Charlie Winger

1.  Year of birth:  1937

2.  Height & weight (now and at younger age):
 I Currently am 5’ 4”, 125 lbs.  I was 5’ 5” in past years and around 135 lbs.

3.  Year you began rock climbing and/or bodyweight athletics: 

I started rock climbing in 1976.   I never had a bodyweight routine and didn’t participate much in school athletics. 

4.  Are you retired? Still working?:
I retired about 5 years ago from a career in software development.   Had my own company for about 30 years.  A couple of years ago my wife and I wrote “The Trad Guide to Joshua Tree”.

5.  Is your family supportive of your rock climbing and/or bodyweight athletics:  My family (the wife) supports my rock climbing enthusiastically and joins me every chance she gets.   We try to make a couple of trips to specific climbing areas each year, e.g.  Joshua Tree, Red Rocks or City of Rocks.

6.  How important is the social aspect of the sport for you?: 

I enjoy the camaraderie I find when climbing (and talking about climbing) with my friends.  The stories always get better with time.

1.  Type of rock climbing (or bodyweight athletics) you now enjoy:
I primarily do traditional routes with a few sport routes thrown in here and there.   I’ve tried bouldering but due to a bad back can’t deal with peeling off the routes.

2.  Type you enjoyed at a younger age?: 

Younger in my case was when I was 40 years old.   Not many sport routes (bolted climbs) were around in those days.  My younger climbing adventures were mostly limited to the Flatirons and Eldorado Canyon weekend climbs.

3.  Do you engage in auxiliary training or associated athletics?:  

My main passion is mountaineering.   I leverage mountaineering activities with rock and ice climbing as well as doing extensive hiking.   I ice climbed 50 days last season.  Also, I get on the bicycle when possible for some shorter rides.

4.  How often do you climb or exercise now? At a younger age (<65)?:

I currently exercise about 4 days a week.   Before I was 65 I didn’t exercise as much although I did manage to put together a couple of international climbing expeditions each year for several years.  These were always preceded by many weekends of “getting into shape”.

5.  Length of climbing (or exercise) sessions now?: 

Usually my climbing/exercise sessions last most of the day.   Had a 20 mile, 6,000’ hiking day a couple of weeks ago.  Last week I was at City of Rocks and usually got in 4 routes a day.

6.  How long does it take for fairly complete physical recovery?: 

Do you ever completely recover at our age?  I attempt to build in some “off” days during more extensive exercise sessions.   I found that this past summer I “bottomed out” on the recovery trail.   My legs were sore for about a week or so.  I had just finished a couple of months of nearly continuous hiking and climbing activities with three different sets of climbing partners.  I also have to be careful during ice climbing season as it isn’t unusual to climb on seven consecutive days with different partners.

7.  At what level of difficulty do you now climb (exercise)? Past levels?: 

My climbing ability current and prior is mainly limited to routes in the 5.6 to 5.8 level.  Every once in a while I sneak up on a 5.9.   This works for me as I mentioned earlier, rock climbing is a means to an end and not an end in itself.  I think gym climbing facilities have made for a stronger group of climbers today than was around 30 years ago.  They usually don’t bother with climbs at my level of ability.

8.  What changes have you observed in strength and endurance over the years?: Grip strength?  Arm & upper body strength? Legs? 

No one every accused me of being an “animal” in the strength department.  I’ve noticed that I’ve been getting less strong over the past few years.   I suspect that I could partially reverse that trend with regular strength exercises.   There’s always tomorrow!

I believe my endurance is as good today as it ever has been except that I can’t string as many days together as I used to.   I’ve lost size in the upper and lower body as I age.   Thankfully, since I don’t weigh too much,  my strength to body weight ratio remains in my favor for rock climbing.  I can’t haul around the heavy packs like I used to able to do, but that’s just fine with me.

1.  Any injuries or illnesses since age 65 affecting your climbing/exercising?: None

How have you coped?  NSAIDs or other medication?  

I’ve been in excellent health since turning 65 and have avoided any injuries.  I suspect this is in part due to my ongoing level of continuous activity.  I’ll take a couple of Ibuprofen tablets at the end of the day if my body feels extra sore.  If I intend to go out and have a hard day I may take a couple of tables proactively.

2.  What kind of diet do you follow, if any? Vitamins? Stimulants?: 

I am not a vegetarian but don’t eat a lot of red meat.  I eat plenty of fruits and vegetables as well as fish.  I don’t take any stimulants.

3.  Special food or drink after a workout?: 

I don’t have any special food after a workout. I will usually try to drink something like Accelerade® or Gatorade® at the end of my exercise period.

4.  Water or fluid intake? High? Low?: 

I consciously attempt to maintain a high fluid intake with various sports drinks usually diluted with water.

1.  What is your current philosophy of your sport? Has this changed with age?  I don’t have a “philosophy” regarding climbing.   Not sure I ever had one.  Just do it!

2.  What are your current goals and personal rewards from the sport? Has this changed with age?:
I enjoy getting out and exercising for the pure pleasure of whatever event I’m currently doing.  Perhaps that means I’m not as competitive as I used to be.  I think that now I’m exercising more for me and to maintain good health rather than to try to achieve a certain level of ability.  The “rewards” are feeling good after having done something enjoyable

3.  What is your opinion: Is rock climbing (bodyweight exercises) performance – at any age - influenced more strongly by genetic attributes or training and experience? (Nature or nurture?) Is it even possible to generalize?:

Whew, now that’s a tough question!  I’ve got to believe that in my case my performance is influenced more strongly by genetic attributes than by training, but without training would I be able to take advantage of my genetic attributes?   Sounds like a recursive answer to me.  I guess you have to have something to start with (genetics) before training can be beneficial.   Perhaps a good mental attitude is one of the most important factors which affects performance.


4.  What are your predictions for the future of rock climbing?:

Unfortunately, more regulation and restriction.  The popularity of the sport is its own worst enemy.   Now, land owners and governmental regulatory agencies are slowly drawing the noose around our collective  necks.  They seem to ignore constructive input on the part of climber’s collations and arbitrarily implement what I think are not well thought out rules and regulations.

On the positive side, more climbing areas being developed, not in small part due to improvements in equipment.  So, perhaps everything will balance out in the long run.  The more things change the more they stay the same.