Donini, Brokedown, Jan & the over-50 posse at City of Rocks

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List

This thread has been locked

Messages 41 - 60 of total 66 in this topic

<< First | < Previous | Show All | Next > | Last >>

Fritz

Trad climber

Choss Creek, ID

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 19, 2011 - 09:22pm PT

Day two: at age 62, I was back to being the youngest male climber.

After Heidi and I couldn't get past the crux on Funky Bolt, we wandered over to Morning Glory Spire, aka The Incisor: to climb the classic 5.8 Route, Skyline.

We saw and heard two Spanish speaking climbers, rappelling the route.
They were using a 70 meter rope and ended up a little below where we were starting with our 60 meter ropes.

Donini immediately started making friends, and learned the female climber was from Italy. He explained his ancestors were from Northern Italy and the family name was Donini. Then he started leading the route. At this point the guy Euro climber popped onto our ledge with wide eyes and looking up at Donini, respectfully asked: "is your first name Jim?"

And thus we met Manolo and Francesca: who currently live in Spain. Manolo, age 56, had been hoping to someday meet Donini------- like some people hope to win the lottery. He was pretty happy, and hung around until we all got down from the route. Somewhere along the way: we invited them to visit for dinner and red wine, and they agreed on the visit and wine, but politely declined dinner, since they were not on our eating schedule.

Our female Idaho rope-rocket friend Kim also showed up for dinner and climbing the next day. Kim wasn’t much help on drinking our remaining 5 bottle stock of red wine, but somehow it disappeared during the party.

It was an early start day. Jim wanted to climb with Manolo, and I had previously whined to Kim that the summer would not be complete if we didn’t climb The Lost Arrow. We split up after breakfast and Heidi, Kim, & I trudged the two miles (or so) into The Lost Arrow.

It was great! I had fun! We all had fun on the 5.7 route, and free rappel. I hate rappelling, and it was still fun!

As our penalty for having Kim do an easy route: she then marched us to a nearby 12a Sport Climb named Power Pig.

She set a top rope, and I got to be her belay slave, while she sport-routed the problem for a while. She got up it a satisfactory number of times, and asked us if we wanted to try. Heidi tried, and I didn’t.

After the hot hike up and out to our car: we got to visit with Jan, Brokedown, and Francesca, but Jim & Manolo were still climbing in the late afternoon.

Hey Donini: What did you fellows climb?

scuffy b

climber

dissected alluvial deposits, late Pleistocene

Aug 19, 2011 - 11:09pm PT

Fritz, it has always seemed to me that Divine Decadence was another line
further right than that crack, but then I've always thought some of the
City topos are flawed.
If that's Divine Decadence, then I will recommend it to anyone, with a
clear conscience.
At any rate, I always like to do both climbs.

I'd love to join in. A little prodding would do wonders.
Kelsey and Chuck Schaap showed me some cool things there, eg the descents I
mentioned, and I also spent a lot of days there by myself, wandering and
wondering

Captain...or Skully

climber

or some such

Aug 19, 2011 - 11:32pm PT

It's a good place to do that, too, Scuff.
Excellent tale & pics, there, Fritz.

Fritz

Trad climber

Choss Creek, ID

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 20, 2011 - 12:23am PT

Scuffy B. Re:

I'd love to join in. A little prodding would do wonders.
Kelsey and Chuck Schaap showed me some cool things there, eg the descents I
mentioned, and I also spent a lot of days there by myself, wandering and
wondering

Next year for sure!

Email me and stay in touch.

I think we all want a small gathering of "like-minded" friends.

Captain...or Skully

climber

or some such

Aug 20, 2011 - 12:26am PT

With good timing.

Wayno

Big Wall climber

Seattle, WA

Aug 20, 2011 - 01:43am PT

COR looks so good. Wonderful thread, Fritz.

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Aug 20, 2011 - 02:40pm PT

I have good memories of climbing with Kim Miller in
Boulder and Utah, even at City of Rocks, where we stayed
at his mansion, I mean... cabin... Kim would pass through
Colorado on business and always look me up, and he always
wanted to climb the hardest routes in Eldorado, at least the classic
hard ones, such as NW Corner of the Bastille and Vertigo,
all of which he led without a hesitation... Then he would
be off to fit in an ascent of the Naked Edge. He soloes all
those routes at the City, on a regular basis, but you'd never
know it, because he is one of those truly modest fellows
who doesn't ever talk about what he does. He was one of the
best in Utah back in the beginning, when his only competition
was Greg Lowe....

Fritz

Trad climber

Choss Creek, ID

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 21, 2011 - 11:57pm PT

Thanks all for posting up.

Despite being "somewhat incapacitated" by three days of climbing: I went off to the mountains to collect "minerals at altitude" this weekend.

Summer is nearly over------damn!

Best wishes to Donini, Brokedown, and Jan for a great time at City of Rocks!

Fritz

Trad climber

Choss Creek, ID

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 22, 2011 - 11:44pm PT

One last Donini COR photo to share.

Hoping to hear more comments?

Captain...or Skully

climber

or some such

Aug 22, 2011 - 11:49pm PT

I'm just a bit sorry that our timing is off.
So far.....;-)
Cheers.

Brokedownclimber

Trad climber

Douglas, WY

Aug 23, 2011 - 08:09pm PT

This is Jan again and I just have to announce it!

I passed my Wyoming driver's license this morning! My only error was coming a little too close to the cross walk.

This is all thanks to Brokedowns's patient tutoring over the past week along with loaning me his car to practice in
.
It's wasn't easy to reverse the side of the road, the steering wheel, the turn blinkers and windshield wipers after 30 years of driving on the left, while in a car three times bigger than what I drive in Japan.

Somehow Brokedown persevered with me through it all. In one amazing scene I turned onto the wrong side of the road in Douglas while practicing, and was confronted by two lanes of traffic heading directly toward me. I start swearing while Brokedown says ever so quietly and calmly, "You know Jan, you really should be in the other lane". Talk about unflappable!

Meanwhile, in three days I will be back in Japan driving on the left again.

The best part of the trip remains my time at City of Rocks!

imStein

Trad climber

Triumph, Idaho

Aug 24, 2011 - 04:24pm PT

More food photos, Fritz.

scuffy b

climber

dissected alluvial deposits, late Pleistocene

Aug 24, 2011 - 04:39pm PT

Where did you camp?

squishy

Mountain climber

sacramento

Aug 24, 2011 - 04:47pm PT

oh how cute, look at all the old people climbing...

JEleazarian

Trad climber

Fresno CA

Aug 24, 2011 - 04:54pm PT

Day two: at age 62, I was back to being the youngest male climber.

Sounds like my kind of group! Thanks for the pics and thread.

John

Fritz

Trad climber

Choss Creek, ID

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 24, 2011 - 08:53pm PT

Thank you all for posting up!

Jan! Great driving stories! Glad you passed, sorry you are back out of our area.

Scuffyb: I can't share the campsite on ST, until I reserve it for next year.

JE: I believe you are just right for this gathering.

Squishy: I can tell you're jealous. Besides, I posted photos of that "Rope Rocket Babe": Kim

imStein: We need you back at "The City" this weekend to add some culture to our "Slop & Gobbles."

Brokedownclimber

Trad climber

Douglas, WY

Aug 26, 2011 - 10:58pm PT

Our cocktail hours were great this past trip, too!

Fritz

Trad climber

Choss Creek, ID

Topic Author's Reply - Aug 26, 2011 - 11:06pm PT

Back to the City of Rocks this weekend-thru Monday with our younger rope-rocket buds Kim & Pete, and hopefully imStein for culture and cocktail hour.

Any other Tacos there?