Enrolled him on a climbing course at an indoor place in Derby. He’s well up for it. O to be young again and join him!

How old are? A climbing club I was in once had an active member in his 70s.

I’m 41. Would’ve loved that at his age. Never too late?

41? Get yourself booked up. That’s a very similar age to my first climbing experiences, my instructor was in his 60’s and there was a fella at the wall a good deal older than him.

41, you daft hapeth. Give it a go

Climbing’s great for strength and flexibility – crack on.

Legend – not actually climbed in years 🙁

My Son recently quit it, ran out of skills to learn for his age group and fancies parkour now.

We got nearly 3 years out of it though, he loves it.

My Son recently quit it, ran out of skills to learn for his age group

Do you mean he got bored with it?

I’m 50 and my Facebook feed is full of posts of older mates cranking out harder routes.

P-Jay? How old

I’m 41. Would’ve loved that at his age. Never too late?

Absocluckinglutely.

Do it, do it now. Climbing is awesome and you win “cool dad” points.

I really need to start climbing again. In my heyday I was (always rubbish but) climbing a minimum of three times a week, I miss it terribly.

47 here. I go to the climbing wall at least a couple of times a week. My daughters 9 & 11 love it and they have been doing it for over 3 years. Its a great thing to do with them for a couple of hours on a weekend. Been taking them outdoor climbing too.
There are plenty people way older than me who go and many climb very well and hard routes.
Compared with many sports there are loads of new people & kids going on courses and starting. Go for it.

We’ve had a few Birthday parties at Red Point in Brum. The kids absolutely loved it. The staff make it worthwhile, real top folks. Seeing your 8yr old 40ft up does wonders for constipation.

44 here, did the ropes course at local centre last year as something to do with my lad. It’s absolutely fantastic, and plenty there all ages, from young to much older than me, wonderful inclusive atmosphere, amazing sport for many many reasons. Get it done. 🙂

We go for a few hours every other weekend, and I go some evenings, open until 10, thoroughly relaxing place to be.

@Spin – sort of I guess – he reached the top qualification that they teach in his age group at the centre. They will teach him the next set in ‘the acedemy’ but that means competition and he never liked that. He started another course in pure bouldering which he liked because there’s a lot less down time, but he rattled through that in 12 months and fancied a break after that. He plans to return in 2 years at 13 when he can join the next age class. He’s starting Saturday mornings at BPW in a few weeks so I’m not complaining.

@ampthill he started at 8 which was the youngest he could join – taken his break now at 11.

My kids tried it at Alter Rock a few years ago, so I had to do the basic course at age 40+. I don’t like heights or exposure, but really enjoyed it, but the kids lost interest and I didn’t have the time to try and do it for myself.

A few mates have got into indoor climbing in their forties and one in his fifties. Great for fitness

Alter rock is where he’s going. Going with a mate too so they can learn together hopefully. I genuinely might have to give It a go too!

Dunno if I’m in denial at 37 this March, but you are young at 41, relatively young…

Go climbing before you get any older. 😉

I’m 46 and go to the wall every week, plenty older than me there. I had climbed when in my 20s, but stopped for a long time and started again a few years ago when my kids started going. Go do a beginners’ course, or join a group like the one I’m currently climbing with where they teach beginners what to do (they’re all younger than me, but who cares about that?)

Wrightyson had my first go on a climbing wall aged 39. Great fun but I am a bit fat and lacking upper body strength. I am trying to lose one and gain the other and then might be going back for a bit more.

“Qualification”? “Competition”? What happened to good old-fashioned rock-climbing?

+ 1 about qualification and competition.

P-Jay: Can you take your son climbing just as father and son? I used to love that as a kid with my own Dad.

Wrightyson. Go for it! I am sure you will enjoy it!

I started about 6 years ago, I’m 42 now. I go in phases – sometimes I’ll go 2 or 3 times a week but then not for months. What never changes is my enjoyment and my deeply average ability!

Obviously the more I climb the fitter and stronger I get and I get sharper, but I know I will never be amazing. It’s always been a good winter thing for me to.

@TimothyD

I **** up there, I can’t climb – Injuries won’t allow.

I had the chance to learn to do the ropes so we could go down together, but I was busy with his sister and couldn’t find the time.

Now he goes to Parkour with his Mum Sunday nights and BPW Saturday mornings with me. I just worry I’m pushing him to my hobby – he likes it, but doesn’t love it. I’m hoping with testosterone due any day he might learn to love carving berms and shit.

P.S. The worst thing about the lessons and qualifications and all that – there’s little actual climbing done. 90 mins sessions usually, sometimes they might climb once, very occasionally twice – lots of ‘warm up’ and rope skills to pass the tests – but 12 kids, 1 instructor there’s not enough time for them to all have a go. That’s why he liked bouldering – it’s sketchy though, not as high obviously, but no rope either – it’s still akin to watching your 10 year old climb out of a 1st storey window with nothing but a crash mat to save them. Saw an adult climber take a small tumble and her leg snapped, like proper snapped.

Cheers P-Jay

It of course doesn’t matter how he spends hos leisure time but its a shame that they couldn’t keep him going. It’s also sad that it has to aim at competition….

Bouldering is the way to go if you don’t want the complication and expense of learning ropework. Just as much fun as roped climbing indoors IMO.

Sounds a bit rubbish. The lessons my son went to when he was 8 they had a couple of helpers who could supervise people climbing and tail ropes – and the kids who’d passed level 1 were allowed to belay by themselves with looser supervision. I think the group was actually a bit bigger than 12 kids, but even so they spent most of their time either belaying or climbing and he’d get at least 3 or 4 climbs in a session, plus some time on the traverse or bouldering bits.

He still got fed up and stopped though after about a year at that level – he was quite competent at belaying and all that, but just wanted to climb (whereas for me a significant part of it is actually the social bit, and I’m quite happy to belay and shout “advice”!) Though I guess he’s done enough to do well if he tries again when he’s a bit older, or to come out and belay me when he’s big enough.

Shame about the injuries P-Jay. I have dodgy elbows from too much climbing in my teens ( a classic case of over use meets a developing body ).

Great sport to get them started on. I’ve not taken mine inside yet, but got them to second some fun trad routes outside. They loved it! I think I’ll keep it light for now, ie no regular climbing, just a week on crags once a year or so.

My Godson did the NICAS course, but really prefered the bouldering wall for solving the problems I set him. At a young age they def benefit from having someone else there making them think outside the ladder mentality. Def don’t feel self conscious about just messing around together on the bouldering wall, no one cares if you’re crap, it’s just good fun.

Yak: Regular climbing is probably fine for most children and teenagers, I just got obsessed (it was a displacement activity to some degree in hindsight).

People know more now about children and nteenagers climbing than they did during the 90’s too, more about the human body and how climbing effects it in general really.

http://onemovetoomany.com/

This book is very good. Its full of warning signs to watch out for.

I wouldn’t want to make any parents more cautious about taking their children climbing. 🙂

Thanks. It’s probably more that I don’t want every evening rammed with stuff – there’s enough on anyway right now. If they end up very keen, then that might change I suppose. Right now climbing is like a holiday we do with another old climbing mate of mine and his kids. Peak last year, maybe North Wales or Fontainebleau this year. All good fun and they don’t realise how much they are learning.

Edit – I too have a few long term overuse injuries from back then. Easily done.

Yeah it is. It’s far too fun and strenuous. 🙂

How sad that people stop because they have done the qualifications. That’s not climbing, that’s no different to kids gymnastics classes.
What have we come to?

Climbing is getting very popular now we have indoor wall springing up everywhere.

Our local wall is really good and there’s tonnes of kids there some of which are totally crushing every route that gets set.

I go at least twice a week but at 43 after nearly 20 years of climbing I’m starting to crumble! Just had osteo arthritis confirmed in both hands and will probably need treatment asap. Plus I have snapped tendons in fingers and just last year had climbers elbow (surprisingly painful) which I’m not quite recovered from and may never be……. How I wish I was young and indistructable again.
Bouldering is great and very sociable but it is the primary cause of my injuries. Lead climbing was never as brutal on the body.

Me and my daughter climb. We are 100% plastic climbers having zero experience outside. I am useless but I find climbing really helps my poor knee joints.

My daughter is at level 3 on NIMBAS but tbh we gave that up very early because we found it got in the way of climbing. Running around with a group of kids, I can take her to a play center for that and she wanted to get better at climbing.

There is zero chance your kid has learnt everything they can from climbing regardless of competition. Every single day is a learning day on the wall and I get the feeling that to say he has learnt everything would suggest he is bored with the lessons (understandable)’and needs to just enjoy climbing.

The guys at Alter Rock seem really laid back. Our girls are usually there on thursdays and love it. Eldest one is enjoying the non competitive aspect having fallen out of love with swimming

We are 100% plastic climbers having zero experience outside.

There’s an element of snobbery in some quarters around indoor climbing not being “proper” or some such, but I never really cared much for that. Getting on real rock is a lot of fun when it’s sunny, but I’d take a climbing wall over miserable pissy British weather most of the time. Plus I never really clicked with leading, it gave me The Fear. Do what you enjoy.

That’s correct Cougar. Whatever facet of climbing you enjoy, its all climbing and fun.

Never met a more welcoming, friendly bunch as climbers. A lovely ‘scene’ to be involved with. Don’t think I have ever been to a wall and not ended up chatting to complete strangers about stuff.

My new climbing partner is less than half my age. I’m older than his dad for goodness sake. He still thinks I’m older and wiser, so I’m hoping he doesn’t get wise to that anytime soon. Good incentive to keep trying harder anyways.