How old are our boulderers?

Funny thread. Outside of a very few hold outs, nobody focuses on bouldering in this country much past 40. It's a shame because it's by far the most effective way to get and stay strong for climbing. Contemporary climbing gyms and setting styles are part of the problem here.

the schmuck wrote:

I do need to mention that Loskot is 42 and Schulte is 38. I don't think they fit the old fart category. 

For sure. The names given are not even great examples as they are all of an elite ilk. It was more just to highlight that "older" people (whatever that means to a given person) still crank on the pebbles

Peter Beal wrote:

Funny thread. Outside of a very few hold outs, nobody focuses on bouldering in this country much past 40. It's a shame because it's by far the most effective way to get and stay strong for climbing. Contemporary climbing gyms and setting styles are part of the problem here.

Hmmm, I'm 47 and I boulder at Movement in Boulder regularly--other than being larger, I'm not really sure what improvements I could suggest--the route setting and facility seem excellent to me.   (Their ratings--not so much, generally softer than outside and much less consistent, but who really cares.)  They do set a few "novelty" problems with jump starts or other jumps that seem particularly ill-suited to the aging climber, but they set plenty of "regular" problems that generally seem high-quality to me.  I've heard that The Spot has much more "bro" setting--longer moves between bigger holds, more campus moves--maybe that's what you're thinking of.

movement sets boulder problems with sport climbing cruxes.

Tim Lutz wrote:

the route at PD has seen two repeats and a consensus grade of v14

Well then...nothing more than moderate warmup, no?

Tim Lutz wrote:

If don't boulder, you should at least be trying harder, aka 'bouldery' moves on routes and projecting them specifically. otherwise, you don't progress

or don't progress if that is your thing

I'm 47

Pretty much every sport has some age at which performance peaks. If you start training for the sport when very young the peak will likely be fairly close to when you reach your physical peak. After that it's downhill. If you start training for a sport when you're older then improvement in technique can compensate for declining physical abilities -- up to a point but eventually no matter how hard you try you will stop progressing. 

Hmm...

I'm 60, and what I discovered a few months ago, is falling hurt like hell, with arthritic knees. I was merely cruising around in the gym on a traverse, maybe, barely, 2 feet off the ground. Landed flat footed, and just stood for awhile. Crap.

Now, I've not yet talked myself into anything that could involve a boulder fall, even in the gym. :-(

I will say, no one has mentioned down climbing. That is not an option all the time, of course, but the routes I have set in our little boulder cave always had a downclimb. I also have set traverses through the entire gym that start as low as I can find tnuts to use!

Best, H.

Down climbing is fine, but if you ain't falling, you ain't trying. 

the schmuck wrote:

Down climbing is fine, but if you ain't falling, you ain't trying. 

That's why higher powers invented ropes, dear. For wildass old lady climbers.

;-)

I'm 38, have had one major injury, tons of minor ones, chronic arthritis, and a new shoulder pain.  The older I get the more difficulty I have with power, feet cutting, and shouldery moves.  But my finger strength (yay hangbored!) and endurance just keep getting better.  Even though I feel less "bouldery" than I did ten years ago, I still managed to push my bouldering grade two numbers this past winter, and continue to evenly divide my limited climbing days between sport, trad, and bouldering.

Tim Lutz wrote:

this is partly true, but performance peaks in your 20s are much different than in your 40s.  the people sending double digits and up now weren't doing it in the 20s because v10 didn't exist yet, in bouldering or even on routes.

the guy on the other thread that says he does v6 in 6 months of climbing is possible cuz he is young, strong and recovers easily, although he admits that he has little technique.  a person in the their 40s would have a longer road to v6, but both can achieve v6.  

how can you say 'no matter how hard you try you stop progressing' when I  and others have given examples of  athletes in their late 40s sending hard problems?  it harder to 'peak' in your 40s than you 20s, but it has been achieved repeatedly.

technique is important for climbing efficiency, but if you want to do 12a, you have to be able to do v3-4 moves, 12c: v4-5, etc

I think you're misunderstanding my point. Last year Bernard Lagat won the US Olympic trials 5k as the age of 41. Pretty impressive right? But track has a precise way of measuring performance. And while Lagat is still world class he stopped progressing around 7 or 8 years ago and has been slowly declining as shown by his times. Someone who was world class at one point can decline by quite a bit and still seem pretty amazing to us mortals. 

Climbing is a little different than a lot of other sports in that focused scientific training is a relatively new thing. So people who may have been climbing for a long time but trained in a haphazard and inefficient way when they were younger can still make progress if they get smarter about it as they get older. But after 40 it gets harder. After 50 a lot harder. (Consider how many 50+ year olds are world class in any sport.)

I used to boulder a ton when I lived near some world class boulders. As it is now I'll do some bouldering in the gym occasionally but really I dont want to be arthritic from pinching pebbles(especially plastic ones). I'll be happier in 30 years at age 77 doing long 5.7s than I would be looking back and wishing I hadnt trashed myself on 15' tall problems. Maybe I just need a posse of brahs to crush with and dont get it?

23 now started two years ago and finally found a break through into starting to project V8/9 range. I enjoy bouldering because of how many styles there are in such a short amount of climbing. I'm not anywhere near a Mecca of bouldering but I enjoy planning trips out of state whenever possible.

T Roper wrote:

"The results do not support the findings from other studies that climbers have a higher incidence or earlier onset of OA."

Peter, I agree with you in principle, but there is the fact that every fall is a ground fall, and sprains and broken bones are linked to arthritis. 

the schmuck wrote:

Peter, I agree with you in principle, but there is the fact that every fall is a ground fall, and sprains and broken bones are linked to arthritis. 

Fall management is everything and lots of climbers don't focus on it. I'm 53 and I have been very careful (maybe too careful) to avoid the highball heroics that have damaged so many climbers, including John Sherman. Good spotting, multiple thick pads and specific awareness of how to fall in all situations is critical. Setters who put high cruxes on gym problems are very unhelpful in this regard as they tempt climbers to repeatedly fall from up high. Bad idea. Better to have steep low walls with hard low cruxes for training purposes and when outside, work high stuff on a TR if you really want to highball.

I think your comparison to the Longboard-Shortboard issue is apt. As in it's somewhat true but also a false dichotomy. I'm closing in fast on 50. I longboard. But I sometimes break out my 5'10" fish just to remind myself of that kind of fun and, also, to prove to myself that I can still do it. In climbing I certainly prefer lead climbing and even pushing myself really hard on lead. Precisely for the reason that those falls aren't high impact because I have belayers who I can trust with my life. But I have a young daughter who loves to boulder and I've learned a lot bouldering with her and watching "the kids" figure out extremely gymnastic moves that I'd have never done on a high wall. In the last year I've learned to consistently boulder at about a V4-V5 level and enjoy it. So it improves my overall climbing even despite the fact that I'm not up for taking a lot of groundfalls even onto foam from only 10-12 feet up. Just too much impact and too long of recovery from minor injuries at this point. 

Peter Beal wrote:

Fall management is everything and lots of climbers don't focus on it.

 Good spotting, multiple thick pads and specific awareness of how to fall in all situations is critical. 

These two things mixed with some specific training are what have kept me healthy through my years of bouldering.

Also knowing how to USE pads effectively  is as key as having multiple pads.

I stopped bouldering at 68, when a short jump onto a pad ruptured my ACL.  I'm still climbing in the gym and outside.  I feel that I've lost finger strength in the ensuing five years, but it is impossible to know if that is from the absence of bouldering or the ravages of age.