Still climbing hard after 50?

OK, I never actually climbed that hard, but I am passing the mid-century mark, and had my first bad climbing season last year. Interested whether other "mid-lifers" are seeing performance wane, and if not, why not? And yeah, I know, I should use my feet better.

Good questions.

Sofar, having just recently turned 50, I've found that I can still improve, but I have to be really careful about pulling or pushing on things too hard. I'd never had any injuries, but recently have found that my elbows, shoulders, and back can start feeling a little tweaky pretty easily. But I just tone things back and continue on.

Well, Lee Sheftel sent his first 14a at age 59.
Jim Logan did Sonic Youth 13a a couple of years ago, must have been in his 60s.
I see Jim Collins in the gym working 12s and 13s pretty regularly.
Steve Hong must be in his 50s and is still absurdly strong.

I think if you keep trying hard and don't get hurt, you can hope to make progress for years to come.

My advice, at age 56, trying to work up the 12s, climbing better than ever-

Listen to all the advice you get, but don't believe anything, unless it works for you. Nobody really knows the answer, much less for folks our age.

It is all about the fun, but trying hard and suffering is part of the fun!

There's a gentleman at my local gym who is in his 70s, and regularly climbs .10's and easy .11's.

He is living proof that there's hope for us all.

Or you could die at any moment. Fuck it....Jump up there and try, eh?
That's what I do.
If your foot work sucks, then it doesn't matter how old you are. Your footwork sucks. We stand on our feet, man......huh?
Step the Hell up there(correctly). Don't be a puss or a bonehead.
Problem solved.

Not sure what a bad season is. At 54 I keep being able to get up routes that are as hard as the hardest I have ever climbed. Which means when I was younger I should have tried to climb harder routes than the hardest I do now.

I have what I call the 5.X a day rule. Whenever, I climb I always get on at least one route at that grade even if I have to dog my way up it. Climbing 5.X makes it easier to climb 5.Xs and keeps me in shape to project a number grade harder now and then.

I try not to overdo it in the gym in order to avoid injuries and so I have the strength to climb well when I go outside.

I also make it a point to climb with positive good energy people who are always pushing their limits.

If you can improve your technique then you can improve your climbing. Age is unimportant given that. Then would come weight. If you can shed some weight you can probably climb harder. Then you can blame age on the rest, but there's two other more important things to address first.

One of my primary partners keeps extolling his idea of bolting up some 6's, 7's and 8's for our 60's and 70's. I respond by telling him that if that would be my limit to shoot me in the face.

Just like golf, this sport is all about how much time you consistently put into it. Climb hard 3-4 times a week while being smart about avoiding tearing and overuse injuries and 5.12 should be within your range. Climb once a week or less and expect lesser ability.

Bill Flaherty wrote:had my first bad climbing season last year.

Just relax and enjoy yourself...

It is often said that there is about a 10% decline in strength (what climbers often call power) per decade after one's peak (late 30's). I (age 58) think I have seen that translate into a number grade decline (I never climbed 5.12 and have decent footwork). I have also seen a slight decline in balance the last couple of years. Sure there are certain exceptional athletes (George Lowe - age 71) still climbing real hard, but they are the exceptions. Injuries (back, elbow tendonitis for me) don't heal as fast. I think the having fun mantra should prevail.

I hear that Lee Smith guy can still send like a muther...

Doug Redosh wrote: Sure there are certain exceptional athletes (George Lowe - age 71) still climbing real hard, but they are the exceptions.

For inspirational & informative stories about older climbers, see John Gill's section on senior athletes:

www128.pair.com/r3d4k7/Seni…

There are 10 short profiles, each a response to John Gill's questionnaire. I think 9 of them are climbers, 1 a gymnast.

Anyway, I found the accounts quite inspirational.

For males, I think power peak is probably around mid-20s (just search for Olympic records and the age of the record holder in events like sprinting, long jump, weight lifting, etc.) But athletes peak later in endurance based and more skilled events. But unless you've reached your genetic potential at some point, I think you can still improve later in life, you just need to work harder than you've done before.

How about after 60?
Jim Donini, check!
Greg Lowe, check!
Tom Frost, check!
Yvonne Chouinard (prolly), check!
and probably lots more than that. . .

Was doing near my best at age 57 yet,,,but a definite downward turn since 60. Never was a 5.12 climber sort of person, so my goals are some nice friendly 5.10 to 5.11+ if possible once again. Hope some testosterone treatment this spring will help me wind up and swing for the fences once again in a few weeks.

Nobody mentioned Fred Beckey.....?

Sure are a bunch of old farts on this forum ;)

As Mark said there are plenty of folks climbing fairly hard in their 50's around the Front Range. At 54 I climbed the hardest I ever have last year and hopefully will be able to say the same this year. I will say that gaining strength is a slow process at this age. Gotta be smart about your workouts and stay after it - this is no age to let yourself go or you might never get it back!