There is a bit of a misnomer going around that climbers are all 30 year old masters who have been practicing their art since they were in college. Time and time again I hear parents, in regard to their children, or friends express doubt that they themselves are not great climbers, nor could they ever be. Here is the reality: Some of the best climbers in the world right now are 15 year old girls. Don’t believe me? NBC even picked up on this one.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/15-year-old-ashima-shiraishi-nabs-first-place-usa-climbing-n733371

The article above talks about 15 year old speed wall climbing champion Ashima Shiraishi. Oh, and this is not her first rodeo, she won the competition last year as well (you know, when she was a 14 year old).

Still doubt yourself or your children? Don’t be surprised when you head to your first rock wall and they run up it like it is a breeze. In fact, you can do it too. The beauty of our sport is anyone can participate at any level. While chances are I will never be able to make my 30 year old self out sport climb Ashima Shiraishi, I know I can set my own goals and accomplish them at the pace best for me. And, just like your children could be the next best climber in the world, you can meet your own goals as an adult too!

Find a gym. Go climb. That’s the only way to know!

Christmas @ The CRUX is an open climb event where we invite the general public to come in and monkey around on our Speed Wall and bouldering wall. The crowd tends to be a mixed bag of ages and experiences and this event proved the same. We had post-college climbers all the way down to a six year old who accomplished a new feat:

After pandering about all night and never really giving it a go, the youngest girl at Christmas @ The CRUX decided to give the Speed Wall a shot. She had been walking up to and staring it down all night, and her first attempt reflected her worried attitude; she got a quarter of the way up and said “NO!” As she let go, the autobelay lowered her gently back down. Finally though, after much cheering from her siblings, she passed the halfway mark and made it almost to the top! As she came down after this last climb, her joy was apparent through her beaming smile. The youngest climber climbed further than she ever thought she could go.