Phil Watts of Marquette described some of those experiences during a Sept. 27 program at the Peter White Public Library titled “A Geezer Reminisces on The High Places.”

Watts, of course, is that “geezer,” although he is fit and trim at age 67.

A retired professor emeritus of exercise physiology at Northern Michigan University, Watts has climbed on rock, snow and ice, and has the photographs to prove it.

A recreational activity has three main areas of benefit, he said: planning, doing and reminiscing.

Phil Watts climbs at Clark Canyon, Calif. (Photo courtesy of Phil Watts)

“You pull out your maps, you plan your expedition and you plan your climb, and it’s kind of fun to do,” Watts said. “I used to really like that. The part I enjoyed the most was the planning. The maps — I’d go over to the NMU map library and spend hours, when I was supposed to be preparing lectures, going through these maps.”

He acknowledged that going on the trips was pretty good — most of the time.

“Sometimes, particularly in mountaineering, it has a certain level of suffering that you go through as well,” Watts said.

The nostalgic area of the recreational experience, though, was the focus of Watts’ talk.

“It doesn’t get any better than this” was a phrase often used by one of his climbing partners, all of whom he referred to in the talk by their first names only.

Phil Watts is seen during his presentation, which included discussing the Upper Peninsula Climbers Coalition. (Photo courtesy of Phil Watts)

It also was a phrase used in Old Milwaukee beer commercials of years past, one that his partner uttered even when the climbing experience wasn’t always pleasant.

That partner, Dan, was shown in one of Watts’ photographs being carried down a mountain in the Twin Sisters Range in the North Cascades in Washington state, which has what Watts said is a different kind of surface: a hard volcanic rock.

He, Dan and two others climbed the west ridge of one peak to the summit, but on the descent, they discovered the snow was hard and almost like ice.

Unpleasant-experience alert.

“We really weren’t prepared with anchor-and-protection gear for ice,” Watts said.

About a third of way down, Dan accidentally went into an uncontrolled slide, bouncing over a rock and breaking his leg.

The climbers fashioned a sled out of sleeping pads, with one pad wrapped around the injured leg as a splint, Watts said.

Waiting out the rescue in the pre-cell phone era, they discovered the “little, tiny, white helicopter” couldn’t land because the area wasn’t safe enough, Watts said. Fortunately, other rescuers came, and with Dan in an air cast, those rescuers developed a carrying-and-resting system to transport him.

The second time Dan was carried down a peak came on the North Cascades’ Mount Shuksan — “I’m starting to see a trend here,” Watts said — where he fell and broke his leg again. This time, the climbers rescued him on their own.

At Devil’s Lake State Park in Wisconsin, Dan put his hand into a crack and promptly was bitten by a bat. About $4,000 worth of rabies shots later, he recovered.

Then there was “Big Dave” with the big appetite.

Watts, Big Dave and others hiked the Picket Range in the North Cascades during another excursion where the heather was blooming and the climbers spent time at beautiful campsites.

Big Dave’s appetite, though, was a factor during this trek.

“You could be making pancakes in the morning and you’ve got the food bag open, you’ve got the ingredients out for the pancakes, and Big Dave would come over and he’d see that nice block of cheddar cheese,” Watts said. “He’ll reach in and pick it out and take a big, huge bite and say, ‘Good cheese.’ And that was for dinner, and he’s already eaten it.”

Watts also talked about the famous Devils Tower in Wyoming, which has the “Leaning Column” that he said is probably the rock formation’s easiest route.

It also has the “Jump Traverse,” a spot where climbers cross — not jump — a gap.

What’s considered a classic route on Devils Tower, though, is the Soler route that Watts and his climbing partner, Aaron, tackled on one climbing trip.

“I sucked a lot of air through my lungs,” Watts said.

The ascent was punctuated, however, with a discovery of a soiled pair of Fruit of the Loom underwear beneath a bush at the summit.

Climbing has meant a lot of things to Watts, including a sense of community, as well as compassion and the related shared suffering that comes with bivouacs, having no food and taking on difficult routes.

“I think that teaches us things,” Watts said. “When we suffer with someone, it helps us understand them.”

However, with all these challenges, Watts had the opportunity to view alpine wildflowers, unique rock formations and views of the world most people don’t see.

Climbing also can take people into areas that haven’t been touched much by civilization, he said.

“I see beauty there,” Watts said. “I see beauty in the towns too.”

One of the purposes of Watts’ “Geezer” talk was raising money for a local climbing spot: the AAA Walls near Big Bay.

“It’s a very scenic area, very beautiful area,” Watts said.

What helps the stewardship of those two large crags is the Upper Peninsula Climbers Coalition, formed in 2014 to help keep climbing access open to the AAA Walls where the UPCC holds regular work days.

Watts noted the UPCC received the Sharp End Award from the Access Fund — a national organization that keeps U.S. climbing areas open and conserves their environment — for its efforts in opening the AAA Walls.

Watts’ talk included a “Feed the Boot” fundraiser in which attendees dropped money in a boot to help fund this year’s UPCC liability insurance for the AAA Walls.

“It was a wonderful evening of laughter and story,” said Brandon Caltrider, vice president of the South Superior Climbing Club, in a Facebook post for the club.

Watts had a good influence on Caltrider.

“Part of my choice to attend NMU was surrounding a Detroit Free Press article covering Phil,” Caltrider said in an email.

For more information on the UPCC, visit upperpeninsula climbing.com.

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250.

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