UKC

For those that don't know, John Gill is a famous American climber. He started bouldering in the mid 1950's and is widely credited with being the first person to start using gymnastic chalk to aid climbing. His problems of that time were legendary, as were his feats of strength such as the one arm front lever.

Today John Gill is 76 years old and still enjoys exercising. Watch him in action. John you are an inspiration. Thanks.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=68532

In reply to UKC News:

Amazing foot work!

In reply to JLS:

Beat me to it!!!

In reply to UKC News:

Thank you for putting this up. In his prime, Gill seemed able to hold body tension positions that few world-class climbers could manage today. I can only put this down to gymnastic power/co-ordination.

Obviously time has taken its toll but it seems that his body tension is still pretty good relative to more 'normal' climbers of whatever age group.

Comparisons aside, what matters more is that he's still probing his boundaries, 'fighting the good fight'.

Patrick Edlinger once said that, with growing old, the challenge could transmute into seeing how much you could slow down inevitable regress. Wise words.

Happy birthday, John Gill - an inspiration to climbers all over the world, for almost 60 years now.

Mick

In reply to JLS:


John Gill is a fabulous inspiration to all of us. I remember seeing photos of him doing one *finger* pull-ups, and being astonished at that strength.

As for footwork though, as Don Whillans said: 'Give me the handholds, and I'll show you the footwork." There's some truth in that: if you're strong enough ...

In reply to UKC News:

Fantastic - here's a man that foresaw and foreshadowed the development of climbing as it is now, forty or fifty years ago!!!

In reply to UKC News:

For the last two years or so, there's been a thread on this, including comments from Gill himself, over at Supertopo. http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1664206/John-Gill-Front-lever-at-70 .

In reply to UKC News:

I read about John Gill in the late 70s and his forte was his phenomenal arm strength. This comes through in the latest footage but he also uses his feet to provide mementum for his arm movements. In contrast the old footage of him bouldering shows how much he depended on his arms for progress - modern climbers use their feet much more efficiently than JG. However there is no doubt about how his legacy of training has carried through to today.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

Perhaps one should point out that Gill was showing off a bit in those videos? His technique and footwork were actually exceptional. He has, for instance, a no-handed problem on Falling Ant Slab at the Jenny Lake Boulders in the Tetons that is solid 5.10 with both hands fully active.

Splendid stuff. I was just looking at Master of Rock recently and idly looking up a few of the problems (I always liked the way most of the book was written in an ungraded climbing world,'just the moves') but blummin heck one of his 1959 dynamic problems gets V9. V9 in 1959, mostly doing your own thing, no peer support, no climbing walls, no YouTube. Deeply impressive stuff.

In reply to rgold:

The threads and the webpage are well worth reading for those interested in history and performance.

In reply to UKC News:

love this guy .an inspiration to everyone .need to get me one of those climbing frames!

In reply to UKC News:

Happy birthday John, I have a copy of Master of Rock signed by both him and Pat Ament (thanks to Phil Kelly), he was a great inspiration in my youth.