Perhaps a bit like sex in youngsters minds. People over 70 doing such a thing. Too awful to contemplate. Well I still do a bit of both you know. Well this introspective account springs from the fact that somebody said that I ought to start a Facebook sub group for us vigorous over 70 cavers and sexual exponents. Here is a dictionary definition. " A person who demonstrates a particular skill to a high standard." Yes I will stick with exponent though I might say that caving is the more regular. Yes I try to get it once a week. The caving that is.
So how many folks on here are regular cavers over 70 ? The demographic interests me as I presume most cavers to be in the 50 - 65 range. ( Perhaps I don't get to the pub enough ).  More to the point how many youngsters here expect to be caving over 70. Its pot luck you know. (To employ a caving pun.)  All in the genes or whatever . Some people are dead by 70 or in a care home. Take me for instance. The eldest of three brothers. One died of prostate cancer aged 60. ( cycled to work and did not smoke or drink ). The youngest is diabetic with Dupytrons disease. ( I might have spelt that wrong ). Anyway the finger tendons shrink making grip difficult so not good in caves. ( I did take the dear fellow to The Frozen Deep . ) Yes pot luck indeed. Oh I try to do all of the right things. No alcohol, Weight only half a stone more than it was 40 years ago.
Well you do have to watch certain things whilst caving at my age. Keeping at the right pace is important. I also worry about getting stuck as I may not have the energy reserve to get out. ( As I found recently ). Having " The Passion " is important. Currently it is to find "The Cheddar Master Cave" ( We have two remote chances ). Not that Lady Luck has been unkind to me over my 55 years of caving. To be honest I have already had my fair share of finds. The photography helps. It is an extra incentive to do something. I also do a lot of landscape stuff . I have developed a deep revulsion of television ( "The Fool's Lantern "). Most things on it are an insult to one's intelligence.So here I am tapping away when I could be watching Emmerdale. Yes about an hour a day is enough of that thing.
I always say that caving is a big part of my social life and my weekly visit to the gym. ( I don't much care for them either. If you are going to break into a sweat at least have a purpose.  Back to the sex again though as I said I do have to pace myself ). I was a deep diver for 25 years and constantly asked myself when will I know when to give it up ? Oh you will know said SWMBO ( Ayesha ). Funny thing I did. Three bad bends in a row put an end to that game nor was I sorry. How to evaluate the caving at 70 plus I know not. Hopefully not another rock on me from my " friends " It's never my fault you know. I suppose I will just fade away as I approach the Seventh Age of Man. Hang on I am already there.

Tis a miracle. A TOR post with no photos.

The Old Ruminator said:

So how many folks on here are regular cavers over 70 ?

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A couple of us septuagenarians go caving a couple of days a week in the Dales. A third joins us at the weekend, but caves in Derbyshire mid-week. I'm sure that there are plenty of others.

I'm still a relative young whipper snapper, being in my forties, but the limiting factors that stop me caving as much as I'd like are work and kids. Hopefully by the time I'm 70, neither of those will be an issue and I can actually do more caving than I do now. Looking around at the older cavers in the club, that seems to be a realistic expectation.

I like your style Mr TOR. My TV went in a skip years ago.
I am probably well known for my karate and aikido 3 or 4 nights a week, and some all days events. Underground its mines rather than caves but been working 8 hours a day Sat and Sun last 4 weeks at Cwmystwyth.
73 in January and dont give a dam.
A constantly moving hinge never rusts so keep it up and good luck.

If you find the gym boring, try a karate club, keep fit and learn something useful.

I'd love to but chronic back ache and peripheral neuropathy say it's not advisable.

I'm only a baby really, a mere 67, but I was determined to continue to cave into old age when I was younger. Alas, although I'm generally fit as a butcher's dog, and do lots of fell walking in the Lake District, a few years ago, out of the blue, I developed rheumatoid arthritis. I've since had total knee and hip replacements, so I've reluctantly accepted that my caving days are over.

I did wonder at one stage if I could make it to The Frozen Deep, but that was just wishful thinking. Still, if a rescue "victim" is required for Reservoir I'm prepared to volunteer, with the proviso that I'll need carrying both ways.

Apopros of growing old

In the north of England there?s a lot more limestone outside the ?main? caving area than within it. However, there are relatively few known caves there.

A few years ago I used to live in Kendal, which is underlain by limestone, with extensive scars to the west, and a big limestone quarry within the town boundaries. One day I heard that there was a limestone gorge actually within the town itself, so I figured I?d go and check it out. Sure enough, ?Dry Gill? exists within the town boundaries. (When it?s wet it?s anything but ?Dry Gill', as a lot of water resurges there.)

Anyway, one day I went to the head of this gorge, which happens to start outside an old folks? home that smelt of death. I sort of sidled into the grounds and climbed over the fence and down into the gorge, where I damn near fell down into it, but had a good look round. At the head of the gorge there are sort of ?mini caves?, ~6 inches high, with tiny stalactites hanging down, but no penetrable passage that I could discern. So I set off down the gill, poking and prying, until I started to realize that the surroundings were becoming more ?civilized?, at which point I heard a cry of ?Hey you, what do you think you?re doing?. So I turned round to be confronted by this big bear of a bloke with a spade in his hand digging over his back garden. So I said, ?I?m just having a look round.? ?How did you get in here?, he said. ?Back up there?, said I. ?What? There?s no way in up there.? ?Well, I climbed over the fence?. A pregnant silence; ?Aren?t you too old for that sort of thing??, said he. ?No?, said I, ?you?re only too old when you?re dead?. So he looked at me good and hard and eventually said, lifting his shovel shoulder high ?why don?t you piss off back where you came from??. Well all things considered I figured that that would be a wise move.

But hey, ?You ain?t too old ?til you?re dead? ? remember that, ?cos you?re dead a helluva long time.

Great story Fulk. I'd guess that the gorge provides the intermittent stream that reaches the Kent at Abbott Hall. I've often wondered what's further upstream.

My strategy (I'm 66) is to find sommat and then enlist younger and fitter cavers to do the hard bit for me. Thankfully there's plenty of places in, and more importantly around, the 'traditional' Dales caving areas, where you can't get out of the car without falling down an unexplored hole.

I'd guess that the gorge provides the intermittent stream that reaches the Kent at Abbott Hall.

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I think that's the one (though there is another intermittent stream that flows into the Kent). I guess it drains quite a large area of limestone up to Scout Scar.

Also, near one of the bridges in Kendal there's a sort of 'portal' in the stone-built embankment, about as big as a standard house door, with (normally) a trickle of water dribbling out; I've been meaning to try to get into this for some time, but it looks a bit tricky, and haven't yet succeeded (though I haven't tried very hard, I must admit).

royfellows said:

I like your style Mr TOR. My TV went in a skip years ago.
I am probably well known for my karate and aikido 3 or 4 nights a week, and some all days events. Underground its mines rather than caves but been working 8 hours a day Sat and Sun last 4 weeks at Cwmystwyth.
73 in January and dont give a dam.
A constantly moving hinge never rusts so keep it up and good luck.

If you find the gym boring, try a karate club, keep fit and learn something useful.

Click to expand...

o
My Dad was a Black Belt in both Judo and Karate. When I was much younger he taught me within a club. I loved the Karate as it taught discipline and respect for others. It provided the basis for the general fitness I have today.  Sadly Dad died aged 55 from cancer and others ran the club. I lost the heart for it then. Semsei Ni Rei.

The Old Ruminator said:

royfellows said:

I like your style Mr TOR. My TV went in a skip years ago.
I am probably well known for my karate and aikido 3 or 4 nights a week, and some all days events. Underground its mines rather than caves but been working 8 hours a day Sat and Sun last 4 weeks at Cwmystwyth.
73 in January and dont give a dam.
A constantly moving hinge never rusts so keep it up and good luck.

If you find the gym boring, try a karate club, keep fit and learn something useful.

Click to expand...

o
My Dad was a Black Belt in both Judo and Karate. When I was much younger he taught me within a club. I loved the Karate as it taught discipline and respect for others. It provided the basis for the general fitness I have today.  Sadly Dad died aged 55 from cancer and others ran the club. I lost the heart for it then. Semsei Ni Rei.

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There are some good clubs around which will make you welcome. I strongly recommend Karate Union of GB affiliated clubs. Their website will give you your local one. Very good value for your money. Its Shotokan style which you have to really understand to appreciate.
Oss

I know a couple of active cavers in their seventies. One is probably the most prolific vertical caver in history, in terms of number of pits done. He keeps at it despite a couple of accidents in the last few years.

The other is my grandfather, who has never done any vertical caving that he couldn't manage hand-over-hand. He is the most tireless person I know, and regularly finds new caves or digs for me to work on when I come to visit.

I will be caving in my seventies, definitely, if I am alive. If done properly and with a healthy mind, caving is too engaging and multi-faceted to last anything less than a lifetime.

Kenilworth said:

I will be caving in my seventies, definitely, if I am alive.

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And you haven't developed rheumatoid arthritis, or chronic back ache, or peripheral neuropathy, as other unfortunate posters have. The spirit can be willing, but  the flesh lets us down eventually. 

We've just had a few days caving in Hungary, and on one trip to one of the caves under Budapest our guide was a sprightly 72-year-old guy. (Made a nice change not to be the 'old git' of the trip.  )

The Old Ruminator said:

I have developed a deep revulsion of television ( "The Fool's Lantern "). Most things on it are an insult to one's intelligence.

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Hallelujiah - I'm not alone then! 

Has anyone ever come across a good book giving advice about staying fit in older age and participating in active sports?

I'm no spring chicken any more; I've been blessed with good health and cave regularly (together with a few other things, including running on the fells). I did stop an awful lot of beer from going bad in my youth but have learned the better of this. I hope still to be caving eventually in my 70s & 80s if possible.

So - can anyone recommend such a book?

Fulk said:

?Back up there?, said I. ?What? There?s no way in up there.? ?Well, I climbed over the fence?. A pregnant silence; ?Aren?t you too old for that sort of thing??, said he.

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He might have meant trespassing!!

I didn't realize there was an age limit on trespassing.

langcliffe said:

Kenilworth said:

I will be caving in my seventies, definitely, if I am alive.

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And you haven't developed rheumatoid arthritis, or chronic back ache, or peripheral neuropathy, as other unfortunate posters have. The spirit can be willing, but  the flesh lets us down eventually.

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I know a man who did sixty Lakeland peaks on his sixtieth birthday, seventy peaks on his seventieth birthday but did not do eighty on his eightieth; flesh let him down eventually. I knew another man who completed all the Munros for the third time in his eighties.

I have found that joints suffer from wear at any time of life but age makes them slower to recover from heavy use. Running really punishes joints, cyling is slightly better but also not good for joints, carrying heavy loads on hills is also bad. Walking with light loads is OK and the rougher the ground the better. A bit of many activities is good but by far the best exercise with worn joints is caving.

Pitlamp said:

Has anyone ever come across a good book giving advice about staying fit in older age and participating in active sports?

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For knees a good book is called 'Knee Health' by Vivian Grisogono. It explains how the knee works, what problems occur and how to avoid and/or alleviate them.

My doctor told me that my hyper-active life in my youth and middle age had worn me out.
What happened to 'Stay active and keep heathy'?