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MH2
climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 12, 2009 - 03:12am PT
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On my way downhill from the grocery I caught up with two women on the trail. One of them was telling the other about rock-climbing. I followed, listening.
“We used to have to put things in our boots.”
[Reaches down to hook the sole of her shoe with thumb and forefinger]
“We couldn’t get them in Edinburgh. They had to order from London.”
“Then they came out with those rubber boots. They worked wonderfully well in summer and winter.”
One of the women came to her home and went inside, saying goodbye to the other and nice-to-have-met-you. I asked the remaining lady what had started her climbing.
“It was my church. They had a youth group. I was 17 then. That was 60 years ago.”
“They took us up to the Cairngorms. I loved it.”
“We would go by bus. Jimmie Thin(sp?) talked to everyone on the trip up and sorted us out into groups by ability and experience. Three was the best number for a climb.”
“We brought two sets of clothes. If the weather was good, we only needed one set, but if it rained we would change into the dry set when we got back to the hut. The next morning we would put on the wet clothes again, terribly cold at first, but it was about a half hour walk to the base of the climbs. Then we would change into the dry clothes again for the 3 hour ride home. I remember my mother helping me to drag the freezing wet clothes out of my pack and asking, ‘Tell me. Do you really have fun?’”
“I even led climbs. I led Severe climbs.”
“I met Edmund Hillary, the young Hillary. It was 1953. He came to Edinburgh and I got a signed copy of his book.”
“Then I came to Canada and met my husband. He didn’t climb so I didn’t go out very much.”
"We used to go up to the place where Whistler is now. Alta Lake. Coming back once we saw people along the highway at Squamish looking up. It was climbers trying to open the Chief. They didn’t succeed until another two or three years. Then they had hammocks to sleep on the cliff. I loved reading everything about it.”
“When I started going to the Seniors’ Centre I was surprised to find a group planning a trip to Nepal. I wanted to go but it was full. I got together my own group. We went to Everest. The people who lived along the path invited us into their homes for tea. The homes were not clean by our standards. I liked the people, though.”
“We lived on Eagle Island. Another resident, Jean Kay [mother of Bruce Kay] was a super climber. Once when I was out with her she asked me, ‘Do you want to go down the easy way or the interesting way?’ On the way down we were right over the cars going along Marine Drive. She had me hold a branch and then she lowered herself down by my leg. Then I had to make it down on my own.”
“It was nice to talk to someone who understands.”
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Scared Silly
Trad climber
UT
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Aug 12, 2009 - 09:17am PT
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‘Do you want to go down the easy way or the interesting way?’
What a hoot!!
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
Boise....
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Aug 12, 2009 - 09:34am PT
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That's very cool......
Ya know, back in like '92 or so, I was boulderin' at Indian Rock & this OLD lady comes up & asks me if I ever heard of her old boyfriend. He was Willi Unsoeil. She said they used to climb there, too. Then she wished she had some of those "new fangled" shoes. Would have made things a mite easier, she said.
Very cool Lady, let me tell ya!
Old Dads (& Moms) RULED!
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cowpoke
climber
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Aug 12, 2009 - 09:41am PT
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wow, thanks for sharing such a beautiful story...conversations like that are treasures to savor. thanks for letting us it enjoy it too. awesome post.
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MisterE
Trad climber
Canoga Porn, CA
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Aug 12, 2009 - 09:49am PT
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So cool to be there for those memories - thanks for the share.
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Gary
climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Aug 12, 2009 - 09:53am PT
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What the cowpoke said. Those are special moments indeed. What a cool lady.
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squishy
Mountain climber
sacramento
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Aug 12, 2009 - 11:10am PT
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beautiful post, we need more of this documented...what was her name?
"“It was nice to talk to someone who understands.” " put so well...
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Boymeetsrock
Trad climber
the east
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Aug 12, 2009 - 11:14am PT
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Great story!
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Aug 12, 2009 - 11:32am PT
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This is interesting in another way, as well. That is, the next time you find yourself muttering about how slow some old guy is in the bank-teller line in front of you, or wish some old gal would hurry up a bit so you can get on with whatever it is she's holding you up from, think about the fact that they might once have been ten times more badass than you can ever hope to be.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Aug 12, 2009 - 12:04pm PT
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best post ever
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Fuzzywuzzy
climber
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Aug 12, 2009 - 12:23pm PT
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Ghost - you got it!!!
We never, or rarely know what others have been through.
So compassion, patience and empathy should be employed whenever possible.
I've got to remind myself of this daily!!!
Great story.
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Barcus
Trad climber
San Luis Obispo, Ca.
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Aug 12, 2009 - 12:40pm PT
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There's NO school like the OLD school!
Awsome post!
Marcus
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adventurous one
Trad climber
Truckee Ca.
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Aug 12, 2009 - 12:56pm PT
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Nice story. Thanks for sharing it.
We are all going to be old soon enough. Then all we will have to entertain ourselves are memories and stories to tell the youngins. Someday things like the thought of climbing with protection that actually popped out and failed occasionally and climbing with huge, heavy 10mm ropes that could actually be sawed through on a fall over a serated edge will probably seem primitive and badass.
Hope everyone is out making memories and great stories this week. (and keep taking pictures for your senior center slide show)
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Aug 12, 2009 - 01:04pm PT
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Stories like this inspire me. About 20 years ago, while my wife and I were hiking, we met a couple from New Zealand in their 80's. Their legs looked as strong as ever, and they said they even still did a little climbing, though now only in the Very Difficult range (easy fifth class for those unfamiliar with British ratings). We decided then and there that we would never let ourselves believe we were too old to enjoy the mountains properly.
John
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Aug 12, 2009 - 01:12pm PT
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A nice story. As my father (83) and his generation did some quite amazing stuff, I'm always exposed to it. It is sad when you sometimes run into climbers who, in their adolescent certitude, think they have nothing to learn from their elders.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
Monrovia, CA
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Aug 12, 2009 - 01:25pm PT
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Very nicely related! There's no school like the old school especially when they're Brits. They had hard lives to begin with in most cases so cold wet clothes coupled with a day out was not something to complain about. Those of us of the woolie pre-goretex gen can relate to a point. When you read "The Hard Years" and see what they went through just to go climbing puts a lot into perspective. On the other hand they didn't have to worry about being 'tooled' for setting their cooler in the wrong place.
I had the delightful honor of guiding an old schooler up Rainier BITD. She had done some FA's in the Tetons with the Ortenburgers. Call me a nostalgic atavist but it sure seems like they had more fun and appreciated it more back then.
I did have one problem with her despite her completely delightful persona. On the descent she kept slipping. This began to have serious potential on the steep part of the Cleaver so I short-roped her like a bad dog. Luckily, because she weighed all of 105 pounds I could almost jerk her to her feet with one arm. When we got to Camp Muir she fessed up. Seems she had an inner ear problem and had gone off her meds for the climb!
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Alan Rubin
climber
Amherst,MA.
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Aug 12, 2009 - 01:26pm PT
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Great post. I recall reading an article in a British climbing rag once, in which the writer described being at a climbing club gathering and observing a teenaged hotshot engaged in a lively conversation with a fellow club member who was well into his '80s. The writer noted that there were probably few other activities in which this intergenerational conversation was likely, let alone relatively common. His conclusion was that all climbers--even retired ones, whatever their chronological age, were really 18 at heart!!!!! I've seen nothing since to challenge this insight.
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Bill Hutchins
Trad climber
Maryland
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Aug 12, 2009 - 01:37pm PT
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What a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing it with us. And Ghost makes a terrific point.
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jstan
climber
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Aug 12, 2009 - 02:00pm PT
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Yeah, I once had an argument with this guy. I think his name was Wiessner. Can't stand these old folks who think they have something to say. I'm damned sure I'll never get that old.
The lady in the OP probably was also able to do one arms.
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