Has anyone started climbing in their 20's and been able to climb 9a?

Wondering who has started climbing the latest in life and has been able to climb 9a.

Siegrist?

Probably lots of people. but I can’t think of anyone right now. But it’s totally possible. 

David Miles wrote:

Wondering who has started climbing the latest in life and has been able to climb 9a.

Siegrist?

JStar started at 18….I’m sure there have been climbers who have done it though. 9a is fairly common these days, especially for in the euro scene

David Miles wrote:

Wondering who has started climbing the latest in life and has been able to climb 9a.

Siegrist?

You're talking about 9a as in 5.14d YDS and not Font 9a (V17) bouldering grade, right?

Apologies for thread drift. Question moved to a new thread. 

Be Young wrote:

A similar question was posed in a different recent thread that has stuck with me for the last couple weeks. "For people starting climbing in their 20s, how much harder can you climb than what you could after the 1st year of climbing?" 

I started climbing at 23 and was leading low 5.11s and bouldering V6 in the gym after a year. Now I am 32 and I max out around 5.12+, gym and outside and V7/8 in the gym. I've been climbing consistently pretty much the entire time and started training during the last 2 years. Pushing grades isnt my main focus by any means , but this still feels like a very slow progression. 

Those are great accomplishments, truly, but have no relevance to this topic. Climbing 9a (5.14d) is not quite in the same realm as 7c+ (5.12d/5.13a).

What do other adult climbers' progressions look like, specifically comparing what is accomplished after 1 year with the gains achieved over the rest of the career?

A great question, and topic….for a different thread.

Buck Rogers wrote:

You're talking about 9a as in 5.14d YDS and not Font 9a (V17) bouldering grade, right?

The old convention is that Fontainebleau grades use a capital 9A, while French sport grades use a lowercase 9a. 

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

A great question, and topic….for a different thread.

Yeah because thread drift is strictly forbidden on this website.

Really there should be no more than a single word reply to this OP, pretty sure the mods will have to nuke the thread. 

JaredG wrote:

Yeah because thread drift is strictly forbidden on this website.

Really there should be no more than a single word reply to this OP, pretty sure the mods will have to nuke the thread. 

That was a lot of words to say absolutely nothing…

Buck Rogers wrote:

You're talking about 9a as in 5.14d YDS and not Font 9a (V17) bouldering grade, right?

Yes, 9a sport (or trad)

After a lot of searching I only found 2 people (there's probably a few more though):
https://www.8a.nu/news/first-9a-for-hernan-garcia
https://www.8a.nu/news/hyeong-cheol-kim-38-does-underground-9a

Austin Donisan wrote:

After a lot of searching I only found 2 people (there's probably a few more though):
https://www.8a.nu/news/first-9a-for-hernan-garcia
https://www.8a.nu/news/hyeong-cheol-kim-38-does-underground-9a

Thanks!  Awesome accomplishment to start climbing that late and still reach those grades.  I wonder if any American has?  If not, the race is on, who can be the first?

You can do it Dave! Cha yo! Venga! Allez! Gamba!

One person who just came to mind is Bow Valley legend Evan Hau. I know he started climbing while in university and has climbed 9a+. I’m not sure his exact age when he started though. 

Climbing at that level has a lot more to do with your genetics than when you started.  

Jeremy L wrote:

You can do it Dave! Cha yo! Venga! Allez! Gamba!

Lol.....I started in my 30's - I don't stand a chance. 

well not with that attitude...

Danny Poceta wrote:

One person who just came to mind is Bow Valley legend Evan Hau. I know he started climbing while in university and has climbed 9a+. I’m not sure his exact age when he started though. 

He started at ~18. I found 10+ people who stared started at 18-19.

Pretty sure Matt Wright started in his 20’s and has climbed 9a and e11 in his first few years. Not sure exactly how old he was when he started though.

Louis Weiher wrote:

Climbing at that level has a lot more to do with your genetics than when you started.  

I think climbing that level when you start at 20 has a lot to do with genetics, but I think climbing that grade in general has much more to do with when you started. As is evident by the lack of individuals who have climbed that grade when starting after their teenage years.…but that’s a discussion for another dumpster fire thread. There are plenty of examples of individuals starting in their 30’s, and later, climbing 5.14 for example. With that said, I think genetics obviously play a factor in both but if you’re born with a physical attribute that is disadvantageous for climbing I feel like someone can offset this much easier by addressing it a younger age than they can in their 30’s, for example.

saign charlestein wrote:

Pretty sure Matt Wright started in his 20’s and has climbed 9a and e11 in his first few years. Not sure exactly how old he was when he started though.

I thought I heard on this podcast he said he started at 17

saign charlestein wrote:

Pretty sure Matt Wright started in his 20’s and has climbed 9a and e11 in his first few years. Not sure exactly how old he was when he started though.

He started at 16 based on his website.