the shizzle > bouldering

Progress at any age

<< < (11/11)

andy popp:

--- Quote from: Duma on March 23, 2024, 10:38:32 pm ---We have a winner

--- End quote ---

Exactly! Incredible story.

stone:

--- Quote from: ianabbot on March 23, 2024, 08:49:04 pm ---(46) Moved to the Highlands

--- End quote ---
Perhaps then this awesome account vindicates "Dave_Beef_and_Belief's" advice after all!

scragrock:

--- Quote from: ianabbot on March 23, 2024, 08:49:04 pm ---What a great thread! Some hugely impressive blasts through the grades, but its been just as interesting reading wise words on acceptance of inevitable decline! (And it's prompted me to look back on some really fond memories).

1990 (aged 26) Colleague took me to Castle Naze and Windgather and I seconded some Diffs

(27) Moved to Edinburgh, learned to lead at Traprain Law. First Severe and VS. 'Training' at the premier indoor facility that was the legendary (for all the wrong reasons) Meadowbank brick-built wall.

(29-32) Moved to Shropshire. Progressed to HVS (Sctrach Arete, Tremadog) First E1 (Devil's Alternative, Clwyd limestone) was downgraded to HVS, so I think my first real E1 might have actually been Hangover (on the Grochan in the Llanberis Pass). I'd definitely not recommend that for first of the grade - I've been scared many, many times whilst climbing, but never more so than on that! First E2 (Seams the Same, Lanberis slate) also subsequently downgraded, so first official E2 Black Wall at LLanymynech.

(33-37) Moved to Mid Wales. E3 (San Melas, Roaches) Loads of classic E2s and E3s in North Wales. Occasional forays to the grit, where I had what was probably my most successful day ever, at the Roaches, doing Smear Test E3, Appaloosa Sunset E3 and Wings of Unreason E4 (I know everyone dynos the finish of that and then declares it easy, but since I've never been able to jump I had to use the static/smear beta and I still think that's the hardest move I ever did on a route). A couple of other E4s (Weasels Rip My Flesh, Cwm Glas Bach and Scheherezade, Llanberis slate).

So in 2001, everything was looking great - to be honest, I just assumed I'd continue to improve and start looking at harder stufff....
 
(37) Diagnosed with severe Ulcerative Colitis, rushed to hospital and within a fortnight had my bowel removed, given a permanent stoma and bag. No longer able to wear a harness, spent the next two years recovering. Started indoor bouldering at the Plas y Brenin wall.

(40) Feeling some progress and tentatively considering giving outdoor bouldering a go.... at which point my consultant said my rectum needed removing. Even bigger surgery, incision from belly button to lower back, flexibility and core completely destroyed. I couldn't see any prospect of climbing again and decided it was game over.

(40-51) Nothing....

(46) Moved to the Highlands

(51) Randomly decided to try indoor bouldering again. Unsurprisingly weak AF, but it felt great!

(52) Ventured outdoors and loved it. First 7A (Barry Manilow, Ruthven)

(53) Font trip with family. Boiling hot, fell off some F4 slabs, didn't do anything above 6A+ - brilliant!

(55) First 7A+ (Dirty Salt Licks, Ruthven)

(59) Summer holiday in Ticino with family. First 7B (Light my Fire, Chironico) though got shut down on plenty of low 6s too!

2024 (60 - SIXTY! Bloody hell!) Would I like to climb harder? Of course. Will it happen? I very much doubt it. If I can eke out another soft, in-my-style 7A this year then I'll be delighted. And I'm not really too fussed, because sitting at the bottom of beautiful boulders in the Gotthard Pass last summer, sharing attempts on the most incredible problems with my two sons, reminded me again what a brilliant thing bouldering really is. The fact that I've had a second go at it at this point in my life just makes it even more special.

--- End quote ---

Ian forgot to add in-
Develop entire boulder area with sons and be an all round good egg ;D

hongkongstuey:
Interesting thread that caught my eye as I've probably just had my best ever bouldering season at the ripe young age of 47 (both in terms of hitting new grades (V9) as well as consistency at levels just beneath this), and coming off the back of a few months off climbing earlier in the year following surgery for an inguinal hernia.

Will attempt a brief summary along the lines of that provided by others:

early-90's: started as a 16-year old in '92 and following the 'traditional' approach, i.e. tried climbing on a outward bound course, found the local climbing club (Wellingborough Mountaineering Club), got taken out and shown the ropes most weekends, typically in the Peak and N. Wales. Moved through the grades relatively quickly getting up to E2/3 (plus the odd E4/5 headpoint) and UK 6b within a couple of years. Bit of dabbling with Scottish Winter and Alpine Stuff during this period, including a full season in Cham in 95.

mid-to-late 90's: the University days (in Stoke and then Leeds, and then back to Stoke for a job afterwards). Too much drinking and enjoying life meant a bit of wasted potential but lots of fun. Lots of climbing but never any real training to push levels. Focused mainly on trad and bouldering and generally consistent at about E3/E4 on most rock types throughout the UK. High points were onsighting E5, bagging my first E7 headpoint, and doing Deliverance.

2000's: Moved to Hong Kong. Complete change of scene meant i ended up becoming a sport climber as most stuff was bolted. Mostly outdoor as there were basically no indoor gyms to train on back then. Sport grades quickly shot up from F7a to F8a within about 2 to 3 years as i worked my way through the classic lines. Also started doing a fair bit of new routing / crag development as well as developing new bouldering areas. By the mid-00's, hit a massive plateau at about F7c/8a and V6/7, which i then coasted along at for a long time...

2010's: As above until 2014 when some friends took me surfing. Pretty much dropped climbing overnight and became a surfer for the next 4-years, coupled with taking up wakeboarding and getting equally as hooked on park riding from 2015. Only climbed once or twice a year between 2014 to 2018, when a trip to Yosemite (as a non-climber) got me all inspired again. FYI: cable wakeboarding is an insane amount of fun but oh so brutal on the body and left me with a snapped longhead attachment in one arm as well as knee issues for a few years...

late-2010's: Got fully psyched on climbing again in 2019 and managed to get back up to F7b+ pretty quickly, although admittedly on routes i'd done dozens (possibly hundreds) of times before. This also coincided with finding some good new crags, signing up for Lattice plans etc. that got me back up to F7c+ by early 2020.

2020's: The Covid years when HK went into lockdown mode meaning you couldn't leave the country unless you wanted three-weeks hotel room quarantine on your return... Switched my focus to bouldering and started working on a second edition of the HK Bouldering Guide (i'd previously published on in 2004). Massive amount of exploring and bloc development. Got my base level back up to pretty consistent V6 level with the odd lucky send of harder stuff up to V8. Mid-2021, injured my shoulder during a moon board session and then had it dislocate coming out of down dog in a yoga class a few days later. Close to six months of rehab before it felt remotely close to normal again... 

2023/24: Shitty early 2023 with crap conditions in HK and then surgery taking me out the game throughout Feb and March. Used the time to hike and explore for possible new bouldering areas and found some gems, which i started developing in Apr/May when i was allowed to climb again and before things got too hot and sweaty. Mostly low-grade mileage and development but managed to get back to V6 again. Hid indoors throughout the summer doing lots of wall mileage and following a semi-structured self-written training plan (borrowing from previous Lattice ones etc.). Got back outdoors from Sept/Oct when the weather started improving and kept on with area development, quickly adding a few more V6's and repeating some of the V7's i'd handed off to others. Started adding a few 7's of my own and then went back to a V9 line i'd tried a bit a few years before (the sit start to a V8 i'd sent in 2022). Properly projected the line (probably the first time i've gone 'full in' and really sessioned/worked a problem) and eventually bagged it on Day 11, having previously fell from the 'shouldn't come off after this point' part of the problem on Day 4... First V9 in the bag and currently quite consistent at quick V7 sends. Getting warm out here now so maybe time to dust off the ropes and see what i can clip my way up too...

Never expected i'd be out climbing my 20-year old self when in my late-40's - just goes to show what a more measured approach to self application can achieve i guess (and a little less partying)     

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page