It’s always being advised that older adults learn new skills and have ongoing goals to maintain both physical health and prevent mood and memory problems. There are always challenges we meant to pursue when we have the time to devote to a new hobby. They’re talking about a study that was provoked by a new age record for climbing Mount Everest. The new record is a 71 year-old Japanese man. The old record was a 70 year-old Japanese man.
The Professor who did the study was looking at what he called the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar effect. This refers to the phenomenon of a more experienced player using his smarts to compete at the same level as younger, stronger players. Getting smarter with experience gives an advantage! We all compensate for decline in physical prowess with better judgment, improved strategy and more accurate tactics. And there is constant evidence to refute the adage about old dogs and new tricks. It takes longer for an older learner to process words spoken to him than for a younger learner, but having decades of adapting to change makes it more likely an elder has rehearsed a change that a younger person might struggle with as a novice.
Unfortunately this doesn’t seem to apply on the mountain. The common wisdom is that an older climber is more cautious and can afford better equipment. The science shows that less than half as many climbers over 60 complete the climb and more than three times as many older climbers die on the mountain.
Now the reader may take this as a caution against mountain climbing over 60. I will paraphrase a park ranger I heard speak at the Grand Canyon awhile back. Would you rather your grandchild tells her friends “My Grandma died in that old folks home” or “My grandma died climbing the world’s highest mountain?”