Oldest person to climb . . .

Ever since my introduction to climbing in the mid 1950s I have had a dual interest in body weight exercises. I try to keep doing some, but Rob Kelman is a virtual icon. At 91 he easily outperforms me (at 85). And he still climbs!  Rob is up there in Olympus along with Zeus. Keep going, my friend!

John Gillwrote:

Ever since my introduction to climbing in the mid 1950s I have had a dual interest in body weight exercises. I try to keep doing some, but Rob Kelman is a virtual icon. At 91 he easily outperforms me (at 85). And he still climbs!  Rob is up there in Olympus along with Zeus. Keep going, my friend!

One of the wonderful things about the climbing community is being able to interact with legends like Ron and John.  Thank you both for being here.   

As for the oldest person to do X.  Francisco Marin climbed 5.14 at age 61, that's pretty insane.  

Rob, Al, Eric, John, et al.,

What sorts of changes in your minds and bodies have affected you the most as you've aged into being senior statesmen of climbing? And when did they occur or become apparent to you?

Chuck and Maggie Odette need to be mentioned. I did a clinic with them last summer at the Lander climbing festival.  Chuck did a 5.14 at 62. Not sure how many he's done, but he's quite inspiring. 

PRRosewrote:

Rob, Al, Eric, John, et al.,

What sorts of changes in your minds and bodies have affected you the most as you've aged into being senior statesmen of climbing? And when did they occur or become apparent to you?

With my body its definitely balance.  I used to be able to climb slabs ok, now if I can't hold onto something - a real something - I'm stymied.

With my mind - its the desire to try hard - really try hard.  I could blame it on gyms and sport climbing (make it too easy to hang when the going gets tough) but I know its mental.  Plus having injured every major extremity - and having surgery on 3 of them - all from climbing related "incidents"  - I intend to be a bit..ah..gunshy.  Of course every time I get a minor ouchie my wife just uses it as evidence that I haven't learned a damn thing and an as stupid as I ever was.

At 60 I was about as strong as ever.  At 61 I started popping tendons a bit more often and slowed down a little.  At 67 the arthritis in my shoulders made me pretty much quit climbing since no one wanted to listen to me sit and whimper that much from the pain level.  I'm now 70 and the arthritis in my knees is getting to the point that it is hard to hike more than 3 or 4 miles but I can get them fixed.  Knees are a lot easier to replace than shoulders.

Well, of course Nancy is right Eric, you are, we all are.

Now to try to answer that question, but my answer will be a ‘punt’, as it seems to be very individualized.Things will go wrong for each of us differently—-different ‘ body parts’, different times. It is a mix of genetics, injuries ( both traumatic and overuse), how much we take care of ourselves, and, of course, luck. But whatever the ‘mechanism’, it will happen to all of us who keep trying to pretend that we are still young and indestructible.

For me it was fingers, first, then joints ( wrists, always a weak point for me), not forgetting the eyes ( often overlooked ). It all builds up and as it does, it does impact the mind. There were a couple of hard ( for me) top ropes at one of my local crags that I used as a ‘measuring stick’. Each season, really several times each season, I would get on them, get up them, but always knowing that one day, I wouldn’t be able to. That day came on the harder of the 2 a year or so before the pandemic , one day I just couldn’t do the crucial pull and was not able to get it anymore—so I gave up trying. Haven’t been on the other one since the pandemic, but I’m not optimistic. Though I knew that day would come, it still was, and has been, very discouraging.

As Eric said, slabs, formerly a specialty, have become very discouraging—I’m just not trusting my feet any more—as was apparent at COR last September. Maybe it was the long pandemic layoff, but also maybe a vision issue ( even though I’ve had cataract surgery ). One reason I feel this may be the case, is that I seem to be climbing much better in the gym—-where the ‘feet’ are usually blatantly obvious, than I am these days outdoors. Others, though, will have different stories.

It’s not old age; it’s old injuries. 

I don't consider 60s "old" but Bryan burdo is working on his 5.14 project and he's probably 63 or 64

The strongest older climber I know of is Hermann Goellner.  In 2014, he was 71 and climbed a 5.13a (https://www.rockandice.com/tuesday-night-bouldering/tnb-run-rabbit-hermann-gollner-71-cranks-pump-o-rama-5-13a/ ). Hermann lives driving distance from Reno, and Supertopo posters mentioned seeing him regularly in one of the local climbing gyms.  He was an Austrian gymnast and one of the early free skiing champions.  I know his name from when I was a kid - freestyle was a big thing and my heros were freestyle skiers. Goellner was Dick Dorworth's climbing partner -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMU05a8dMHc

I’ll be 68 this year. I’m not one to toot my own horn. But I led Incredible Hand Crack at Indian creek in October. Got that sucker clean! Just spent two weeks at Jtree. Led Fisticuffs 10b clean yesterday. Im loving retirement. The old carcass is holding up well so far. All original equipment. Hoping for another 5 years, the good lord willing. Rest days are important. I paint when i’m resting . Clean living and a shot of whiskey every night!

Good one Mark--Fisticuffs is a struggle, as the name suggests!!!

Alan Rubinwrote:

Good one Mark--Fisticuffs is a struggle, as the name suggests!!!

Alan! Good to hear from you. That was a fun trip at the City. Fisticuffs fits my big meat hooks perfectly. Now if i could just figure out how to fit them in reds life would be on easy street 

Jim Donini and Mark Hudon come to mind.

A better question is when's the latest a 5.10/5.11 climber started climbing.

Lori, in the old folks thread started in her 60s and is climbing mid to hard 10 face climbs now.

Here's Marcel Remy climbing on his 99th birthday.

https://english.elpais.com/sports/2022-03-08/marcel-remy-the-infinite-passion-of-a-99-year-old-climber.html?outputType=amp

Travis Haussenerwrote:

Jim Donini and Mark Hudon come to mind.

A better question is when's the latest a 5.10/5.11 climber started climbing.

I remember climbing with Jody Leidecker back in 1995 at City of Rocks.  She had only been climbing for a year or two, but had set a goal of leading 5.12 before her 50th birthday.  Not only did she achieve that goal, she climbed at that level for years to come.

"Think quiet feet."  I'll never forget her advice. Fantastic advice, even if, regrettably, I haven't been the most ardent adherent over the years.

Now that I, myself, am coming up on 50, I'm thinking I probably need to get back to climbing at that grade.  Seems achievable.  I seem to recall someone telling me it's all in the feet.

rob.calmwrote:

Reporting to the page.

I’m 91. When my contemporaries now ask me how I’m doing, I reply: “I can see you, I can hear you, and I’m walking unassisted, so I have no complaints.”  Given the health issues that many people my age have, if I say more than that it sounds boastful. 

I hike regularly, but no longer snowshoe. I lift weights two or three times per week mostly an overall body workout and with some emphasis on chin-ups. Normally, I can do a couple with 30 lbs. on my back but am recovering after aggravating an old R shoulder injury and over the past two weeks worked back up to 10 lb. I include military presses, dips, dumbbell finger curls,  dumbbell bench presses, power cleans, dead lifts, squats, platform step-ups, and use a climbing peg board. I do various light fly exercises to keep my shoulder joints healthy.  I have a well-appointed 425 sq. ft weight room at home that overlooks my wife’s flower garden. 

In March of 2020, I was climbing at Joshua Tree when the pandemic started. After climbing for three days, the park was closed. My wife and I had a hassle finding a flight back to Denver. Between the pandemic, my age, and arthritis in my L subtalar joint, I haven’t climbed that much during the past two years-28 days total. I’m not sure about this year, but I look forward to getting on the rock and seeing how it goes when the weather warms. 

My climbing is pretty much limited to 5.7 and short approaches. I stopped leading a couple of years ago. A lot of my climbing is done with guides that I have known for several years. It would be nice to find some other climbers in the over 80 category to climb with but that’s unlikely to happen. I still find climbing enjoyable. Climbs I once found easy now present interesting challenges. 

Germane to OP, I climbed Devils Tower when I was 87 via the Durrance Route with Bailey Direct Finish becoming the oldest person to have climbed the Tower.

 

That beats Tom Hornbein, who climbed the Weissner route (Jon Krakauer leading) in 2009; he would have been 78 then. 

Andrew Rwrote:

Here in Wisconsin, at Devil's Lake, there is an 80 year old man climbing 5.10s and 5.11s on top rope.   We talked to him last summer for a bit.

Pete Cleveland? Still climbs probably.

If you are under 50 as someone posting above, you have zero age related excuses. I’m 54, took up climbing at 40, and plan on improving for 10 years before holding on to those gains with white knuckles fighting every bit as they slip away as time takes its toll. Zero. Excuses.

i saw Lee sheftel take a whipper off the scary part of primer at rifle well over 70. I watched Donini cruise up a crack I fell on at Indian creek like it had stairs. i took a 70 year old joe s up to the waterfall and watched him lead proud lines up there. Could go on and on. You people are an inspiration to us kids!!!