours -- that gives as much rush as a sport route TO ME!

Climb, fish, ski, hike, run, bike, swim, boat, river run, camping ... it's all fun ... Balance!

phylp

Trad climber

Millbrae, CA

Sep 26, 2010 - 06:37pm PT

Hey Charlie,
Nicely written, true, and funny too.
I struggle to keep this older body moving. I wouldn't go the way of the rod, but I am always being pulled by the way of the paintbrush and the sewing machine. The older I get the more I enjoy just being still.
One of the things that keeps me going is gratitude that I can still do it - still hike, still carry a pack (lighter), still crank (easier than before but I still get the rope up there). And the doing of these things keeps me much fitter than I would be otherwise.
Of course the biggest motivation is still the pure joy of moving over stone.
xoxo Phyl

Dave Johnson

Mountain climber

Sacramento, CA

Sep 26, 2010 - 07:35pm PT

I looked up at the way ahead and it looked frightening. Strewn with obstacles, steep and foreboding, with the goal not in sight. My partner looked at me and said quietly, "time to go for it". Clouds were moving in, obscuring the sun. I summoned as much courage as I could, knowing that any slight mistake would lead to disaster.

My footing was shaky as I reached down and grabbed.........my 4-iron. A twisting, uphill fairway to an elevated green was hiding the pin 200 yards away. I relaxed my grip, adjusted my stance to compensate for the sidehill and let loose. The balls arch carried it dangerously close to the sand trap protecting the left side of the green, but it carried it with 3 feet to spare, landing on the front edge and stopping eight feet from the pin.

Dave J,
East Bay Hills, CA

Charlie D.

Trad climber

Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 26, 2010 - 11:33pm PT

Phyl...."the pure joy of moving over stone", amen strumming on the strings of my heart, that you are!!! Why would you not want to do that for the rest of the your days in the sun???

RB you're right on its about balance so we can keep moving!!!!

Brother Johnson....as I began to read I felt as if the words were flowing romantically off the lips of Pierre Mazeaud with a cigarette dangling weightlessly from his lips. His beautiful and detailed description was reaching a crux.....when suddenly I realized you of all people was Naked before the Course!!!! Repent, your soul is in danger!!!!!! But alas the Ghoulwe's have been made proud and redeemed for Brother Ron lead the old school 5.9 OW of Travelers Buttress this afternoon in the last rays of a beautiful Indian summer in the Trench. There were some pumped arms and thousands of laughs, all in all a great day in the mountains Dave the Valley calls we must go.