UKC

Lots of young folk doing some pretty hard boulder problems these days, with kids as young as 11 doing V13 (Ashima) and under 16s regularly knocking out Font 8A and above, it gets everyone quite excited I know, but what about the old guys and girls on the bloc? As far as Sport Climbing is concerned we have Stevie Haston doing his first 9a at 52, Rab Carrington his first 8A at 60 amongst others, but what about bouldering? The young team are impressive for sure, but its the older climbers who generally have more of an uphill battle(injury, time, body composition/decomposition etc) and I feel its all the more impressive when they pull of high end ascents.So, off the top of your heads, anyone in the 40-60 year old bracket just getting to their high point or maintaining their high point in bouldering? Any 50+ year olds(apart from Montchausse) knocking out font 8a and above?

In reply to SeanB:

Fred Nicole.
Still at the top of his game at 42 and an inspiration to us all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Nicole

In reply to SeanB:

Not the longest list in the world so far is it ?

I think Gaz Parry is about 39, he was 2 yrs above me at school , and i am 37 today :0)

He has just made it onto the UK team again.

In reply to biscuit: Happy Birthday.

In reply to puppythedog:

Thank you !

Only 3 yrs to go and i can be in the 8A and above 40 yr olds list.

Just need to improve my bouldering from a long ago previous best of 7A+

In reply to biscuit: Nick Dixon still knocks out some very big numbers.

In reply to SeanB: Well I've just turned 38 and my ambition of 8A before I'm 40 is looking less and less likely!
A few 7a's in Font will make me a happy man tho :0)

In reply to SeanB: I have just started bouldering at the grand old age of 49, my greatest problem appears to be understanding the frequently used terms.
I'm a baldy climber = beanied sender ?
Christ I can't do that = trying to free the route ?
Geeza clue = dude got any beta ?
My wife says I'm gnarly = try botox and you should qualify for parking exemption.
Other than that there is no reason why us veterans shouldn't progress.

In reply to Beardyman: You will do font8A before your 40 Dave.I have every faith in you.

In reply to SeanB: I'm 43, been bouldering a fair bit last six months and tinkering for a year before then. I'm comfortable at font 6a and have some 6b's and a 6c once (easy one I think).

It's my aim to get to a font 7a sometime by end of the year. If I do, great. If not, c'est la vie. I'll give it a try and may even train towards it but won't beat myself up if I don't. I'm having fun, which is my main aim.

However having said all that I'd love to see some older guys bouldering high grades on film. That would be ace.

In reply to SeanB: 42 and bouldering F6b & c and, changing the grading, a few V5s recently ( but easy for the grade). At this for 2 years now. Still improving.

In reply to SeanB: 47 now and consistent at a grade I was an occasional visitor to (V6, indoors anyway) until a few months ago.Despite niggling injury which never clears up, I even managed to equal my best ever (V7), and feel I could realistically do a wee bit better.
I put it down to better technique, more awareness of tactics and my own limitations, and having good climbers around for tips, beta, encouragement, etc.

In reply to SeanB:

It's easy. Get the youngsters to set indoor jamming problems and V7 at 50+ is perfectly achievable.

In reply to SeanB: Bouldered 8a in my 40 th year. Currently 43 and scratching up some 7c's and a 7c+ earlier this year but feel like I can climb harder. I do have to work hard at the wall to maintain a decent level of fitness. Also warming up and cooling down needs careful attention

In reply to oldcheese:

Silky skilled Old Cheese is being modest. He's 50 really.

In reply to oldcheese:

Thats the spirit! Good effort doing 8a at 40!!! Nice to hear about folk climbing at that level at 'our' age..

Im 40 this year and there are a few classic problems I'd love to do before it gets even harder for me to gain and retain strength and maintain an injury free(ha!) body, they are all in the 7b+-7c+ range so Im not asking too much but its still a big challenge for me, so keen to hear of anyone else in the same situation and how they go about training and staying sharp/psyched and youthful!

In reply to SeanB: I'm over 40 and bouldering harder than ever. It can be done with focus and commitment.

Andy F

In reply to SeanB: Isn't there a French guy called Jacky Godoffe who's bouldered 8a in his 50's?

In reply to aln:

>Isn't there a French guy called Jacky Godoffe

Christ.

Yes, I can confirm there is 'a French guy named Jacky Godoffe'.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Can you confirm he climbed 8a in his 50's smartarse?

In reply to aln: I think he climbed 8a in his thirties, forties and fities

In reply to andy farnell:



You are a beacon of inspiration to us all

In reply to shark:

As is your dedication to the siege, most impressive determination and perspiration.

Andy F

In reply to andy farnell:

I'll pin that sentence to my fridge door mate, cheers. Maybe my 40s wont be all bumbly trad after all,not that theres anything wrong with being bumbly, its all Ive ever done on trad, but it would be nice to still be bouldering semi hard and ticking some classics,,

In reply to SeanB:
55 on Good Friday. Font 7b+ the previous week. Life in the old dog yet.

In reply to tim carruthers: Yaaay! Nice work, keep the inspiration coming..