Getting too old to climb...

[Johny Walker]

Turning 46 next week and still loving the climbing. It takes a little longer to get going on a cold morning, plenty of stretching, but, once up the tree, the 22 years experience takes over and any aches and pains are forgotten.

 

Two things I have noticed of late:

 

1. After a hard days climbing I seem to suffer a lot of leg cramp. Not all of the time but it is related?

2. Sometimes have to resort to lifting my own leg with my hands up onto branches that once upon a time my leg would reach on its own:laugh1:

 

I consider myself very lucky to be able to climb and long may it last.

 

 

i have the same probs @ 44,so 28yristaking its toll on mi old bod

[oldwoodcutter]

Just started to take a glucosamine and a cod liver oil a day,never used to take anything but now that my fingers,elbows,and knees are giving pain,mrs oldwoodcutter has taken them for years and now puts them out for me with my breakfast.Hope to feel improvement in few weeks.

[Scottie]

A guy of nearly 50 hung up his spikes on friday. I worked with him as his groundie for the last 3 years and he climbed nearly everyday. His knowledge and experience is going to be misssed especially by myself who got into this buisness late on. He smokes 20+ cigarettes a day but could climb all day and never complained about being tired or sore, he just got on with it.

 

I have only been climbing for the passed 2 years myself and I am 36 now. In that time I have learnt a lot but the best thing I have learnt is work positioning. It makes the job so much easier and doesn't make me feel as tired as quickly. Also I have been trying to use 2 anchor points most times and this helps to make the job easier for me when I do climb. Sometime I am reluctant to get into a tree but once I am there I really enjoy doing the job and I wonder why I am being so reluctant.

 

I don't have the experience to do big take downs but I am going to gain it now that a main climber has left the company but I wish he was back so that I could get help and the encouragement to do it. Lately I have been thinking that I could handle stumpgrinding, being a groundie and doing the companies PHC because of my age but after reading some of the posts, I am just a pup!

[Stuart A-C]

I have just hit 30 and been climbing for around 10 years now and still loving it, the only time I really ache is normally on a monday morning after a hard game of rugby on a saturday afternoon.

We are in our first year of running the business and will be looking to employ a traniee in a couple of years, that gives me 3-4ish years to train them up and give me more time to concentrate on the survey and report side of things, I will still be looking to pit my wits on the technical and difficult climbs though!!

[Heads up]

Some guys i work for in their 30s are now out of it due to the punishment their bodies have taken over their 10-15 year climbing spells. These are guys that were at the top of their game but had been busting it for big companies till getting out a few years ago to set up their own. Them taking a back seat is not what they want to be doing as they love climbing but the pain/damage they are doing isn't worth it. Been a real eye opener seeing them go down. On the flip side i know a guy in his late 40s whos going strong.

I do believe its down to the different work and work methods from company to company and the way our bodies are bulit.

[boxhead]

hi and put the violins away and get up there in that canopy!! i am 47 been doing ground work too long n just started climbing now !! love it may take a bit longer to get there but hey do the job and get paid all that matters , boxhead

[SiW]

At 37 and afternearly 20 years of climbing, yeah it takes it's toll but just can't see any reason to stop, plus experience is worth alot more than youth. If ya don't Love the job and take pride in what you do, I hear tesco have vacancies lol

[Pat Ferrett]

Hi all !! Im new to the site but not so new to tree work, its a breath of fresh air to be able to listen to you all chatting about stolen tools broken chippers and the highs and lows of spending 5 days a week play ninja monkey, pitting your wits against mother nature.

I started the business about 10 years ago and i ve always done the climbing, it was only after Dad passed away that I started up, he never wanted me to climb as he d seen to many accidents back in the days of free climbing.

I would happily climb for the next 10 years the bit that rubs me up the wrong way is running a small business and being the climber quoting maintaining the tools doing the book work and trying to be a dad in the 20 minutes that are left in the week. stress is the thing that takes the edge off me and makes me want to give up not hard graft or my age (33)

[Mark Bolam]

Welcome Jammydodger.

 

Loads of good advice on here mate, about all aspects, including the stress thing. At 33, you are a but a sperm compared to some of the old relics still throwing their semi-fossilised bones round the canopy on here.

 

And I include myself in that select group....

[Craig Johnson]

, yeah it takes it's toll but just can't see any reason to stop, plus experience is worth alot more than youth. If ya don't Love the job and take pride in what you do, I hear tesco have vacancies lol

 

been climbing 28 years still love it just a bit slower these days:001_tt2: