Good thread. 49 here (hiking/climbing for 25 years).
I mean I hate to be a negative Nancy, but when I see a 60-year-old man reporting that he needs to stop to sit down every 50 feet on steep uphill bushwhacks while NOT being out of breath, the first thing my mind goes to is the old ticker.
Others here have made good points about peak age for cardio-vascular endurance and the decline in VO2 max with age. And I’ve certainly pushed myself over the years to the point of near collapse. But when I see circumstances such as those that were reported in the OP, I immediately think of all of those heart attack on the trail reports I’ve seen over the years. My two cents ... take this seriously.
I mean I hate to be a negative Nancy, but when I see a 60-year-old man reporting that he needs to stop to sit down every 50 feet on steep uphill bushwhacks while NOT being out of breath, the first thing my mind goes to is the old ticker.
Others here have made good points about peak age for cardio-vascular endurance and the decline in VO2 max with age. And I’ve certainly pushed myself over the years to the point of near collapse. But when I see circumstances such as those that were reported in the OP, I immediately think of all of those heart attack on the trail reports I’ve seen over the years. My two cents ... take this seriously.
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